Someone I always look forward to seeing every year at IPCPR is Nick Melillo of Foundation Cigars. As one of the brain children, along with Steven Saka, behind the iconic Liga Privada lines and its off shoots, you can rest assured that his offerings from his new company, Foundation Cigars, should be pretty tasty. After […]
Screwpop Cigar Ashtray
When it comes to cigar smoking, enthusiasts have a wide range of gadgets and accessories to choose from. None of them are really necessary to enjoy a cigar, however, they add a bit of convenience or cool factor to our hobby. We’ve got specialty cutters, fancy lighters, leather travel humidors, and aluminum cigar holders, among […]
Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Epicure Maduro – Return of a Classic Cigar
There are times when I am about to smoke a cigar that I want something well within my comfort zone. A cigar that is considered a classic. One that you know very well, have smoked often and you know will give you satisfaction. For me, one of those smokes is the Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur. […]
IPCPR 2016: Complete Digest
And our IPCPR 2016 coverage is complete. It took us a little longer to get everything posted, due in large part to our decision to switch our gear and software out all at once. But it all worked out in the end. We didn’t talk to everyone we wanted to interview, but we never do. […]
The FDA Update with Frank Herrera – 8/30/16
In the latest episode of The FDA Update with Frank Herrera we talk about the August 16th order issued by the judge in the case Philip Morris brought against the FDA. The opinion rendered applies to the guidance documents the FDA provided with regard to Substantial Equivalence (not the actual deeming regulations), and looks to […]
IPCPR 2016: John Drew Brands
After hoofing it around Drew Estate’s planet-sized booth with Pedro, we climbed to the top of the bridge at the heart of the booth to talk to Jonathan Drew about his new venture, John Drew Brands. JD tells us that the next step for him doesn’t involve leaving Drew Estate behind, it’s a matter of […]
IPCPR 2016: Drew Estate
Jonathan Drew can be a hard guy to track down at IPCPR, and a tour of the all the new products in the Drew Estate booth would be difficult to accomplish without numerous interruptions from customers and fans. Everyone’s looking for a few minutes of Jonathan’s time. So we took the pragmatic approach this year, […]
IPCPR 2016: Foundation
Nick Melillo was back this year with a colorful new booth, new Foundation cigar lines and of course, new insights into the world of tobacco. We got started with The Upsetters. Nick has been a long time fan of reggae music and Jamaican tobacco, and he also has a history of working with Nicaraguan tobacco. […]
IPCPR 2016: White Hat (HR)
As the show was winding down on the last day we dropped by the White Hat booth for a quick chat with Spencer Drake about what’s new with HR. Of course the first thing that is new since the last trade show is White Hat handling distribution of HR, which means that the original line […]
IPCPR 2016: 26 Minutes With Pete Johnson
No IPCPR is complete without another episode in the growing Minutes With Pete Johnson series. This year we met up with a slender Pete behind the bar in his 2016 Best In Show booth. It seemed more like he was tending bar in his shiny new booth than selling cigars. (He was behind the bar […]