One of the most interesting interviews we did at IPCPR was with Jesse Marriut and Steve Gherebean, two of the people behind a documentary about the cigar industry called Hand Rolled: A Film About Cigars. Pete Johnson told us about the project, and was kind enough to give us a spot in the Tatuaje booth […]
IPCPR 2017: La Palina
On the last day of IPCPR 2017 we stopped by to talk to Bill Paley about the latest in the world of La Palina. Based on our conversation with him at last year’s trade show, we weren’t surprised to hear La Palina was bringing a several new lines to the market. The first of the […]
IPCPR 2017: EP Carrillo
We always enjoy talking to Jose Blanco, this year at IPCPR 2017 we caught up with him in the EP Carrillo booth. He tells us Dusk and La Historia are flying off the shelves and the new Short Runs (Nicaragua and 2016) are selling well too. And despite lower attendance, EP Carrillo’s sales numbers are […]
IPCPR 2017: Island Lifestyle Importers (And Giveaway)
We dropped by the Island Lifestyle Importers booth again this year at IPCPR to talk to Ryan Frailing about cigars and the latest Tommy Bahama-themed accessories. He tells us that last year was really a soft launch of their product lines to brick and mortar retail shops around the country. This year it’s game on. […]
IPCPR 2017: Cornelius & Anthony
Picking back up with our IPCPR 2017 coverage after a short intermission last week, we talk to Steven Bailey of Cornelius & Anthony. Since this is our first time talking to him, he gets us started with a little company background. His family has been growing tobacco in southern Virginia since Cornelius Bailey planted his […]
IPCPR 2017: Casa Fernandez
It’s been a while since we talked to the Casa Fernandez people at IPCPR, so we made a point of checking in with Max Fernandez this year. As with years past, Casa Fernandez shared a nicely sized booth with Warped Cigars. And much like Kyle’s side of the booth, their part was looking sharp. Max […]
IPCPR 2017: Micallef
Newcomer to the industry and the IPCPR 2017 trade show, Al Micallef really set out to make a splash with an expansive booth for his eponymous Micallef Cigar company. To start off the interview, Al tells us how he met his partners, the Gomez Sanchez Family about a year ago. He was so impressed with […]
IPCPR 2017: Wild Fire Ladies Cigar Society
You never know who you’ll run into walking the aisles of IPCPR. This year we ran into Brenda Scott of Wild Fire Ladies Cigar Society, and Justin and I thought it’d be fun to have a quick chat her about her group of cigar enthusiasts. They’re based out of the Dallas-Forth Worth area of Texas, […]
IPCPR 2017: 13 Minutes with Pete Johnson
One of the interviews I look forward to every year at IPCPR is our annual chat with Pete Johnson of Tatuaje. And it felt like almost no time had passed since our last installment of the Minutes With Pete Johnson series. There he was behind the bar at the back center of the booth, leaning […]
IPCPR 2017: Ashton
We made our way back to the Ashton booth on the third day of IPCPR to talk to Mark Goldacker about the latest in the world of Ashton. The first thing we cover is the new size of the San Cristobal Quintessence, the Corona Gorda. (The original line of four sizes was introduced last year.) […]