While we were making the rounds, we stopped at the bar in the center of the Drew Estate Booth (beneath the new tower) to sample some spirits and talk to Frank Moreno, National Director of Brand Development for John Drew Brands. If it were up to me, I would have been happy to grab a […]
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. […]
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 […]
Drew Estate Undercrown Shade Gran Toro
Drew Estate released the Undercrown Shade this year, 2015, at IPCPR in New Orleans too much fanfare. Blended by Willy Herrera, it was supposed to be a Connecticut wrapper cigar unlike any other you’ve ever tried before. Willy wanted something with more power and flavor and developed the Shade blend. We caught up with Willy […]
IPCPR 2015: Drew Estate & Joya De Nicaragua
We mixed it up this year at the Drew Estate booth and talked to both Jonathan Drew and Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca at the same time using their built-in media stage. Jonathan Drew got us started by talking about the importance of the relationship between Drew Estate and Joya De Nicaragua. From there Dr. Cuenca […]
Cigar Safari: Jonathan Drew & Nick Melillo Talk Tobacco
In this part of the Cigar Safari tour, Jonathan Drew and Nick Melillo take us to a room full of pilones to discuss tobacco. Specifically the broadleaf and habano grown in the Connecticut River Valley region that’s destined for use in Liga Privada blends. Toward the end of the video, they show us the clear […]
Cigar Safari 2014: Drew Estate II (DE-2)
This year Cigar Safari got rolling with a visit to the brand new Drew Estate II (DE-2) facility across the street from the original Drew Estate factory. Jonathan Drew and Nick Melillo lead the tour of the 64,000 square foot expansion that they’ve dedicated to storing, curing, sorting and aging their growing supply of tobacco. […]
Nica Rustica El Brujito
Love it or hate it, it’s the most crazy time of the year. There are more events calling for a great cigar in this 6 week period at the end of the year than at any other time. But for most of us, it’s the also the most difficult time to find time and a […]
IPCPR 2013 Post Mortem
It’s been nearly a week since IPCPR 2013 ended, and I could help but reflect on the events of the show, good, bad and otherwise. Bad Boys of IPCPR It makes sense to start at the beginning. After answering questions about it all show, I started to regret making it public, but there was too […]
Brian’s The Week In Smoke, Cigar Safari Edition
It’s time again for another issue of Brian’s The Week In Smoke. This time, a special edition is in order to cover the cigars I smoke down in Nicaragua on Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari. But instead of revisiting cigars like the T52 (which I smoked every day I was there), I’m focusing mostly on the […]