At this years IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans, I was introduced to a few new brands. One of those brands, while not new to the industry, was Augusto Reyes. Having talked on Twitter, I was looking forward to getting over to the booth and sampling the brand. In addition to the sample I was […]
Spending Time With Ernesto Perez Carrillo
By now you are probably sick to death of IPCPR 2010 coverage, and I wouldn’t blame you. This is the biggest time of the year for the cigar industry and every cigar-blogger under the sun reports their take on industry news and new releases. Here at Stogie Review, we try to do things a little […]
Oliva Serie V Liga Especial (Blind Tasting)
Last week I packed up my gear, hopped in the car, and took a trip down to Sir Stogies. As you may recall from last weeks post, I had a blind cigar tasting scheduled. I hung out with about a dozen guys, handed them an unbanded cigar, and turned on the video camera. The video […]
Blind Tasting at Sir Stogies
In the past, I have hosted blind tastings at local cigar shops. I would gather a group of people and create a sort of focus group to discuss a particular cigar. As the name implies, the cigar would be unbanded and no information would be provided before lighting up. It has been some time since […]
IPCPR 2010 – Random Show Floor Footage
Like past years, Jerry and I made a point to get over to the convention center when registration opened to pick up our press passes. As the day wears on, the line at the registration area gets horribly long. With our badges secured, and a little more than an hour of time to kill, Jerry […]
Press Release: La Gloria Cubana Serie N
As you may have guessed, IPCPR is the considered by many to be the mecca of cigar events. Each year all kinds of new products are showcased. So many, in fact, that it is difficult to see everything in the time allotted for the show. One of the booths that I regret not visiting this […]
Women of IPCPR (2010)
Whenever Stogie Review covers an event, we try to bring back a little something for everyone. Some go crazy for detailed cigar information while others like to drool over the models making the rounds. Armed with the still camera this year, Brian set out to track down IPCPR models and bring them to you in […]
Andre Farkas on the Viaje Fifty-Fifty Red Label
During last years IPCPR convention, Brian, Jerry, and I were introduced to Matt Booth, of Room 101 Cigars, for the first time. After an interview and a few laughs, Matt wanted to introduce us to a friend of his, Andre Farkas of Viaje Cigars. At the time, none of us had heard of Viaje cigars. […]
Ron Melendi Speaks During CRA Seminar
During the IPCPR Trade Show, several seminars are held before the show floor opens. We generally like to sit in on those seminars, but only two were of any interest to us this year. The first being put on by Cigar Rights of America. Rather than present you with one two-hour presentation, we broke the […]
George Rico and the Worlds Largest Production Cigar
During IPCPR, Jerry and I discovered that, with our press passes, we could walk past security and enter the trade show floor before the official opening. We took full advantage of this, scoping out the floor and making a plan of attack for the day. One of the first things to grab our attention was […]