While much of the industry is gathered in Dortmund, Germany for this week’s InterTabac show, there’s still a lot going on here at home! Everyone’s busy and it’s almost impossible to stay caught up on everything going on in cigars, so throughout the week I look for and set aside everything worth sharing, from releases out of your favorite boutique and heritage brands, to upcoming events you can enjoy locally, and the latest & greatest in cigar industry. Have fun with this weeks updates and have an amazing weekend!
Last month we brought you news of a slate of upcoming Warped projects, which you can check out here. Of the 5 releases teased at that time, one in particular stuck out primarily for the sparseness of any information associated with it. All that was publicly available for the Upper Realm when the original article was published was a month, September, and a quote from Kyle Gellis – “I and the team are very excited about this release, it’s been in the works for quite some time.” While nothing new has come out regarding the blend itself, an image of the banded cigar has surfaced. The timing of this image leaves me hopeful that we yet still see this released this month. Over the image was a simple note, which reads “Only 250 Cabinets.” All of this to say keep an eye out for the Upper Realm! In the interim, there’s plenty to keep one busy over at the Warped-adjacent Drop site. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up for the Warped Barrel Pick updates.
Crowned Heads has a new Limitada dropping next week! Stay tuned for news on that, as soon as I know more, you will too! Fresh off of the launch of their Paniolo Especiale 2022 in Hawaii, Crowned Heads recently confirmed what had only been whispered for the past few days – that they are parting ways with ACE Prime. ACE Prime’s Tabacalera Pichardo produces some of Crowned Heads’ offerings, whether that will continue remains unkown. A new CH hat was also introduced during the IG live and at the time of publishing this, viewers can comment on the CH video to enter win it – good luck!
The 6th Annual Atlanta Cigar Week is currently underway and goes through the 18th! The 7-Day Cigar Festival, Founded in 2017 by Henry Stokes, Octavia Toliver, and Tony Hall, was created to bring people from all walks of life together for a full week of networking and educational events while showcasing the great cigar culture of Atlanta. The full schedule on the organizer’s site, including workshops, tastings and gala level gatherings. also lets you purchase tickets for each event you wish to attend. Atlanta Cigar Week, L.L.C. has also partnered with Village Micro Fund to help support the “All Can Win Foundation”. All Can Win’s mission is to provide funding and education to black and brown owned businesses in the Cigar and Luxury lifestyle product space.
If you aren’t caught up on The Great Lakes Smoke Show, you’re in for a very entertaining 90 minutes of stories, education and laughs. This week’s guests were two long time friends with a rich history in the industry. Vartan Seferian, President of Ambassador Fine Cigars Inc. & creator of Vartan Cigars, has operated Ambassador in Arizona for 25 years! “Forbidden” Johnny Soyak is the Owner & Inventor of Cigar in the Bottle. Each bottle of Soyak’s award-winning Grand Pommier XS VSOP Cognac contains a Vartan cigar made by Hendrik Kelner that is aged for 5 years prior to being encased in glass! Enjoy this one, these two have seen a lot of people, brands and trends come and go during their time in cigars and they’re both larger than life personalities who share it all in style. Look out for a piece from S. Robert Sacco on this past weekend’s Jefe Cigars Whiskey & Wine Festival and a breakdown of GLSS’s live event coverage.
Officials from the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County gathered at J.C. Newman’s iconic El Reloj cigar factory this week to unveil and dedicate a new historical marker. The marker recognizes the importance of El Reloj to Tampa’s cigar heritage and J.C. Newman’s 127-year legacy of handcrafting premium cigars.
Congratulations are in order not only for J.C. Newman’s recent Cigar Trophies win, but also for the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation’s 14th Senior Graduation Class – as well as graduates from their new Technical School, Nursing, and Computer Networking programs. Nine of the graduates have attended kindergarten all the way through 12th grade through foundation’s programs! The foundation is a partnership between the Newman and Fuente families and their mission is to create meaningful change through healthcare, education and the development of eco-friendly business ventures providing self-sufficiency to the communities of the Dominican Republic.
Cigar Journal Magazine presents the only awards in the cigar industry voted on by cigar consumers, and this year’s winners have been announced! Every winner deserves to be celebrated and we extend special congratulations to AJ Fernandez, Angela Yue, and J.C. Newman! Angela Yue’s Grand Cathedral Cigars in Tampa won Best Lounge 2022, J.C. Newman’s The American takes home Best Brand USA 2022 honors and tobacco whisperer AJ Fernandez was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Don’t forget to enter the Cavalier Genève Cigars Founders Ring Fall 2022 Giveaway! One of our own readers won the last one, you can see his personalized ring in the comments here. Though each is valued at over $2500 USD, Cavalier’s rings will never be made available for sale and can only be obtained through their giveaways. To enter, header over to their website and follow the steps provided for you there. All you need to do to enter is fill out their form and follow them on instagram – not a big time commitment considering the prize! If you want to let Cavalier know that you found out about their giveaway on Cigar Public, tag @cigarpublicofficial on the @cavalier_cigars instagram!
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!