If there’s anyone at the trade show that makes me consider cleaning up my act and dressing a little nicer (also throwing away my sock drawer), it’s the perpetually dapper Michael Herklots of Nat Sherman. The guy always looks like a million bucks. But this isn’t a fashion blog and I’m not Joan Rivers, so […]
IPCPR 2016: Adorini
If the name Adorini sounds familiar, you might remember it from the humidor review I did shortly before IPCPR. (It’s the one with the cool “ventilation ribs” in the interior walls and floor.) After we posted the review, Torger Brunken invited us to stop by the booth the talk humidors and accessories. In addition to […]
IPCPR 2016: El Primer Mundo
No IPCPR is complete without a visit to the El Primer Mundo booth to talk to Sean Williams. This year is a special year for Sean, El Primer Mundo is celebrating its tenth anniversary. You know what that means- it’s time for a tenth anniversary cigar. And that’s exactly what Sean brought to the show. […]
IPCPR 2016: Elogio
In this video Nabil Sabbah gives us the latest on what’s happening with Elogio cigars this year. And what’s happening is the Excentrico No 5. It will be a regular production series that is a recreation of the popular Excentrico No 2. When it arrives in brick and mortar shops sometime in August you will […]
IPCPR 2016: Fratello
Omar de Frias is one of the nicest guys in the cigar industry, and possibly one of the smartest. Not many in the industry can say they worked for NASA. Or for that matter, have played professional basketball. With such an impressive resume, you might expect the Fratello brand to be just a successful man’s […]
IPCPR 2016: Double Shot Energy Cigar
If you’ve been following my activity on Stogie Review over the years, you know I have a weakness for anything interesting, unsual and/or innovative. And at this year’s IPCPR trade show, I found something that is all three- the Double Shot Energy Cigar. It’s billed as the cigar equivalent of an energy drink like Red […]
IPCPR 2016: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
Energy levels were much higher in the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust booth this year, probably partially due to catching Steve Saka early on in show, and also part due to the lack of last years production problems. In 2015 the highly anticipated Sobremesa was not ready for sampling in Saka’s judgement. So he held his […]
IPCPR 2016: La Palina
La Palina is in it for the long haul, that much was clear to me after I visited their booth at this year’s trade show. Despite the looming FDA menace, Bill Paley seemed optimistic, even excited about the future for La Palina. It probably has something to do with six months of planning around the […]
IPCPR 2016: Royal Agio
While at the tradeshow we made a point of dropping by the Royal Agio section of the Drew Estate booth to talk to Boris Wintermans about what’s new this year. He spoke of the success Agio has had with Balmoral and talked about the new Balmoral XO vitolas, the Gran Toro, the Corona, and the […]
IPCPR 2016: Frank Herrera (aka Cigar Law) on the FDA
In this video we sit down Frank Herrera, a lawyer and long time friend of Stogie Review to discuss what the impact of the FDA’s May 5th deeming regulation announcement on the cigar industry, particularly the boutique portion of it, from manufacturer on down to the consumer. (Spoiler, it’s going to affect everyone.) Along the […]