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Episode 021: TL Johnson Tempio and Guest Terry Johnson

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Half Ashed Ep. 021: TL Johnson Tempio

Good day and welcome back for another fun-filled episode of Half Ashed.  This week, we host Terry Johnson of TL Johnson Cigars.  Terry sits in for the first hour of the show, while we smoke his fantastic Tempio and talk cigars, flyfishing (TL Johnson also produces fly rods), and other gentlemanly topics.  We then covered a few news items for this week, and some of the usual suspects in show segments.  Thanks for tuning in, and enjoy!

TL Johnson TempioFeatured Cigar

This week, we take a look at the TL Johnson Tempio, a cigar that I reviewed last year and smoke on a regular basis myself.  I had a suspicion that Craig would enjoy it just as much as I.  I was right.  Produced for Terry by Luis Sanchez at La Tradicion Cubana, the Tempio is chocked full of sweet cedar, mild citrus, and toasty oaken flavors.  As is the case with Luis’ other production, the Tempio never disappoints in terms of construction and consistency.  Definitely worth seeking out a retailer that carries the line – or requesting them from your local shop.  It features a Pennsylvanian wrapper, draped around a Dominican and Nicaraguan binder/filler blend – and is fantastically flavorful.

Industry News

  • Legislatively, the only news we cover this week is the recent development for the FDA in beginning to exercise more power in controlling product introduction into the marketplace with regard to tobacco products – denying 4 of 6 requests for new cigarette products.
  • In cigar news, we go through a small portion of the IPCPR news this week concerning new cigars to be launched in the near future – notably, the Casa Fernandez 35th Anniversary and Reserva Maduro, a special release from Espinosa for CHATWEETUP2013, and other offerings from Royal Gold (produced by Drew Estate), Pinar Del Rio, George Rico (GAR), and House of Emilio.
  • We also cover the departure of a familiar face at My Father Cigars, and recent acquisition of Heavenly Cigars by Drew Estate.

What Else Have We Been Smoking?

Craig: Back to some Cuban roots this week

Kip: Sam Leccia’s Black & White

Miscellany

Family time with Craig, and a 3-day jaunt to South Florida for Kip – as well as a couple of listener emails for the week.

Wrap

Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 022, as we get into highgear leading into IPCPR.  That show will likely be recorded outside our normal Friday night timeframe due to the Independence Day holiday.  I will tweet/post the schedule once we finalize the timing.  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].  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  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.

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 019: Monte Pascoal

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Monte PascoalMonte Pascoal

Welcome back to Half Ashed, and happy Fathers’ Day to all the Dads out there.  We’re glad you’ve joined us for another round of fun.  This week, we take a look at an old favorite – Monte Pascoal.  Craig with a corona, and I the belicoso.  So, find your favorite cigar and join us for another couple hours of smokin’ silliness…

News Items

Legislation:  In legislative news, those of you in Pennsylvania NEED to take heed: CRA has issued an action alert detailing some potentially devastating proposals from a couple of your state congressmen.

The IPCPR season is beginning to kick into high gear, with product announcements from Ortega Cigars, TL Johnson Cigars, Barry Stein (Miami Cigar), Guayacan, Crowned Heads, Ashton and newcomer Cordoba y Morales.  Look for an increasing amount of news in the next few weeks leading up to and during the tradeshow.

What Have We Been Smoking?

Craig: La Aurora Fernando Leon, Monte Pascoal

Kip: Ezra Zion TANTRUM, Nestor Miranda DANNO, 2012 Toast Across America Fuente Opus X

Miscellany

We also cover some behavioral patterns Craig has noticed when “talking business” with some brick and mortar shop owners, and the politics of the B&M.  Additionally, we finally get caught up on listener emails – discussing questions from Chad Miller, Swede214, and Bruce Stark.  Keep those emails coming!  We love ’em, and always enjoy hearing from you all.  Just drop us a line via any of the means below.

Wrap

Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 020, which will hopefully feature a special guest, depending on whether or not we can work out the scheduling.  We will be smoking an unbanded – #005, from Dan Crouch.  We also will be bringing Dan on at the unveiling to discuss the cigar.

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].  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  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.

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 013: 2005 Padron Aniversario

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Padron Aniversario natural2005 Padron Aniversario

Hello again, and welcome back for Half Ashed Episode 013.  This week’s episode features the 2005 Padron Aniversario 1964 natural corona as our Cigar of the Week.  This cigar, one with which I am not overly familiar in the natural wrapper, turned out to be a phenomenal smoke.  These were graciously furnished by Craig, and I was entirely impressed, to say the least.  Tune in to get our combined thoughts about how this stick has held up during the past 8 years.  I will also be posting an Epilogue review within the next couple of days.  Once posted, this will be linked below.  Following is a brief summary of some show topics.

Industry News

The American Association for Cancer Research has come out in opposition to the current CRA-endorsed legislation and has issued a letter to every member of the House & Senate stating such.  This is not surprising, but some of the numbers given in that letter were (to me, anyway).  We talk a little about some of the information in this letter, and some conclusions from it.

CRA promotion through The Cigarmy – We gave a reminder of this ongoing promotion here on The Cigarmy – check that out and let me know when you join up or renew.

We also covered a number of announcements for new cigars, as well as our thoughts about limited, event-only cigars that have been subsequently released into regular production….and a few other items in cigar news recently.

What Else Have We Been Smoking?

Craig: Padrons!

Kip: Partagas Series D #4, Torano Exodus 50 Years, The Tatuaje culebra from the Old Man & The “C,” a fellow Cigar Federation member’s efforts at rolling his own cigars, and a fantastic 2009 Oliva Serie V Diadema.

Miscellany

We cover several listener emails this week, including some follow ups to recent discussions on one gentleman’s discomfort from his cigars and more coffee recommendations.

Wrap

Next week, we’ll have the Ezra Zion crew as special guests, and be taking a look at their new Limited Edition TANTRUM.  That will be a LIVE show, broadcast at 9pm Eastern on Cigar Federation (complete with live chatroom so you can interact with the guys and ask any questions you may have for them), so be sure to tune in to find out how that goes.  The following week, we will have another special guest – William Cooper (Cigar_Coop) to get his insights into the industry, how it’s going, where it’s going, and generally pick his brain and see what we can learn.

Again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back next week for an exciting Episode 014.  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].  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  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.  Video, as always, will be available on Cigar Federation.

Episode 012: Unbanded 003 & a Giveaway!

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Giveaway May 2013Episode 012 of Half Ashed is in the can, and we welcome you back to join us for this week’s show.  We are offering up another opportunity to humble ourselves in the public eye this week, with Unbanded 003, generously provided by Dan Crouch.  Smoking blindly is something that is becoming somewhat of a habit for me.  Be sure you give us a listen by any of the means below for several news items and updates, what we’ve been smoking, what we thought of the unbanded selection this week, a couple listener emails, and a slight rant from me.  Also, don’t forget to listen in and check out the details on our current giveaway.  Thanks for stopping by!  Here is a quick show summary:

Unbanded 003

Unbanded 003The Cigar of the Week for Episode 012 is an Unbanded submission from Dan Crouch.  Dan took a novel approach with this submission; something that is a little different than our normal format.  He submitted two differing vitolas from the same line of cigars, rather than two examples of the same cigar.  Craig and I both had similar notions about the origin of the cigars, as well as a clear preference for one vitola over the other.  Definitely an interesting experiment, and we thank Dan for the originality and generosity of supplying the cigars.  Check out the show to see what we thought of it, and get the reveal.

Industry News

    1. Legislative items – NYC Democratic mayoral candidate Christine Quinn (also speaker of NY City Council) is proposing that the age restriction on tobacco be raised from 18 to 21 years – NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley states “People who become full-fledged adults without smoking are very unlikely to pick up the habit afterwards.  So if we can prevent our youth from starting smoking until they are 21 we may just be able to protect an entire generation from a lifetime of being addicted to the world’s most dangerous drug.”  So, 19-21 year olds are still youth?  Reminds me of the “study” a few years ago that classified “youth” as anyone under 26, and “smokers” as anyone who’d ever smoked a single cigarette….ORIGINAL STORY
    2. Sam Leccia’s White began shipping this week.  From appearances, the White allocation was all spoken for very quickly….
    3. Casa Fuente tweeted that their online store was open on Monday – much to the delight of Fuente fans everywhere.  Disappointment quickly followed, when they went to the site to find out that no cigars were sold there….just Casa Fuente branded clothing and accessories.  
    4. The Casa Magna Domus Magnus II is finally being shipped – months after it was initially announced.  I’m not a fan of some Casa Magna cigars – but I love me some Domus Magnus.  I believe the blend remains mostly the same, with the exception that the wrapper (sungrown Jalapa) is of a different vintage than the earlier offerings.
    5. Ezra Ziontweeted a picture of their upcoming Limited Edition TANTRUM being boxed up at the factory.  So, it appears they’re on schedule for the release (launched at Michael’s Tobacco of Keller – in Keller, TX on Friday April 26th).  They crew from Ezra Zion will be joining us LIVE on May 10th.
    6. Macanudo will be the new main sponsor for “Big Break” on the Golf Channel.  I’m not a golfer, but apparently this is the channel’s longest running original series – and a big hit for them. Macanudo will feature prominently, with several episode being filmed at the Macanudo lounge Mexico, as well as the brand being incorporated into some of the challenges.

What Else Have We Been Smoking?

    1.  Kip – This week, I’ve been through a number of cigars, including two special Fuente sticks, a “Lauro’s” from Craig, some Casa Fernandez Arsenio and more.  Tune in to the show to get the scoop on how those went…

Miscellany

    1. Giveaway!  It’s time we have another giveaway, and we have some cool stuff going out this time around.  Courtesy of Cuenca Cigars, we have an Ashton ashtray and some killer premium cigars – as well as a Cigarmy coffee mug and a couple more cigars from me.  The cigars are: 2X Cuenca 5 Anniversary, 2X Ortega Serie D Maduro #12’s, 1 Oliva Serie V Maduro, 1X La Aroma de Cuba Marquis Tubo, 1X L’Atelier Surrogates Tramp Stamp, 1X Torano Salutem, 1X Aging Room M356, and 1X JC Newman Perla del Mar.  Listen to the show for all the details, but every email received between now and May 30th with a comment, question, concern, or compliment/complaint about the show will be entered in the giveaway – although, admittedly, complaints will have considerably less chances of winning :).  On our May 31st show, we will randomly select a winner from those entries.  So, get those keyboards humming and send us an email to [email protected] or [email protected]!
    2. After last week’s discussion of my attempts and misadventures in making Cuban coffee, I received quite a few emails on making better brews for cigar accompaniment.  I’m looking forward to giving some of these a try.
    3. We also talk a little about another email we got from Enzo Temko concerning a bit of discomfort after smoking some cigars.
    4. Finally, I go over the edge this week with a minor rant about the profusion of recent emails and distribution lists I’m on – or rather, some that I was on.

Wrap

Next week, our featured cigar will be the 2005 Padron Aniversario Natural.  Be sure to tune in to find out how that goes.  On May 10th, we will have our next LIVE show, broadcast on Cigar Federation.  We’ll be talking with special guests from Ezra Zion about their Limited  Edition release  – the TANTRUM.  The following week, we will have another special guest – William Cooper (Cigar_Coop) to get his insights into the industry, how it’s going, where it’s going, and generally pick his brain and see what we can learn.

Again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back in next week.  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].  Also, don’t forget 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.

Episode 011: The BOTL LLC Esencia “E”

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BOTL, LLCWelcome to Episode 011 of Half Ashed!  This week, we’re taking a look at the new Esencia “E” from BOTL LLC.  For those who aren’t familiar, BOTL LLC are the same folks who brought you the regular Esencia line of cigars and Palio cutters/lighter.  The “E” is their new offering featuring an Ecuadoran Habano seed wrapper, an undisclosed binder, and a Nicaraguan-Dominican filler blend.  Listen or watch to see what we think of it, as well as a few more vital details about it!

Legislative News:

In the news this week, we had a couple of legislative updates.  One from CRA, with the announcement of a new companion bill to HR792 – the Senate bill S772, which was launched with 6 Senators supporting it this week (4 Democrats/2 Republicans).  The only other legislative update was out of California, where the Housing and Community Development Committee rejected a proposed ban on indoor smoking in all multi-family dwellings statewide.  Existing law allows for landlords to prohibit smoking in their own properties at will, and for the time being that will remain the case.  Common sense prevailed, at least for the moment.

Other news items:

    • We provided a little more of the backstory on Operation: Smokescreen…and the end of many a cigar smoker’s hopes for a cigar-themed movie.
    • Some rumblings, chatter, and hearsay about the possibility that CI now holds pipesandcigars.com.  This may be old news, but was a revelation to me – and something I was unaware of happening.
    • A discussion of a recent story and subsequent editorial from the Stogie Guys about the fact that Phillip Morris (and parent company Altria) have come out against the protection of the premium cigar industry from FDA regulation.
    • Cigar Federation!  Our beloved CigFed is getting a facelift!  CigarChat has been added to the lineup of quality programming available at the Cigar Federation, which brings onboard the two fine gentlemen who do that show (Robby Rasmussen & Logan Lawler).  Logan, being a social media and webmaster kinda guy, has taken on the task of redesigning the site to make it more userfriendly and effective in its mission of providing quality cigar industry content and community for those who enjoy the hobby.  He has already made some sweeping changes, and is doing a phenomenal job revamping the site and making it better.  Kudos to Logan!  We’re looking forward to seeing it evolve.  Everyone needs to check that out and sign yourself up with a profile if you haven’t already…
    • Gordon Mott published a Cigar Aficionado blog entry this week calling out a certain cigar company for misusing past CA ratings of one of their products to market a very different product today.

What else have we been smoking?

    • Craig – The J. Fuego Edicion de Familia, the Ezra Zion Inception (now Jamais Vu), and a couple more surprises…
    • Kip – Litto Gomez Small Batch 4 (listen as Kip admits to being a total nicotine wus with this cigar),  the Leon Jimenes Series 300 (a wonderful surprise in a bargain cigar), as well as the first six releases of Eddie Ortega’s Wild Bunch, published first on The Cigarmy.

What else have we been enjoying with our cigars?

Kip – Cuban coffee, although my results are “mixed” to be generous.  The quality in terms of flavor and enjoyment are quite limited from my trials so far, but the heart palpitations are fun at times….

Upcoming Shows:

Next week’s Cigar of the Week is an unbanded, provided by Dan Crouch.  Dan took a novel approach with this submission, in that he submitted 2 different vitolas from the same line.  Tune in next week to find out how that goes.  On May 10th, we will have our next LIVE show, broadcast on Cigar Federation.  We’ll be talking with special guests from Ezra Zion about their upcoming Limited  Edition release of the Tantrum.  The following week, we will have another special guest – William Cooper (Cigar_Coop) to get his insights into the industry, how it’s going, where it’s going, and generally pick his brain and see what we can learn.

Again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back in next week.  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].  Also, don’t forget to 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.  Video, as always, will be available on our YouTube Channel.

Episode 010: A Visit from Sam Leccia

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Sam Leccia - Leccia TobaccoGood day, folks and welcome back for another episode of Half Ashed.  Craig and I appreciate you stopping by.  We were honored to have Sam Leccia, of Leccia Tobacco, as a special guest this week to talk about his upcoming new cigar releases.  We talk with Sam about his Black and White lines, which will be released in about a month or so.  He was gracious enough to share some information about himself, his blending philosophy, the vision behind the new cigars, and provided a great deal of insight into the Black and White.  Thanks to Sam for taking the time to hang out and share with us all.

Tatuaje Mexican Experiment

Tatuaje Mexican Experiment robustoOur featured cigar this week was the Tatuaje LE Mexican Experiment, which was a limited run of cigars released by Pete Johnson last year.  I reviewed the cigar at that time, and it was very interesting to note how it had changed in the past 10 months or so.  It was a phenomenal cigar, and one which I would personally love to see in regular production.

In legislative news, we covered the (probably temporary) fail of the Florida outdoor smoking ban, and new tobacco tax proposals at the federal level.  We also quickly covered some interesting cigar news concerning new releases and trimming of the old from Davidoff, and a few items in our “What have we been smoking” segment for the week.  Finally, we wrapped up with a listener email or two, and some new video reviews posted on Cigar Federation by Michael Stewart for the cigars he won in our previous giveaway.  We thank you for stopping by, and I hope you’ll give us a listen or watch the video via the means below.  Have a great week!

Upcoming Shows

Next week, we feature the “E” as the Cigar of the Week – an interesting and sure to be enjoyable release from BOTL, LLC.  On our next live show (May 10th), we will host the Ezra Zion guys to tell us about their upcoming Limited Edition – the Tantrum.  The following week, we’ll have a visit with Will Cooper (Cigar Coop) as well.  Again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back in next week.  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].  Also, don’t forget to 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.  Video, as always, will be available on Half Ashed YouTube Channel.

Episode 007: My Father Flor de las Antillas

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My Father Flor de las AntillasWelcome to Half Ashed Episode 007, everyone!  Here’s a quick summary of this week’s show, but be sure to download or watch/listen through any of the means in the final paragraph of this post!

Half Ashed Cigar of the Week

 Released last May (2012), the My Father Flor de las Antillas toro was named Cigar of the Year by Cigar Aficionado in 2012. It takes its name from Cuba, sometimes called the “flower of the Antilles.” The FdlA is a Nicaraguan puro, and MSRP for singles is from $6.60 (robusto) – $8.70 (toro gordo 6X56). The line is available in four vitolas: robusto, toro, toro gordo, belicoso – and is moderately square pressed.

Kip: This is one of my favorite My Father sticks. Some of their blends – while enjoyable for me – can be a little potent for my tastes unless properly hydrated and fed. I love the “typical” My Father flavor family….just sometimes the blend strength weighs a little heavy on me. Tonight’s cigar, however, I find much lighter in strength than many of their other offerings. On occasion, I have had a couple of these that for some reason produced a great deal of dryness on the palate – demanding an accompanying glass of water. Other than that, I’ve had nothing but great experiences with this cigar. Never any construction issues; I get prevailing flavors in that tropical spice family, with the occasional wisp of white pepper and, at times, leather – or even some woodsiness. It reminds me of the DPG Blue at times – although it comes off just a notch or two more spicy than the Blue. I get a healthy (but manageable) bit of spice on the retrohale.

Craig: While I agree with Kip that this cigar has typically been well constructed, has slightly more spice than the DPG Blue and is a welcome addition to their regular lines, I do not find this cigar to be more approachable than others. I tend to think it is full flavored and filled with aggressive spices. It is not overpowering or galling but certainly does carve out its position in the minds of today’s smoker. A good cigar with complexity and interest. One that I enjoy very much.

Industry News this week

  1. The Chattanooga Tweetup has been scheduled; tickets on sale April 1st. Kip will be in attendance again this year.  Find details here.
  2. Legislative Items
    1. Bloomberg at it again – hide your tobacco!  Or, not….
    2. HR792 – This news has been out a couple weeks, but the legislation to protect our freedom to enjoy a fine cigar has a new name.
  3. L’Atelier LAT46 hitting shelves as we speak…
  4. Gary Griffith – There’s a great deal of news from Emilio Cigars this week.  See my blog entry earlier this week.

What else are we smoking?

Craig – Punch Churchill, Cain Daytona 646

Kip – K.A. Kendall Spider, Montecristo #4, Viaje Supershot 12ga, Asylum 13 robusto – and the entire Tarazona/Cubanacan lineup….

Miscellany

  1. We took some time to discuss a couple of emails this week:
    1. From Bruce S., asking about the possibility of increased availability of Esencia Cigars now that Torano will be distributing them.
    2. Ed T. asks about CFCF and how you, too can visit the Fuentes!
  2. Also, tune in to hear Craig’s rant about a recent visit to a new tobacconist, and the soothing redemption of enjoying a movie with his cigar…..

Next week

Next week we feature Unbanded #002 as the Cigar of the Week – suggested by Jeff Curtis.

Again, thanks for tuning in everyone.  Be sure to come back next week, when we’ll be taking a look at Unbanded #002, suggested by Jeff Curtis.  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].  Also, don’t forget to go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive.  You can download this week’s audio directly above (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes.  Video, as always, will be available on our YouTube Channel.

Update from IPCPR and Cigar Rights of America

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Cigar Rights of AmericaIPCPRGood evening, everyone.  I just received this email from IPCPR and Cigar Rights of America (CRA), and thought it important enough to warrant a post to The Cigarmy.  As you know, the hobby of cigar smoking is and has been under increasing attack politically for quite a while.  The following request to electronically sign petitions are the very least we can do as consumers, and I strongly encourage you to do so.  Join Cigar Rights if you haven’t.  Be vocal locally.  If you enjoy cigars, and would like to in the future, please read this and sign on.  I was signature #7, and they need 24,993 more to progress…

It is time to take the IPCPR/Cigar Rights battle to protect our cigars straight to the White House!

Help Protect Premium Cigars from FDA Regulation!

Click here to sign our petition to the President

H.R. 1639 / S. 1461 – Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act

You will be required to create an account, type in the letters at the bottom of the screen, and wait for a confirmation email, which may go to your SPAM or Junk Mail Folder.  After you receive the confirmation email, you may then log in and sign the petition.

 

THIS IS OUR CALL TO ACTION:  Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

More details are below:

 

As you know, the FDA is hell bent on regulating, controlling and most certainly ruining premium cigars.  So, it is incumbent upon the cigar enthusiasts of the United States – retailers, consumers, and manufacturers alike – to say “hell no” to any proposed new regulation of premium/traditional cigars by the United States government.  The infantalization of America will stop here, with us!  We are adults, and it is our right to make informed choices without undue government interference.

On April 26, 2010, December 20, 2010, July 7, 2011, and again on February 13, 2012 the U.S. Food & Drug Administration publicly posted their intent in the Federal Register to regulate cigars.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration answers to one boss – The White House.  See this recent article for details. 

Now that tens of thousands of this nation’s cigar enthusiasts, retailers, and manufacturers have voiced their opposition to Congress, it’s time to send a message to the Office of the President asking President Obama to tell the FDA: “Stay out of America’s humidors!”

H.R. 1639 has been filed in the U.S. House of Representatives; and a companion bill, Senate Bill 1461, has been filed in the Senate. Both are filed under the banner of the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act. This bi-partisan legislation would decree that premium/traditional cigars should be off limits to FDA regulation and, “to clarify the Food & Drug Administration’s jurisdiction in the sale, manufacturing and distribution of traditional and premium cigars.”

With over 85,000 American jobs associated with the premium/traditional cigar business, this is an issue of economic stability for thousands of Main Street America small businesses. The community tobacconist is an institution that spans the history of the nation. The federal government has no business threatening them with new regulations, user fees, and efforts that smack nothing short of modern day prohibition.

Such legislation could have a profound impact on protecting the industry, from the fields and factories of Central America, to the supply-chain throughout this nation, to the community tobacconist, to enjoying a cigar in the local shop, club or back porch.

We can assure you, nothing could rip the soul of the cigar industry apart, like FDA actions. For example, some of the (again) hypothetical possibilities, but that are not beyond the realm of reason include: No more walk in humidors (Canadian model); Limits on advertising and promotions; Banning the very word cigar or tobacco; Manufacturers having to submit blends to FDA for “testing,” before heading to your local shop – imagine the impact on boutique cigar makers; Adverse impact on flavored tobacco products that are made for adults; And price impact due to new fees on manufacturers. This is the short list.

Again: Click here to sign our petition to President Obama.