Ezra Zion | Half Ashed

Half Ashed Episode 149: Ezra Zion Burnt Ends

August 21, 2016 By Kip Fisher

Ezra Zion Burnt Ends

Kip – Named after the favored “burnt ends” of a Texas BBQ brisket, this was Spring 2015 direct-to-consumer release from Ezra Zion. It had a total production of 1000 cigars, and sported a cured corojo wrapper (cured?)…but little else in terms of recipe. 6”x52 toro.

Cigar News

Carlos Fuente Sr. has passed. We offer our condolences and a few memories of Senior.

Follow up on the companies releasing epic quantities of cigars at IPCPR….

Random things I noticed at the show:

I didn’t dig in hard to the legislative seminars, but they seemed generally better-attended than in years past.
Wide range of answers when mfrs. Were asked their thoughts about FDA
Lots of new packaging on old blends
Lots of “pre-2007” blend marketing…
AJ Fernandez’ booth was crazy busy.
Macanudo Mao…
Excited about Davidoff Yamasa, EPM 10 yr (DLR), Bella Artes, Yayabo, EZ All My Exes Maduro, Pistoff Kristoff
The Cigarmy cutter….

Today’s the first of the “FDA D-day” – August 8th, 2016. Now what?

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig – A GREAT couple of weeks for me

ECCJ 20th was the dog of the show. That should tell you something
Reynaldo Canonazo 2014 from Zedman
1998 Montecristo Especials
La Atalier Racine – How polar opposite this experience was… from itself

Kip – nada

Half Ashed Episode 147: Ezra Zion and Wildcard

August 21, 2016 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Photo credit: ezrazionstore.com

CotW – Ezra Zion Chocolate Porter, and……

Kip – Ezra Zion Chocolate Porter: This was a limited run released by the guys at Ezra Zion a couple months ago. It features a San Andres wrapper, and had a very limited production of 645 cigars. The release promises deep, roasty flavors coupled with some vanilla, coffee bean and licorice. Also promises not to nuke your palate with strong tobaccos….let’s give it a whirl.
Craig – ….did not write his notes….

Cigar News

There are *tons* of new cigars being announced leading up to IPCPR…but woefully few details to be honest. Sure, some are forthcoming. But it seems more than ever that cigar makers are reserving specifics until the show.

Oliva has been acquired by J. Cortes…

In addition to the already-regular-production Tatuaje Black PC, a few new sizes are now going to be available full time: Petit Robusto (4 x 50), Corona Gorda (5 5/8 x 46), Cazador (6 3/8 x 43) and Gran Toro (6 1/2 x 52). I had the chance to smoke the Petit Robusto this week, and rather enjoyed it. I find these not to be too radically different by vitola. They’ve done a good job of tweaking the blend to retain its character in all the various expressions. I do dig that CG as my personal favorite size, though…

A few more surprises….

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2014 EL
la Atelier C’ote d’or

Kip

Don Carlos Personal Reserve
Undercrown Robusto
I picked up – but have not yet smoked – the Tat TAA LE for 2016, and the Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2016. I’ll report back ASAP.

Listener Email

John From Chicago shares the response he received from US Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky after he sent her the form letter the CRA has on its website in support of HR662 “Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act”

Email 1 from John

From: U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Your recent message

Dear Mr. REDACTED:

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for H.R. 662, the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act. I appreciate hearing from you.

H.R. 662 would statutorily exempt cigars from the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA). The TCA granted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to deem all tobacco products under its authority. While cigars are considered tobacco products, the existing law does not explicitly mention cigars. The Food and Drug Administration has issued a proposed rule deeming tobacco products under its jurisdiction. The FDA proposed two alternatives for the treatment of cigars – one option would make all cigars subject to FDA jurisdiction and the other option would specifically exclude cigars designated as “premium cigars” from FDA jurisdiction. The FDA accepted public comment on these two options and is currently reviewing those comments. I will closely follow this process.

While I appreciate your concerns about the proposed regulations and will work to minimize the impact of the law on small businesses, I support FDA’s authority to regulate cigars as needed to protect and promote public health. I oppose H.R. 662because there are serious health risks associated with cigar smoking, and I believe people should be made aware of them. I am committed to warning people about the health consequences associated with cigars, and I am particularly concerned with preventing teenagers from using tobacco products.

Although we disagree on this issue, I appreciate hearing from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me whenever I may be of assistance.

Sincerely,
Jan Schakowsky
Member of Congress

Email 2 from “Grey Goose”

Subject: Re: Black Dog Coffee

I am a new to CCs … and that has been awesome.

I have (interest in) some Monte #3’s, some PSD4’s, Upmann Mag 46’s, some SLR’s, a few Juan Lopez No 1’s and 2’s that I liked, but thought I’d ask what are your top few CC’s that should be on top of my list?

Have been fly fishing the St Joe and Coeur d’Alene rivers lately, the Westslope Cutthroat biting!

Cheers,

Grey Goose

Half Ashed Episode 142: Tabaqueria 1844 Campesino Series

April 25, 2016 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tabaqueria 1844 “Campesino Series”

Another of the DR-based small batch lines I’ve talked about in recent months (Chogui, CDR, El Compartir, etc.), the Campesino Series by Tabacalera 1844 is tonight’s featured Cigar of the Week. The line is owned by Edgar Sued, proprietor of a cigar shop by the same name in Cabarete, DR. It’s produced by the same unnamed factory in Tamboril that manufactures the Chogui, and is a Dominican puro (Havana Vuelto Abajo wrapper over DR filler/binder). Personally, I find them to be more akin to what I envision as a traditional Dominican cigar than others, like Chogui. It has more sedate flavors with a touch of sweetness that never overwhelms the blend but adds a nice accompaniment. I’ve smoked both the robusto and toro, and now tend to prefer the toro for some intangible reason. Let’s see how tonight goes….

Cigar News

Crowned Heads’ Famous Smoke Shop exclusive the Black Belt Buckle has expanded. Originally slated for a 10,000 stick run of corona gordas, they have added 2 sizes (6”x54 Sublime and 5”x50 Robusto). It will be an ongoing project, and retail for $8-$9). The line is an adaptation of the Four Kicks, but with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper.

Congrats to Cigar Aficionado’s latest inductees to their Hall of Fame – Litto Gomez, Jorge Padrón, and Rocky Patel – bringing the total number of inductees to 18.

The guys at Ezra Zion released a follow-up maduro version of the All My Exes line. This version has a couple of minor blend tweaks, with the most significant being the addition of a San Andres wrapper (vs. the original Ecuadoran Habano). Total production is 800 boxes of 25 in three sizes – Toro, Lancero, and Robusto. Pricing is set at $8.50-$9, based on size. The cigars are made by Noel Rojas at his Tabacalera Aroma de Jalapa.

In the continuing legacy of Smoke Inn’s Microblend Series, Davidoff will be producing the 13th iteration of the line. It’s a celebration of Smoke Inn’s 20th Anniversary, and will feature an Ecuadoran Connecticut wrapper over Dominican internal components. Pricing is set at $19.95 per stick, and should start shipping in about 3 weeks. Total production is 300 boxes of 10.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Farm Rolled Cuban Cigar – Legal! – Very unique with a slightly floral sweetness. Unlike any cuban cigar I’ve had.

House blend cigar for The Cigar Lounge – I’ve discussed my take on house blend cigars before and this one is a perfect example of what I believe in: putting your name on something you stand behind. FYI, Casa Fernandez can learn a thing or two here. This is what their cigars should be :)

Kip

San Cristobal de la Habana El Principe- ~4.25” x 42. I really enjoyed this, even though one of the two I had was a bit tight and gave me fits. Lots of mild (almost faint) floral flavors, tempered with some cacao/dark chocolate.

TL Johnson Legend Reserve – Sweetness!

Nestor Miranda SS Regional Exclusivo – I revisited this after forgetting about them for a couple years. They’re definitely not over-the-hill, but the flavors were far more muted. And, while the strength was still in the medium range it seemed a bit lighter than I remember as well. Bold milk chocolate and mild spice. Good stuff…wish I had more.

CDR (Christian del Rosario de la Rocha) – This is one of the Dominican lines that I’ve recently been exploring. The flavors were very good – they seem more spicy than most, a bit like a more approachable version of some My Father blends – but my only example to go on struggled with the burn for the first couple inches. It wanted to tunnel and the wrapper/binder were resistant to combustion. I persisted, and it finally came around. It was worth another try, though. I’ll report back whenever I get around to it.

Next Episode

Next episode (143), we will be smoking the Club Havana Coronas Especiale. So come by Friday night and hang out with us in the chatroom during the show. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us via the Contact Page or the following emails: [email protected] or [email protected] Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints. We love to get your emails! Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), find us on iTunes, or subscribe with any podcast app at our RSS Feed. Video, as always, will be available at the Half Ashed YouTube Channel.

Half Ashed Episode 095: Unbanded 019

December 17, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Cigar of the Week: Unbanded 019

Good day, folks! Welcome to Episode 095 of Half Ashed, featuring Unbanded #019, suggested by listener Dan Crouch. Without giving away too much information, both Craig and I were completely fooled by this cigar. More so than any past Unbanded. It was a great smoke, and the reveal surprised us both profoundly. With a solid track record in the past, I suppose it was past due for us to fall flat on our faces with one…

News

In the news, we covered several items, including:

The HR Habano has launched – we talked of this a couple months ago; it is the collaboration between Alejandro Robaina’s grandson Hirochi and Omar Aleman of Cubanacan. The line comes in 4 vitolas, and features a Ec. Habano wrapper over Jalapa binder and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s available at Cubanacan Platinum accounts (somewhere around 30 stores), and retails for $19-22 per stick….pretty steep, but the feedback has been very good that I’ve seen so far. Still…

Halfwheel has a story out of San Francisco that should stand our hairs up. The city passed legislation this week that effectively eliminates the ability to open a tobacconist. There are currently 1,000 permitted tobacco sellers, but the new law limits permits to 45 for each of the city’s 11 districts (total 495). While they won’t go back and cancel any existing permits, whenever a business closes it’s permit is gone if there are 45 others in that district. The act goes on to specify that NO new permits will be issued for tobacco shops (tobacco shop = “any retailer whose principle business is selling tobacco products, tobacco paraphernalia, or both” and where 70% of gross sales receipts are derived from the sale of tobacco products or 50% of completed sales transactions includes a tobacco product or paraphernalia. “ STORY HERE

Skip Martin posted up a pic of a blending sample for an upcoming cigar celebrating Esteban’s 25 years in tobacco….Esteban is his right hand man in the Nicaraguan operation, managing much of the day-to-day operations.

AVO is freshening up a bit. They will be rebranding the whole lineup in early 2015. New packaging, new boxes, and the elimination of the Signature & Maduro lines (buy ‘em up if you like ‘em). Finally, we’ll see price drops of $.10 to $2.40 per stick. I personally have wondered what’s going on with the lineup, after seeing countless “blow-out deals” on this year’s LE, and just this week my local has the AVO Greatest Hits sampler (all the LE’s but one) on clearance for $126.95 (orig price = $194.95). I don’t think I’ve seen any taken from the stack they initially received….

The Ezra Zion guys are busily working on 2015 as well. They put up a pic of a prototype simply labeled “Unicos #2 // Mexico” this week. I imagine it’s another San Andres wrapped cigar, but I’m still anxious to give it a whirl….PICTURE

Finally, we talked a bit about this year’s “Top ??” lists from various sources….some interesting things going on there.

What Have We Been Smoking?

Our extra-curricular smoking this week was fairly subdued, with only a couple entries from Craig (Padron Aniversario 1964 Principe and the Herrera Esteli Norteño) and one from me (La Tradicion Cubana Reserva Familiar). We also gave a bit of attention to ongoing changes with the website and forum.

Listener Email

We covered one email this week, from Officer Paul…tune in to get the details on that.

Wrap Up

In the next episode we will be featuring the illusione Fume D’Amour, so be sure to check back in Friday night at 9:30pm EST on halfashed.com where you can catch us recording and participate in the new and much improved chatroom. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following emails: [email protected] or [email protected] Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints. We love to get your emails! Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), find us on iTunes, or subscribe with any podcast app at our RSS Feed. Video, as always, will be available at the Half Ashed YouTube Channel.

P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to [email protected] This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to [email protected] if you have something you’d like to send in. I will provide an address to send them. Thanks!

Half Ashed Episode 090: Blessed Leaf Kairos

November 8, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Welcome to Episode #090, featuring the Blessed Leaf Kairos. This week, we’re smoking one of my favorites, a blend created by the minds behind Ezra Zion Cigars and Casa Fernandez. Here’s a bit of background:

“The Kairos was put out by the “cigar ministry” arm of the Ezra Zion guys – ~~BlessedLeaf.com~~. They decided to add a line from which sales would support various Christian ministries and missions (for full disclosure, I (Kip) am actually a beneficiary of this ministry, as a donation was made toward my move into full time mission work in the Dominican Republic….so take my whole opinion for what it’s worth….however, I’m supremely confident that those who enjoy potent Nicaraguan tobacco will like it). It is produced at the Miami Casa Fernandez factory, as is often the case with Ezra Zion blends. The partnership works well for my tastes. I’m a big fan of both companies, and enjoy the blends they’ve produced together. Kairos has a great deal of symbolism in the packaging (which I can detail on the forum if anyone’s interested). The blend consists of a Nicaraguan Corojo 99 Rosado wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler leaf from both Esteli and Jalapa. It comes in a singular 6.25” x 52 box pressed vitola. A total of only 4,000 cigars were produced in 20-ct boxes and 5-packs…..and I have box #1 (which I paid for). When it was first released, I felt it ever-so slightly in need of a bit more “polish” or marriage in the blend. I have not lit one up in a few months now, so I’m hoping the wait has paid off. In typical Casa Fernandez / Ezra Zion fashion, this is not a cigar for those with weak constitution...” — Kip

In the news, we cover stories from our friends at La Tradicion Cubana and TL Johnson, some interesting survey stats from CigarSense (Craig was not a fan…), CAO, Viva Republica, and a legislative update from Nebraska. We also kick around some talk about a new study beginning to filter out from FDA. As always, we also covered a few of the cigars we’ve enjoyed this week and wrapped up some further improvements that have been made for the Half Ashed site.

In the next episode we will be featuring one of Craig’s favorites, so be sure to check back in Friday night at 9:30pm EST on halfashed.com where you can catch us recording and participate in the new and much improved chatroom. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following emails: [email protected] or [email protected] Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints. We love to get your emails! Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), find us on iTunes, or subscribe with any podcast app at our RSS Feed. Video, as always, will be available at the Half Ashed YouTube Channel.

Blessed Leaf to release a new cigar: Kairos

March 24, 2014 By Kip Fisher

[NOTE: I’m a little late with this, and we talked about it at length on last week’s Half Ashed, but here’s a new cigar headed down the pike that I think you ought to check out….

March 13, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kyle Hoover and Chris Kelly, the leaders of BlessedLeaf.com, a Christian cigar-based ministry, announce the release of the long anticipated Blessed Leaf Kairos.

“This is a project that has been in our hearts for over a year. Our vision was to produce a great cigar with vintage tobaccos and have the proceeds go to ministry and missions efforts.” noted Kyle Hoover.

“For this project, we went back to our roots: Nicaraguan tobacco This is a Nicaraguan puro in the Ezra Zion genre of blending. Since we are doing this for The Lord, it had to be the best work we could possibly do ” added Chris Kelly.

The Blessed Leaf Kairos is a 52 x 6.25 box press. The wrapper is Corojo 99 Rosado. The ﬁller includes ligeros from Esteli and Jalapa. Total production is 4000 cigars of 100 boxes and 5 packs.

The Blessed Leaf Kairos is produced at the Casa Fernandez factory in Miami, Florida.

“We chose the name Kairos because of it’s unique meaning to this project. Kairos is deﬁned as a speciﬁc moment in time when the Divine intervenes directly into your life. To us, there is a duel application. Obviously, as a person smokes the cigar they will have a “heavenly” smoking experience. Secondly, that the support raised for Christian missions will impact people’s lives with the gospel of Christ.” added Hoover.

The Blessed Leaf Kairos will be available for pre-order on BlessedLeaf.com and CigarFederation.com. The ofﬁcial launch herf will be on April 2 on BlessedLeaf.com.

Half Ashed Episode 058: Unbanded #013

March 24, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Hello again and welcome to Episode 058 of Half Ashed. This week, we’re smoking an Unbanded – #013, supplied by Jacob Pinkas. We had quite a big of technical difficulties, but I have edited as much of those snafus out as possible. Please forgive that. In cigar news, we talked over items from Skip Martin, Eddie Ortega, Miami Cigar/Viva Republic, Blessed Leaf, Paul Stulac, and Tatuaje. We also kicked around one legislative story. We also covered what we’ve been smoking, and some listener comments. So kick back with a cigar and join us. Thanks for listening!

Next week, our Cigar of the Week has yet to be determined. As always, we’re constantly looking for suggestions about potential Cigars of the Week, and Unbanded cigars. So if you have one drop us a line at one of the email addresses below. Be sure to check back in next Friday night at 9:30pm EST at Cigar Federation (details on locating the show will be on the front page that evening an hour before showtime), where you can catch us recording and participate in the chatroom. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected] Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints. We love to get your emails! Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe. Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive.

Half Ashed Episode 047: We’re Back! Cabaiguan Maduro

January 4, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Welcome back! Craig and I were both recuperating from illness last week, so after making the first 46 in a row we had to miss an episode. But, we’re back this week, smoking the Cabaiguan Maduro as our Cigar of the Week. This is one of Craig’s favorites, but tune in and see how well his palate has recovered after two weeks of healing.

In the news this week ,we covered stories from 1502 Cigars, General Cigar’s new collaboration with Jay-Z, Ezra Zion, and Quesada. We also talked over an article from the UK Telegraph which speculated that cigar smoking as a whole could die off within the next 12 years. We did go ahead and talk over what we’ve been smoking – which amounts to very little with the recent illnesses. What we did discuss some was how we observed the evolution of a palate back to a normal state. Surprisingly, this has taken me far longer than I would have ever dreamed. A full 9 days after I felt healthy, I am still experiencing some difference between expectation and reality in cigars with which I am quite familiar. Additionally, we editorialized over a couple of recent observations I’ve made about the industry in general. Lastly, we made up ground from last week and announced each of our favorite 10 cigars from 2013 – with some caveats. It’s our list, so we get to make the rules :).

1. These are not necessarily new cigars for the year (although some were), but the cigars we simply enjoyed the most throughout.

2. We limited the selection to cigars that were either Cigars of the Week for Half Ashed Episodes, or were discussed enough to have been made mention in the show notes. If we did not talk about it during at least one episode, it was not considered for our lists.

3. I (Kip) purposefully removed the Fuente cigars we smoked (858 Sungrown, Unnamed Reserve (2012), and Casa Cuba) from consideration out of my known affinity (sheer bias) for Fuente products.

4. There were a number of cigars that probably should have made the list, and were discussed in the show as honorable mentions/best values/”we just couldn’t narrow it down” cigars. These were: Miami Cigar/Nestor Miranda Casa Miranda Chapter Two; Drew Estate Nica Rustica; illusione ECCJ; Reinado Grand Empire Reserve; Michael Stewart’s Fire Cured #7

Half Ashed Top Ten Cigar for 2013 (in no particular order)

Craig	Kip
Davidoff Nicaragua	Tatuaje Belle Encre
Fuente Unnamed Reserve (2012)	2005 Padron Aniversario Natural corona
EPC Short Run 2011	TL Johnson Tempio
TL Johnson Tempio	KILO (Barry Stein)
La Tradicion Cubana Corona	Oliva Serie V Maduro
Ezra Zion Tantrum	Leccia Tobacco Black
Bolivar Gold Medal	2005 Ramon Allones Eminencia
Gran Habano #5	RoMaCraft Intemperance BA
RoMaCraft Aquitaine	Ezra Zion Jamais Vu (Inception)
Tatuaje Belle Encre	Cuenca 5 Anniversary

Next week’s Cigar of The Week will be a surprise, as we are nearing the end of our initial trade-off for show cigars. We are open for suggestions – so if you have one drop us a line at one of the email addresses below. Be sure to check back in next Friday night at 9:30pm EST at Cigar Federation (details on locating the show will be on the front page that evening an hour before showtime), where you can catch us recording and participate in the chatroom. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected] Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints. We love to get your emails! Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe. Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive.

Press Release: Ezra Zion FHK

January 1, 2014 By Kip Fisher

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Ezra Zion Cigar Company, makers of #1 Cigar of the Year 2013 Tantrum and the #1 Cigar of the year 2012 Jamais Vu, announces it’s newest cigar release FHK.

FHK has just arrived in the United States and is officially available at 12:00am, January 1, 2014.

“We know it’s symbolic and somewhat tongue-in-cheek but we wanted to ring in the New Year by launching this project that’s been in the works for so long. It’ll be the first cigar in the world released in 2014.” noted co-owner Chris Kelly.

The FHK will be available in 4 vitolas: a 5.5×50 “Inspired” robusto, a 44×7 “Truth” lancero gordo, a 54×7 “Stature” corona gorda, and a 52×6 “Character” belicoso.

“We had two goals with the FHK. We wanted to use unique tobaccos from several different countries and we wanted to leverage our buying position to offer a lower price-point than our other lines.” added Chris Kelly.

FHK retails for $9.00 for the robusto and lancero sizes and $10.00 for the corona gorda and belicoso. Tobaccos used in the blend include a San Andres wrapper, Indonesian, Brazilian, and Nicaraguan binder and filler.

“This is an amazing cigar! It reminds me of a creamy dark malty micro-brew. The blend continually intrigues me every time I smoke it. I think it’s our best cigar yet.” said Hoover.

For more information please visit EzraZion.com

Two Bits of News from House of Emilio

September 23, 2013 By Kip Fisher

I received two pieces of news from House of Emilio today. First up is a press release detailing a new program being implemented wherein House of Emilios retailers can become “Master Retailers” for all HOE products. This will entail training for said tobacconists, a representation of all House of Emilio brands in respective shops, and early access to new product releases. From Gary Griffith:

.
Newark, DE September 23, 2013 – House of Emilio Announces Master Retailer Program

Gary Griffith announced today that House of Emilio, which includes the Emilio, 1502, Ezra Zion, Nomad, Epicurean, Rodrigo, Guayacan, and Bodega Premium cigar brands has created a “Master Retailer” program. Participating retailers receive training for their staff on all House of Emilio brands and blends so as to best serve the consumer. Qualifying retailers carry facings from every brand in the line, assuring consumers the best possible selection from a well-informed and educated staff. In addition consumers can be assured that Master Retailers have the earliest access to new product releases, and enjoy the benefit of extra allocation of limited edition products.

“This is an important step for us,” says Griffith, “in that we are able to be certain that retailer staff is well versed on the profiles of each of the blends in order to appropriately make recommendations to consumers.”

Over time this program will be expanded to include additional enhancements that will have value for both the retailer and consumer. Interested retailers may get additional details by contacting Nathan McIntyre, National Sales Director.

Secondly, I received further news on the upcoming Draig Cayuquero release, which was announced earlier this year…..

Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars announced today that the second release in the Draig series, Cayuquero, will begin shipping to retailers within the next few weeks.

Each year Griffith creates a new blend in the series, and production is limited to however many cigars can be made from the selected tobaccos. This years release will be available in four sizes: Corona, Robusto, Toro, and a small run of Torpedo. Total production is 1600 boxes, with quantities per size varying based on how wrapper graded out.

The cigars feature a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, enveloping a delicious blend of sweet Jalapa, and spicy Esteli ligero, and are packed 10 to a box.

As always, the cigars are dedicated to Griffith’s Welsh heritage, and feature the Welsh dragon on both the boxes and bands.