Boutique cigar lovers from around the world are descending upon Florida this weekend for PrivadaCon. Curated and hosted by Privada Cigar Club, scheduled sessions are already underway. D’USSÉ Cognac and Penelope Bourbon are sponsoring PrivadaCon and guests will celebrate the final course of the last evening with a pour of VSOP, chocolate cake and an aged Maduro Robusto. Structured like a pop-up art or culinary event, tickets went on sale and sold out well in advance of any details being revealed. In the days and weeks leading up to the celebration, ticket holders have been provided with additional details and an itinerary. Regional groups are hosting thier own gatherings during breaks in the day and people who have known each other for as long as 5 years are going to be meeting in person for the first time. Try telling us cigars aren’t just a little bit of magic. If you can’t make it, we’ll bring you more coverage of the full weekend’s activities. experiences, and stories next week!
Originally unveiled at the Premium Cigar Association trade show in Las Vegas this year, The Emperor Collection from El Septimo Cigars just started making it’s way to retailers in the past couple weeks. Already, there are two expressions that have completely sold out. The Alexander Toro & Augustus Robusto – both featuring Connecticut wrappers, a new adventure for El Septimo – sold out after less than a single week on shelves. The ten Emperor Collection offerings join a portfolio already consisting of over 35 blends. Ranging from $10 to $32 MSRP, El Septimo explains that each of these ten blends represents the world’s most sovereign rulers.
Zaya S. Younan, President & CEO of Younan Company, says that “we have learned that customers demand new products, and so we have focused our mass resources to fill that gap. Just like with all our other companies, we always like to set a higher bar. What we achieved in the last two years should be a great indication of what the world can expect from us. The Emperor Collection will set new standards in the cigar industry that will only continue to be exceeded by El Septimo.”
Have you heard of VIRTUOLA cigars? Virtuola cigar newspaper ads can be found dating at least as far back as 1921. Over a century later, remnants of the defunct brand are still being uncovered. Inspired by these discoveries and a time long gone, a new cigar has been created. The band on each new Virtuola cigar is 100 years old, as is the vintage label serving as the art inside the box. On popular online auction and resale sites, a single one of these bands, even those listed as being from the 1950’s and 1960’s, regularly sell for nearly $10. Principle Cigars, who released a wildly experiential cigar this year in the form of the Principle Cigars Archive Collection’s 1842, has crafted the brand new Virtuola blend with the intent of sending the smoker back to a bygone era, one moment at a time.
This limited run of 74 ten count boxes may be gone before most find out about it, and while that’s a shame…it’s also part of the fun of being a cigar head! Sometimes you get the gem, sometimes you don’t, but the stories, experiences and friends collected along the journey more than make up for the cigars that get away. Get yours while they’re still available, exclusively at Sir Louis Cigars.
Live from the historic El Reloj factory in Tampa today, The Great Cigar & Pipe Show invites viewers to watch an interview filmed within the walls of the storied J.C. Newman facility. Drew Newman, 4th Generation Owner and General Counsel, is the special guest on this episode. The hosts and crew will also be touring the factory and attending a cigar rolling class. Earlier today during a quick live stream on Instagram, the team shared footage of the museum at El Reloj, a museum experiencing a lot of cool changes right now.
“For longer than I have been alive, we’ve kept our vintage cigars out of sight in a locked room in the back of our historic El Reloj factory in Tampa,” Drew shared earlier this week. “For the first time in decades, we have opened our archives and started moving our vintage cigar collection to a newly restored basement vault where they will now be on display,” he went on to explain.
As just one quick example, the boxes in the image below are cases of pre-Embargo Cuesta-Rey cigars that Drew’s Grandfather rolled. While the span of 60 years has more than likely taken away any flavors or aromas that these cigars once offered, the cigars themselves remain in perfect structural and aesthetic condition. Join the Great Cigar & Smoke Show team next Tuesday at 8:30pm EST when the interview Dr. Garo Bouldokian, Owner & Master Blender of Garo Cigars.
Created in partnership with Privada Cigar Club., the Supreme Leaf from Aganorsa Leaf is released twice a year. Each new release has been more highly anticipated than the one before it., and – judging by Aganorsa’s latest teaser – that tradition seems likely to continue. One tradition appears to be ending, however. All 5 expressions of this blend that have been released to the public so far have been box pressed. Rolling the next cigar back and forth on the table was a fun, simple, and very effective way to grab our attention in a sea of other social posts. It’s a very memorable way to find out that the next one will be round. If you have a favorite Supreme Leaf size, let everyone know in the comments below!
Visitors to the Rare & Limited section of the Favilli website today can find some very well aged cigars with an even better story. For background, the oldest of their brands, Tierra Volcan, was recently rebranded as part of The Granada Line and is now known simply as TIERRA. What many enthusiasts might not know is where the original name came from. Early on, the company itself was known as Tierra Volcan Cigars. Articles we could find from 2014 and 2015 talk about how the Favilli mansion has just been restored and reopened. As it turns out, there have been cigars moving in and out of their aging room ever since.
Amazing how quickly 8 years passes. Which brings us to the Rare & Limited part. Favilli has opened their aging room and made available that last remaining original Tierra Volcan Cigar Company cigars from the 2014 launch. Available in 24 count boxes, the three sizes are a 5.5 x 50 Clasico, 4 x 50 Corto, and 6.25 x 54 Grande. Until they’re all gone, you can find these pieces of cigar history here.
The Edge from Rocky Patel began as an idea. Two years of development would result in an unbanded cigar that offered no frills. Industry insiders at the time didn’t think much would come of this experiment in putting the focus squarely on the quality of the product. A full 20 years later, there are now 7 lines in The Edge brand and legions of loyal fans. To celebrate two decades of defying expectations and establishing new ones, Rocky Patel is releasing a 20th Anniversary edition of The Edge this month. The Edge 20th Anniversary features a 10-year-aged Sumatra wrapper grown in Ecuador. Within, Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos. There are some teaser videos as well as a sweepstakes that runs through December 27th.
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!