Your Week In Cigars: The Friday News Roundup!

By popular demand, here is a fresh edition of the Friday Cigar News Roundup – a weekly compilation of exciting updates that you may have missed from around the industry!  Please drop by their socials to show all these folks some love for their hard work and let them know you heard their latest and greatest right here on Cigar Public. With that, let’s get caught up on another amazing week in cigars!

The Padilla story is a powerful one, but there are so many legacies, legends and lore to absorb in this amazing industry that it can take a long while to be exposed to even some of the most important parts of our collective past. Ernesto Padilla is a big personality in cigars and is known for saying exactly what he thinks, something obviously passed down from his Father. A documentary about to debut at the Telluride Film Festival –  El Caso Padilla – will attempt to provide a window into a crucial part of Poet Heberto Padilla’s story. Making its way to Spain’s San Sebastián Film Festival after Telluride, El Caso Padilla aims to put viewers right in the middle of the battle that Heberto was fighting against Castro’s communist regime. Poet, Scholar, Artist, Father, Prisoner…I think a lot of people will be amazed that they didn’t already know about what is now referred to as “The Padilla Affair.” The trailer below has no subtitles, but you can go to Ernesto’s IG for a version that does.

Unrelated to the documentary, but always driven by the lessons passed on by his father, Ernesto is releasing a new cigar called Padilla Barcelona for the international market. The cigars are crafted in Nicaragua using Aganorsa tobaccos including a corojo wrapper. Designed for the International client who is looking for an alternative to cuban cigars, Ernesto shares that the cigar is medium body and complex.  Initially being released in three formats, different distributors can have unique sizes made specifically for them. First shipments will go to Cigar world in Germany and Latvian distributor, SIA Tabacalera. Expect this cigar to roll out to even wider international distribution some time next year! 

 

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Quesada Cigars has consistently made great products, and every year more people find out about them. This year in particular, however, Quesada is getting the spotlight it has so long deserved. Fresh off the release of their Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary blend commemorating his amazing journey through life, two more releases are making their way out to shops right at this very moment. The Casa Magna Connecticut and the Quesada Oktoberfest 2022 edition can soon be yours, and you can find out more directly from Raquel Quesada in the video below. What began in 1974 with just three rollers has grown and evolved to become a highly respected brand and factory, and there are few things as satisfying as watching good people win!

 

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The newest addition to the New World line from AJ Fernandez is now available! Fitting for its name, AJF Cigars refers to the Dorado as “the gold standard for premium cigars.” The all Nicaraguan blend is composed almost entirely of tobacco from AJ Fernandez’ own Dorado farm, which he named due to its golden texture and taste. I’ve corresponded with a number of people today who have already smoked this Nicaraguan puro, and the feedback has been stellar. Already jumping off the shelves at some shops and set to arrive shortly at others, the Dorado hasn’t even been available for a full day at locations like the Cigar Boutique of Little Havana where it is already selling out. Congrats to everyone involved and to us, the smokers who get to enjoy the results of their hard work 🙂

If you weren’t able to catch this morning’s show live, you need to set aside some time for Boveda’s Rob Gagner and Nate Beck as they welcome guest Eric Drazin of Oak Glen Tobacconist! Rob, Nate and Eric talk all Oak Glen Tobacconist Cigar Society and cigar aging in another fun, informational Unboxed Live presented by Boveda. Eric is a Founding Contributor and Reviewer for Cigar Public and is an amazing ambassador cigars so whether you listen in the car or watch while you’re enjoying a cigar out in the yard, I suggest you definitely make time for this one! You can head over to Boveda’s YouTube to binge all the great cigar content or you can follow this link directly to today’s episode.

The Kafie 1901 Serié L Natural is a 100% Dominican Puro that took nearly 3 full years to bring to life. Developed with renowned Master Blender Manuel Inoa at La Aurora, the initial launch in the U.S. market will consist of 2 vitolas and will be be available in approximately 3 weeks. The two formats will be a 5×50 Robusto and a 5.75 x 54 Toro. His 5th core blend, Dr. Kafie shares that, as far as he is concerned, the Kafie 1901 Serié L Natural completes the brand’s ultra premium core line. Having only gotten little glimpses of the cigar itself over the last week or so as Kafie 1901 Cigars teased it, getting a clear look at is great. It’s a good looking cigar and I’ll let you know as soon it’s available for you to try for yourself!

You still have a few hours left to grab tickets to tomorrow’s Jefe Cigar, Whiskey and Wine Fest in Orlando! Hosted in Eola Park, the event boasts 15+ Cigar Vendors, 20 Spirit Vendors, 10 Wine Vendors, 4 Local Beer Vendors, 6 Food Trucks, live music and few more surprises for those who attend. Head over to the event page now if you’d like to buy a ticket, general admission is only $30! A portion of all ticket sales is being donated to the Orlando Fire Department Hockey Club. Our friends at the Great Lakes Smoke Show will be broadcasting live from the event and our own Founding Contributor/Reviewer S. Robert Sacco will also be in attendance documenting his fest experience for an upcoming article about the event.

 

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The Smoke Showing Crew has just released their first Privada Regional cigar! This 5×50 Habano cigar was blended and produced at Tabacalera Palma and has been named The Probie. The Crew told me that “A firefighter is on probation for the first 6 months to a year of their fire career, so it seemed a fitting name for our first cigar.”

The Smoke Showing Crew is a very small group of career firefighter/paramedics from central Ohio who all share a love for the leaf and the connections made while enjoying in a good cigar. All of us are relatively new to the cigar industry and early in our cigar journeys. “Our mission is to keep coming out with great cigars that are fire and EMS themed that can be enjoyed for all occasions from a morning cup of coffee, a promotion, or retirement cigar,” says Blake Benjamin, member of the Smoke Showing crew. The Probie is available right now, go check it out!

Don’t forget tonight’s Smoke Live event brought to you by the Limited Cigar Association! Starting at 8pm EST on the Privada Cigar Club YouTube page, Master Blender Claudio Sgroi will be joining Brian Desind in the LCA studio where he’ll be smoking the Volute cigar right along with everyone watching. There are no pairings for this edition of Smoke Live owing to the uniqueness of the raw materials, all that is asked of you is to refrain from eating for about an hour before lighting this one up. Grab a Volute and get ready, I’ll see you in the live chat during the stream!

Wishing you another great weekend full of your favorite cigars and your favorite people. Keep on sending in your favorite cigar related news stories, posts and videos!