La Tradicion Cubana | Half Ashed

Half Ashed 182: LFD Air Bender Maduro

September 1, 2018 By Kip Fisher

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | Upcoming Schedule

La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Maduro

The La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Maduro is a cigar that has tempted me since its release. In early 2011 I visited the Dominican Republic for the first time and toured a farm where the Gomez family grows some of its tobacco. Not typically a fan of LFD I often overlooked their releases. The visit to their fields was a welcome awakening for my palate. My traveling companions and I were treated to Air Bender Torpedos and I was immediately surprised by the blend. Being one to typically shy away from strength to the n^th power, I expected nothing else from the famed “double” and “triple ligero” manufacturer. I was shocked to find a blend nuanced with spice, sweetness, and hard flavors wrapped in subtlety. Pair that blend with a sweeter Maduro wrapper and I was intrigued. Fast forward to last winter and I finally had a chance to get my hands on some of them.

This 6-½”x54 behemoth of a cigar has Dominican internals and a Brazilian Habano wrapper. It’s aroma is unique in a spicy sort of presentation and the prelight is similar. The cigar reminds me of a spiced and harder version of the original. Bitter citrus notes cut through the low end to come together in an enjoyable, different package. Speaking of packaging, this cigar was only available in 24 count “Curing Barn” humidors.

Cigar News

Happy birthday Bob McDuffee!

IPCPR was this past week, and as expected there isn’t a huge number of new cigar introductions. I did notice several new things coming from Fuente, although most are limited items that are incentives for retailers. The thing that most readily caught my eye was that the 888 will be available in the Opus blend. I love this size, and frankly I believe Fuente shines in these smaller ring cigars (Casa Fuente lancero, Don Carlos lancero, Opus lancero, etc.). The 888, of course, was the Añejo vitola that launched a few years ago in limited fashion. It is one of my favorites in the line, and I’m betting it could be a favorite for my tastes in the Opus line (which I often pass over in favor of Don Carlos or Hemingway). It will be 6.875” x 44, and is listed as a Dominican puro (obviously). I have to admit, I haven’t been this excited over an Opus introduction in a long time. MSRP is $13.50, but as we all know all bets are off when they actually land on retailers’ shelves…

In a followup to a judgment that went against the cigar industry with reservations, Judge Amit P. Mehta has ruled in another case that the labeling requirements required by the incoming FDA rule must be delayed until 60 days after another pending case has been completed. The labeling requirements have long been considered one of the more onerous items in the rules, and many companies have already invested a great deal of time and money into preparing.

Halfwheel reported on a new Total Flame cigar that is on its way, which includes some Iranian tobacco in the filler blend. It will feature a CT wrapper over Indonesian Sumatra binder and fillers from Iran, Nicaragua, and PA. You may remember this company from Bob McDuffee’s focus back at IPCPR 2012. I have never smoked their lineup, but I’m fascinated with the idea of Iranian tobacco considering the near- and middle-eastern prominence in pipe tobaccos. I’m intrigued as to whether the tobacco will be similarly treated during the curing process, and if they might provide a fire-cured nuance. Anyone who sees these should drop us a line and let us know how it goes….although total production is only 10k, and only half that in will ship to the U.S.

Smokers of AJ Fernandez’ San Lotano Oval will be disappointed to hear that the line is being discontinued, reportedly to avoid confusion with their Requiem line. Apparently, CI has opted to buy out the remaining inventory to make it an exclusive for them until inventory is depleted. Better act quickly….

Drew Estate has entered into the bundle cigar arena, with some very inexpensive value priced cigars. I’m wondering how this will go, and how much influence is coming from parent company Swisher in this endeavor. I could speculate, but probably shouldn’t….tune in to the show to find out why.

Our buddy Luis at La Tradicion Cubana is releasing some aged cigars he’s been sitting on for many years. Fourteen years, to be exact. The cigars are known as the JML 1902 Reserva Familiar, and were rolled at his factory in 2004. The blend is a PA wrapper over Dominican Criollo ‘98 binder and PA filler. I wonder Production numbers haven’t been released, but they will retail for $6-7 in two vitolas – 5”x50 robusto and 7”x50 churchill

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Tatuaje Cabaiguan Maduro Robusto Extra
Tatuaje Cabaiguan Maduro Robusto Extra
Tatuaje Cabaguan Maduro Robusto Extra

Kip

Dunbarton Tobacco Trust Sobremesa Robusto Largo (5.25”x52)…”the marker”
OMS Pipes…mostly with MacBaren Navy Flake. Wow!
I replaced my Xikar MTX scissors. Oh, sweet mystery of life at last I’ve found you!

Half Ashed 172: La Tradicion Cubana Reserva Familiar

January 29, 2018 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | Upcoming Schedule

Preliminary Review – La Tradicion Cubana Reserva Familiar

Kip – Tonight’s sample of the La Tradicion Cubana Reserva Familiar (Family Reserve) is nigh on 3 years old at this point. We are smoking the toro vitola at around 6” x 48-50 ring. This line spun off the original LTC line with some minor changes – these carrying an Ecuadorian wrapper over an undisclosed binder and Dominican fillers. There’s still a similar aroma of hay on the wrapper, with a darker, more raisin-like scent at the foot. Originally, I found these very similar to the standard LTC but with more bold, spicy flavors. Think baking spice with a bit of an edge. Scored a 90.7 in my last review in December 2014.

Cigar News

Tonight, we went light on news (scant days, these are) and heavy on chatter about the featured cigar. We did, however, remember a couple of gentlemen and masters in the cigar world that have recently passed. We also talked a bit about some recent legislative comments from FDA commissioner Gottlieb.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig –

2008 Fuente Anejo – Holy hell

Kip

Opus “A” from CFC 2013, courtesy of Nick
“Décima”, another offering to recently come from the makers of Chogüí and others I’ve spoken of over the past 18 months or so….
Pipes!

Half Ashed Episode 136: Partagas Maduro No 1

February 15, 2016 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | Upcoming Schedule

Partagas Maduro Number 1

At 5-⅛”x52 the Partagas Maduro Number 1 Robusto (plus) gets my vote as most controversial cigar of 2015. It’s the second “maduro” regular production cigar ever produced after the Revolution in Cuba, with the Cohiba Maduro 5 being the other. It made its debut in the 3rd quarter but trumped just about everything else Habanos put out last year, in terms of chatter. People balked at the Añejados but shouted to the heavens about the Maduro 1. The word on the street was that this cigar tasted Nicaraguan. In fact, nearly the same arguments were made about this as were made about the Maddie 5s back in 07. This cigar brings typical maduro sweetness to the game but really displays a plethora of other flavors at the forefront of sensation. It’s an enigma to me, but certainly one I enjoy exploring. FWIW, I think I might be the only person I know who enjoys them…

Cigar News

Sam Leccia departs from General….despite originally being described as an “acquisition” by General of the Leccia blends in 2014, Sam apparently still holds his own trademarks and branding. He is leaving both the distribution arrangement and his position within Foundry and striking out on his own again.

Pete Johnson has shown off a picture of this upcoming year’s Tatuaje Monster release – the Kreuger, named after Freddy Kreuger of Nightmare on Elm Street fame. Specifics for blend and exact size haven’t been revealed, but it’s a large, pressed torpedo shape.

House of Emilio has rebranded itself as Boutiques United. The company unveiled its new website and branding, showcasing the four remaining marques they distribute – Ezra Zion, Emilio, Global Premium Cigars (1502), and Nomad. Sales force and distribution arrangements reportedly remain the same.

Our friend Terry Johnson is *finally* getting Counsellor Cigars to market. The line was originally to be a joint effort between TLJ and LTC, but was held up when the two parted ways last Summer. It’s a revival of an old, long out of use trademark that Johnson picked up quite some time ago. It will feature a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Dominican criollo ‘98 binder and a corojo/criollo filler blend. Counsellor is slated to ship next month in five vitolas, boxes of 10, and will retail between $5.50 and $6.50 per cigar. I smoked a couple of these a few months ago, with spectacular results….

Since we touched on La Tradicion Cubana, Luis has announced a price *decrease* on all his products across the board. He’ll be trimming his pricing by about 10% on most all his lines. Good news, indeed!

This year’s CMA awards have been published…

Brand of the Year: Warped Cigars
Cigar of the Year: Matilde Oscura
Member of the Year: Coop

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

J. Fuego Americana

Kip

Joya Red. What happened?!?

Nick Melillo’s El Gueguense.

Next Episode

In the next episode (137), we will be smoking the Tatuaje Black Corona Gorda. 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 114: Unbanded 024

May 25, 2015 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | Upcoming Schedule

Unbanded 024

A traditional 6.5″ x 42 Lonsdale vitola with a slightly green tinged claro wrapper and a simple triple cap. The wrapper appears “dry” and mildly toothy.

News

TL Johnson and La Tradicion Cubana have – from all outward appearances – parted ways amicably. This was announced by posts to both companies’ social media accounts. TL Johnson will additionally be opening a factory in the Dominican Republic to manufacture their own cigars and the Counsellor line that was announced this past year. They will also be providing manufacturing capacity for custom cigar production as the need arises.

Casa Fernandez and relative newcomer Warped have announced a new cigar to be released at this year’s IPCPR. The Futuro is being promoted as something “different” from what the two companies might normally offer…although with a Nicaraguan puro using most or all criollo and corojo from the late 90’s I’m not sure how much of a departure this will actually be for Casa Fernandez. I love AGANORSA, but it’s not exactly the most diverse profile in tobaccodom. It will be available in 2 vitolas – a 6×52 Futuro Seleccion 109 and Seleccion Suprema (5-⅝”x46). 400 boxes of 20 for each vitola will be made available at the show, with future production possible as well.

The numbers are in. The Cigar Association of America’s annual report (via Cigar Aficionado) for cigar importation into the US shows a pretty flat year in 2014. Both Dominican and Nicaraguan imports dropped, with a slightly larger Dominican reduction…but neither are significant. What’s interesting is the slowed import flattening for Nicaragua. You may remember a mere two years ago that Nicaragua was poised – at its then-current rate – to overtake the DR within a couple years. They’re holding strong at second place, only separated by a few million sticks…but the growth has stalled for the past year.

The L’Atelier Cote D’Or has begun shipping. It debuted to a soft launch a few months ago, but has begun showing up nationwide now. It’s a 7×47 soft pressed churchill (the only vitola), and has a production run of 2100 boxes of 10. It uses the Ecuadoran Sancti Spiritus wrapper (Same as the Seleccion Speciale from L’Atelier), over Nicaraguan internals. I picked up a few of these this week, and we’ll feature it soon on the show. It’s a bit of a step out for L’Atelier with its $15-ish price tag, as most of their lines fall in the typical “sweetspot” we so often talk about.

Erik Espinosa will be relaunching the Murcielago blend. Originally, this was an EO Brands line, produced by My Father. Through all the splits, Espinosa retained the rights to the name, and says he thinks he has reverse engineering the blend to be the original. The only blend details are a Mexican San Andres wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. Pricing has not yet been announced…and I’m more than a little piqued at how this blend will be and how it will compare to the original….since it was made by My Father at a time when they used AGANORSA tobacco. I’d like to know the details of how they have reconstructed it. Who knows? Maybe it’ll be a dead match. It just seems bold to declare an exact match.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Pipe tobacco!

CAO Midnight Ride

Margate

Kip

Asylum Insidious – Ec CT over Honduran fillers; made at CLE’s El Aladino factory. Might not have tried this one had I known its makeup…but I’m glad I did. The sweetness provided a nice surprise, with only some bitter notes toward the very end. With a 6”x52 going for about $4, it’s a win in my book. I’d not resist having a few around, but it wouldn’t be a frequently smoked stick for me.

On Dale’s recommendation, I gave the Camacho Triple Maduro another try. Why do I keep doing that?!? Tight draw, wonky burn – which, in unison, created a weird “solvent” kind of flavor I didn’t care for. Made it about ⅓ of the way through the robusto. Still not my cup o’ tea…although it once was.

Next Episode

In the next episode (115), we will have special guest Bob McDuffee. Kip and Bob will be smoking the Ashton Symmetry. 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.

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 [email protected] if you have something you’d like to send in. I will provide an address to send them. Thanks!

Cigar News: La Tradicion Cubana shipping Figurado Series

April 23, 2015 By Kip Fisher

Luis Sanchez at La Tradicion Cubana has provided more information on a new line he has arriving in the very near future. Regular Half Ashed listeners will recognize Luis’ name from frequent mentions on the show whenever Craig and I have delved into our LTC supply. Both Craig and I are fans of his work, and both regular purchase La Tradicion products for our own humidors. For those interested, some of our favorites include the TL Johnson Tempio and most recently the La Tradicion Cubana Reserva Familiar…as well as the corona in his original La Tradicion Cubana line. In June of 2013, we also featured the Tempio on Episode 021 when we had guest Terry Johnson on the show.

The new line is to be called the Figurado Series, and for the time being will only come in a singular 5” x 54 “Chulo” vitola. As is obvious from the series name and accompanying picture, it is a figurado. Both a natural and maduro version will be available, and features the blend composition given below.

The wrapper will be either Ecuadoran (natural) or San Andres (maduro), with Dominican filler tobacco. Interestingly, the filler tobacco was grown by Sanchez and partner Terry Johnson of TL Johnson Cigars through their DOMUSA farming company. Their tobacco has begun to show up in a couple of their recent blends, and the operation has been in the works for the past three years. How extensively the two will utilize their own tobacco in the future is yet to be seen, but based on initial results my interest is piqued to say the least.

The La Tradicion Cubana Figurado Series should be available to U.S. retailers’ shelves within the next couple of weeks.

Half Ashed Episode 064: Fuente Surprise

May 4, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | Upcoming Schedule

This week on Half Ashed, we’re smoking a very special Fuente cigar, given out at CFC2014. Tune in to get the full details about it, but here’s a spoiler: we loved it. We had quite a bit of news to cover, including items from FDA, General Cigars’ Dunhill, 1502 Cigars, Herrera Esteli, Drew Estate, Luis Sanchez, and a bit more trouble for former Swisher executive Alex Goldman. We also discussed what else we’ve been smoking this week and several listener emails. Keep ’em coming!

In an unfortunate turn, our latest attempt at revamping our chatroom experienced a setback at showtime, and we had to punt with the chatroom. We will be back online with the chat this Friday night. We’ve contracted with a provider to offload the server load to cloudservers, so we shouldn’t have any further difficulties. Just follow the instructions on the front page of halfashed.com. Thanks for checking in, and we look forward to you joining us Friday night!

Next week, our Cigar of the Week will be a very special cigar from Craig’s provided featured cigars, so be sure to check back in next Friday night at 9:30pm EST at ~~Cigar Federation~~ ****We will temporarily only have chat access on our Show Page on halfashed.com. We have outgrown our previous chat, and it has been overloading the server and causing various and sundry issues with our hosting provider. In fact, they shut down our site this week during the show. I have installed a stopgap chat for the time being, but it will not frame into the Cigar Federation page. We will remedy this as soon as possible.****, 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 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), or find us on iTunes to subscribe. Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive.

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 046: Unbanded 011

December 21, 2013 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | Upcoming Schedule

Welcome to Episode 046 of Half Ashed! This week’s show is a bit abbreviated due to some impending technical issues that might have made it difficult to post the show for the next several days. We’re smoking Unbanded Number 011, provided by Jacob Pinkas (thank you Jacob!). This week, we covered news items from TL Johnson, New York City legislators (sigh), recent controversy on CA’s Top 25 list, La Sirena/Miami Cigar, Fuente, and Crowned Heads. We also managed to cover a couple of the things we’ve been smoking this week, as well as a couple of past-due emails. So, kick back and enjoy the shortened show!

Next week, we plan on have a normal 2 hour show at the regularly appointed time, although I’ll be on the road with an unknown amount of bandwidth….so be patient if it takes us a moment to go live. Next week’s Cigar of The Week will be a surprise, as Craig hasn’t yet picked which of his cigars we’ll be smoking. 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]m 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.

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!

News from TL Johnson and La Tradicion Cubana

October 26, 2013 By Kip Fisher

News from TL Johnson and La Tradicion Cubana

Regular readers and Half Ashed listeners will know that I am quite the fan of TL Johnson Cigars, as well as many other cigars rolled by La Tradicion Cubana (if you’re looking for a recommendation, I’d go with the TL Johnson Tempio or LTC Corona…but you can’t go wrong with pretty much any of the products). I spoke with Terry Johnson on the phone this week, and he has passed along the press release below, as well as some related pictures. Terry (TL Johnson), Luis Sanchez (La Tradicion Cubana), and Juan Francisco Reinoso (former agronomist for Philip Morris International) have partnered to begin tobacco farming and processing operations in the coming days. They will be growing tobacco for inhouse LTC production, as well as supplying other manufacturers. The first year’s crop, a ’98 Criollo, has been planted and is slated for the Spring 2014 harvest. You may remember that earlier this year Luis and Terry joined in the production of a cigar line, as well as combining their individual strong suits for production, marketing, and distribution. Press release and pics as follows:

Press Release: Compañia de Siembra Hojas de Tradicion

October 23, 2013 (Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic) – 2013 will be hailed as the year it all started for Luis Sánchez, owner of Tabacalera LTC SRL, Terry Johnson, owner of T.L. Johnson Cigar Company and Juan Francisco “Pancho” Reinoso former agronomist for Philip Morris International with the announcement of their new Dominican farming operations and leaf company, Compañia de Siembra Hojas de Tradicion. The company’s immediate focus will be growing tobacco for combined in-house cigar production (Tabacalera LTC SRL) along with leaf production for sale. A leaf processing facility and brokerage firm is in the plans for 2014.

Planting has begun, with the first crop of Criollo98 for the spring 2014 season and expansion plans are in the works for mid-2014 season growing of Dominican filler, binder and wrapper leaf. Company agronomist Juan “Pancho” Reinoso brings on board 33 years of experience from Phillip Morris and will oversee daily farming operations. “We are pleased to have on board such an experienced partner, who is so greatly respected within the Dominican tobacco growers’ community”, said both Sánchez and Johnson.

Luis Sánchez plans to divide his time between US and Dominican Republic on a monthly basis to oversee the farming operations and to develop the processing facilities. Sánchez also plans to devote time to the expansion of Tabacalera LTC and its partnership with Cia. de Siembra Hojas de Tradicion. Sánchez brings 20 years in the cigar manufacturing industry (La Tradicion Cubana Cigars).
Terry Johnson will remain at the helm of the marketing /sales department of the cigar distribution company for the remainder of 2013 and thru 2014 with plans to work on developing relationships with International cigar manufacturers for the leaf company (Cia. de Siembra Hojas de Tradicion). Johnson has an extensive background in farming and ranching operations and will join the team on a quarterly basis in the Dominican Republic as a consultant for the farming operations.

Half Ashed Episode 033: Unbanded 009

September 22, 2013 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | Upcoming Schedule

Episode 033: Unbanded 009

Welcome to Episode 033 of Half Ashed, everyone. This week, we’re smoking Unbanded 009, provided by Jacob Pinkas (thank you Jacob!). In news, we covered the departure of IPCPR CEO Bill SPann, a massive and unfortunate theft at the Alec Bradley warehouse, and upcoming/current releases from Jesus Fuego, Crowned Heads, Tatuaje, Barry Stein (Miami Cigar), and a Sons of Anarchy cigar….

There were several great (and a couple not so great) cigars from the “what have we been smoking” segment, and we kicked around some ideas that the both of us have been pondering and pontificating about recently as well.

Next week, our Cigar of the Week will be the Ramon Allones Gigante – so be sure to check back in for that Friday at 9:30pm EST at www.halfashed.com. 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.

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!

Episode 024: IPCPR Wrap Up and Unbanded #006

July 24, 2013 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | Upcoming Schedule

After some traveling delays and such, we’re back this week with Episode 024 of Half Ashed. Thank you for tuning in to our ramblings once again. This week, we’re focused on a quick summary of my trip to last week’s IPCPR 2013 tradeshow, as well as an Unbanded – Number 006, provided by Jeff Curtis (thanks, Jeff!). We also cover just a bit of news and a couple of listener emails, so tune in and enjoy!

I changed horses mid-stream at the show, and took a bit of a different approach than I had anticipated, which we describe during the show – I opted to cover a number of booths that were not even on my radar beforehand. Some of these are first time exhibitors, some have previously attended but have not yet seen vast growth, and others might simply not have national distribution – all are companies to watch for sure, as I believe many will make a mark in the coming days. For this show, we discussed those listed below, but there will be a great deal of written content here on The Cigarmy over the next couple of weeks detailing quite a few more. I managed to visit 50+ exhibitors, and have some really cool stuff to share that’s on the horizon, as well as some favorite picks for upcoming cigars….

Companies we (very quickly) covered on this Episode:

Viva Republica
Casa Fernandez
Aging Room
Drew Estate
Oliva/Padilla
RomaCraft
J. Fuego
Exactus
House of Emilio
La Jugada
Arandoza
Cordoba y Morales
Flor de Gonzalez
Table 36
Jameson
Capadura
Hoja de Flores

We covered a good bit more during the show – various topics of interest this week, what we’ve been smoking, etc. Tune in to get the entire story on those items as well.

Be sure you all come back later this week for Episode 025, when we will be taking a look at the Casa Magna Domus Magnus as our Cigar of the Week. I will tweet/post the exact time and date once we finalize it. In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, 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.

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!