No trade show coverage is complete without chat with Pete Johnson at his usual place behind the bar in the Tatuaje booth. This year we lucked out and caught Pete on the first day, which was the day following the premier of his passion project, Hand Rolled: A Film About Cigars. So we get started talking about the documentary, what he thought of the final (or near final) product, plans for distribution (Netflix is a possibility), and the potential for this documentary to be the first in a series of cigar-themed movies. You can catch a trailer for the documentary on the official website.

We touch on the topic of Nicaragua, and the impact of the conditions there on Tatuaje. It’s not a good situation, but Jaime is doing his best to keep the product flowing. As of the time of this writing, the news is reporting government crack downs on protestors, and an “uneasy calm” in its wake. No clear indicating that things are actually improving at the moment, but nothing that points to things are getting worse either.

And then there’s cigars. Pete tells us about new Monster Series The Bride featuring a Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado wrapper leaf. Next, the “new new” Nuevitas which was is a predicate brand he’s bring back. Of course, there’s the limited production, US-made Tatuaje 15th Anniversary which will be available in Rosado Claro and Rosado Oscuro color shades. And a couple of familiar names that we’ve heard him talk about before, the Petit L’Eglise, Clos L’Eglise, Gran Cazador and Gran Tatuaje. These passion projects are to be created in very small amounts, and we’ll have to keep an eye out for them.

We couldn’t leave without getting Pete’s take on the current situation with the FDA regulations. He’s predictably happy about warning label delay, because they just weren’t ready for labels yet. He a little more optimistic, but also understandably still concerned. He’s been going back through old predicate products lately, and Tatuaje is “going back to old school”. That means there won’t be a lot of Broadleaf coming from Tatuaje in the near future, aside from what’s already being produced. The 15th Anniversary blends reflect this new direction.

Past Installments of Minutes With Pete Johnson (14 videos, 373 total minutes)

• IPCPR 2017 – 13 Minutes with Pete Johnson (Brian Hewitt, 8/14/2017)
• IPCPR 2016 – 26 Minutes With Pete Johnson (Brian Hewitt, 8/23/2016)
• IPCPR 2015 – 25 Minutes With Pete Johnson (Brian Hewitt, 7/23/2015)
• 118 Minutes with Pete Johnson (George Brightman, 8/9/2013)
• IPCPR 2013: 23 Minutes with Pete Johnson (Brian Hewitt & Jerry Cruz, 7/16/2013)
• 11 Minutes with Pete Johnson (IPCPR 2012) (Jerry Cruz, 8/6/2012)
• 23 Minutes with Pete Johnson (Jerry Cruz, 2/3/2012)
• 1143 Seconds with Pete Johnson (Charlie Greenbacker, 10/29/2011)
• 7 Minutes with Pete Johnson (Brian Hewitt & Jerry Cruz, 7/22/2011)
• 20:15 with Pete Johnson (Jerry Cruz, 3/5/2011)
• 18 Minutes with Pete Johnson (Jerry Cruz, 8/12/2010)
• 21 Minutes with Pete Johnson (Jerry Cruz, 3/7/2010)
• 23 Minutes with Pete Johnson (Jerry Cruz, 3/8/2009)
• 26 Minutes with Pete Johnson (Jerry Cruz, 11/1/2008)

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