La Palina | Half Ashed

Unbanded 030, from Kevin H.

Tonight’s example is roughly a corona gorda, with a lovely dark, evenly colored wrapper leaf. There’s one prominent vein but not a great deal of other relief to wrapper, which is almost oil-free to the touch. It actually feels like there’s a bit of dry residue where oil once lay, and with a decent amount of yellowing to the cello it came in, this could well be the case.

Cigar News

Since our last show, we’ve had a nominee added into the fray to head up the FDA under the Trump administration. Scott Gottlieb comes out of the healthcare industry in various facets, and has a history of tangential support of the premium cigar industry. He’s written various articles that at the very least assert the FDA is over-reaching in its assimilation of premium cigars into its regulations. We’ll post more as the days come and confirmation hearings proceed.

Two representatives and a Senator from Connecticut are trying to protect use of the word “Connecticut” in tobacco branding/labeling. They’ve submitted a letter asking for an examination of how products are marketed and labeled with the name, specifically in reference to tobacco grown elsewhere using CT seeds. They claim to have heard from constituents who feel undercut by brands that utilize “Connecticut” leaf that may have been grown in other countries. The letter has been submitted to the FDA and FTC, both of which govern tobacco labeling for various reasons.

La Palina has announced an update to their Classic line of cigars. Most surprising to me is a move for production from PDR to General Cigar. Details beyond that are sparse, except that the line will feature three branches: Classic Connecticut (EC CT // DR // DR-Nica), Classic Maduro (Hond // Hond // DR-Nica-Hond), and Classic Rosado (Hond // Hond // DR-Nica-Hond). It’s to come in 3 sizes per wrapper and retails for $6.50-$8 US).

Joey Bravo, son of Berta “Guayabera Lady” Bravo and former sales head for J. Fuego, has co-founded a new company with his Mom and friend James Thomas. The company, named Cypress Group Miami, will oversee distribution and sales of the J. Fuego brand in the U.S. and elsewhere. The move is being made to free up Jesus Fuego to spend more time at his factory in Estelí rather than stateside with sales commitments.

By the end of the semester, the University of Texas will be tobacco-free on all its campuses and properties. Texas, for cryin’ out loud! This is a policy change for the University, but there’s also a bill up for consideration that would ban tobacco and e-cigarette use on all state-owned properties throughout TX…

Australian cigar merchant and internet playground master, Friends of Habanos is currently hosting a truly special event. Rob Ayala, FoH’s owner and “el presidente” is calling upon the site’s members to share cigars with what they feel to be either mold or plume. Once a substantial offering has been received the cigars will be documented, photographed and sent out for “independent scientific testing”! This is the first public mold testing I am aware of and I am anxiously awaiting the report. I feel we will see substantially more samples coming back as mold than plume… The results could potentially be the building blocks for a mold/plume tutorial the likes of which have never been seen.

2017 Cuban tobacco harvest is the first in at least 3 years to have been universally heralded as above average. The quality is good and as many as 23k hectares have been successfully harvested. Late 2018/early 2019 Cuban cigar production should be expected to exceed recent quality.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig –

RoMaCraft Fiorella
JC NewmanBlack Diamond
2002 RA PC, 2013 RA TPC
Tantrum
Jericho Hill

Kip

Colmado cigars. Who’d a thunk it?!?
LFD Andalusian Bull

Arturo Fuente Añejo 888

I initially received prototypes of the Fuente Añejo 888 at CFC 2014, and they were released later the same year. Tonight’s samples are from around the time of this initial release (Fall/Winter ‘14). I really liked them in those early days, although they seemed to lose a step quicker than other Añejo. When they were fresh, there was an interesting spice early in the cigar that was unique for me from the Añejo line – but later developed into the familiar dark cocoa that I get from them. It had a bit of a Nicaraguan “zing” that I don’t typically find in the series. I haven’t had one in quite some time, so we’ll see how tonight goes…

Cigar News

Xikar is releasing a special 20th anniversary edition of their Xi1 cutter…in the four original colors. Production has been referred to as “limited,” although no numbers have been announced. They are going to retail for $10 more than the typical current production, which leads me to wonder “Why?” I see no difference besides color in the announced information….

Viaje has another blend-partnership in the works. “Juntos” (together, in Spanish) will be produced by Quesada in the Dominican Republic, and feature a Dominican negrito wrapper, criollo binder, and Nicaraguan filler blend. It’s coming in a singular vitola – 6” x 54. This series, originally known as Collaboration, showcases partnerships between Viaje and various factories to produce often limited run cigars. This blend will be shown at this Summer’s IPCPR trade show, and is limited to 1,000 packages of 20 cigars.

In an uncommon move, La Palina is reducing prices on some of their cigars. The Black, Red and Classic lines will have their pricing drop between $1 and $1.50 per cigar. According the information released by the company, they are simply passing along cost reductions due to higher volumes of production. Am I mis-remembering or do I recall a similar move from La Palina a couple years ago?

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Moya Ruiz is releasing their candela offering for this year – Pickle Juice. It comes in a single 6” x 50 vitola, and will retail just over $7.50 per cigar. It’s only going to be available via 50 retailers, who will receive 10 jars apiece. I’m not generally a fan of the crisp, grassy sharpness often delivered by candela leaf…but I know a lot of folks like to fire one up around this time of year….

Carlos Fuente Sr. Way has been named in Ybor City, Tampa as a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Fuente & Newman Premium Cigars.

Next Episode

Next episode (141), we will be smoking the Hoyo de Monterrey “Le Hoyo de Dauphin.” 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.

Episode 161: Unbanded 030

Unbanded 030, from Kevin H.

Cigar News

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Half Ashed Episode 140: Arturo Fuente Añejo 888

Arturo Fuente Añejo 888

Cigar News

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