(1/28/12) West Palm Beach, FL – 3 J’s Cigar Emporium in Wellington, FL hosted an all out bash featuring the Padron family (www.padron.com). Participants smoked nearly everything in the Padron portfolio and were able to meet Orlando, Jeff, Jessica, and Marcos from the Padron family. Also in attendance was ex-Miami Dolphins tight end Troy Drayton, a big fan of 3 Js and Padron cigars. All were treated to a delicious pig roast using the famed La Caja China (www.lacajachina.com) along with live music, deals on Padron cigars and a raffle that included not only cigars and SWAG but a couple of flat screen tv’s from Best Buy (www.best buy.com)!

Owner Jeremy Fedoruk: I want to thank our great customers and our gracious sponsors, especially the Padron Family for taking time from their busy schedules to spend an afternoon with us. We had an amazing time, we can’t wait to do it again!

Smoke Inn proprietor Abe Dababneh has even come up with a major promotion that guarantees to make The Great Smoke 2012 the most memorable yet – he’s giving away a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro!  In honor of Smoke Inn’s 15th anniversary, Abe had 300 limited edition humidors specially made by Altadis, each containing 50 premium cigars including; Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo, Trinidad, H Upmann, and Warlock. Each box comes with a detachable token that serves as the buyer’s entry into the raffle for the Camaro, and each box buyer also gets a base ticket to The Great Smoke event (a $150 value) included with their box purchase! The Cigars have a $500 retail value, but Abe is offering the box at only $350.  There is no better way to join in on The Great Smoke then to get a 15th Anniversary box with your ticket and a chance to win a shiny 2011 Chevy Camaro!

The Great Smoke is held at Smoke Inn, West Palm Beach. The date of the event is February 18, 2012, from 1pm – 5pm.  Tickets start at $150, with VIP tickets available for $200.  VIP guests get valet parking, early access to the event starting at 12 noon, special seating with an additional bar, and an attendant wait staff for anything they desire.

More information is available at www.thegreatsmoke.com where you can see the lineup of manufacturers, purchase tickets and browse photos of previous The Great Smoke events.

An unlikely series of events had to take place for Manny Iriarte to arrive in the cigar industry. Now that he’s considered one of the top photographers in the business, he’s changing the game.

December 1^st, 2000, 02:15 AM: He couldn’t sleep. His dream was becoming a reality; he had escaped the oppressive clutches of Fidel Castro’s Cuba and he was finally in the United States of America. After years of failed attempts, prolonged detours in South America, and numerous risky plane changes, he had made it. He pinched himself till there was no way that this was a dream. He finally fell asleep while his cellmate snored the night away at the Mira Loma Detention Center in Lancaster, California.

Here’s a quick lesson on US immigration policy towards Cuban nationals. From the US State Department Fact Sheet: “The Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA), Public Law 89-732, was enacted on November 2, 1966. The law applies to any native or citizen of Cuba who has been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States after January 1, 1959 and has been physically present for at least one year; and is admissible to the United States for Permanent Residence.”

There’s a lot going on in that seemingly simple statement. Distilled down it means that after going through a short inspection and admission process, a Cuban national will be admitted into the US, and that after just one year of living in the country, he or she may become a permanent resident alien. In the complicated and risky world of immigration, this is the equivalent of a golden ticket. What isn’t in the above statement but is also part of the deal with Cubans is that they do not need to use a family-based or employment-based immigrant visa like just about every other group. And finally, a Cuban national is not required to enter through a port of entry. In the end, if a Cuban national makes it to American soil, regardless of how he gets here, he or she can legally stay in this country legally and permanently after one year of residence.

Upon arriving in LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), Manny alerted customs and immigration that he was a Cuban national. As part of the standard procedure, he was taken to Mira Loma where he would have to wait for admission into the country. A few days later, he was released into the streets of Lancaster a free man. Free from the tyranny, from the oppression, and from the failed political ideals. The moment was bittersweet on various levels. On the one hand, he was free to pursue a new life while on the other he was far away from family and friends. He had been released and had gained legal entrance into the United States but he was alone, cold, and penniless in a foreign land.

Imagine this recent arrival Cuban with only the clothes on his back, speaking almost no English, hailing a cab in Lancaster, CA. “I will never forget that cab driver,” says Manny. “I don’t know how he understood me or why he even bothered to fight through this conversation but he eventually took me to a Western Union where I was able to have some funds wired from Miami to pay for the cab, some food, and a flight to Miami. I don’t know what would have happened if not for that cab driver.”

He eventually made it to Miami where he began a new life. In Cuba he was a swimmer for the Cuban National Team but in Miami, he was just another recent arrival. He worked as a personal trainer taking Spanish speaking clients. When you don’t have much, the most insignificant things bring you joy. “I was living in this studio apartment in Southwest Miami and every day I would receive these flyers in the mail for electronic stores. I loved them!” His eyes light up when he talks about these lean times. “I would flip to the camera section and imagine what it would be like to shoot with something from this century.” Back in Cuba a tourist had gifted him an old 35mm camera that sparked his growing passion for photography.

Soon he learned to speak English, received a teacher certification for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and took a job as a physical education teacher in the public school system. “I loved it. Helping kids get in shape and get better at sports was a lot of fun, but at night I kept taking pictures of cigars.” He loved smoking cigars and loved taking pictures… it wasn’t much of a stretch to put both passions together. “Cigars are so photogenic. People always ask me how I get the smoke to look so real in my pictures.” His answer is always the same. “I get the smoke to look real because it is real! You have to smoke the cigars you’re taking pictures of; it’s one of my favorite parts of my job.” It was during one of these practice sessions using natural light that Manny took the shots that he eventually showed me during our very first meeting.

It turns out that the gym where Iriarte worked out daily was the same gym that a dear friend of mine frequented. (Some day, I too will have to join a gym…) The friend in question, Angel Elizalde of A.S.P. Enterprises (www.aspenterprisesinc.com), saw Manny’s work and immediately suggested he contact me.

Five years later Manny Iriarte is unquestionably the cigar industry’s “go-to” photographer. His work in the cigar industry has opened eyes in other sectors as well. The marketing team at Beck’s Beer Latin American division fell in love with his work and commissioned Manny to shoot for their Latin market in-store poster campaign. If you look up Arturo Sandoval’s award-winning “A Time For Love” album, you’ll find that all the photography, including the cover, are Manny’s shots.

Back in the cigar business, however, Iriarte’s photography clients needed more than just photos. Logos, artwork for ads, poster designs, shelf-talkers, and even trade show displays are dressed with Manny’s work. My Father Cigars hired Manny to shoot all of their product shots and design all of their ads, posters, and catalogs. Padrón Cigars used several of Manny’s shots when they recently launched a new website. Oliva Cigars used Iriarte’s photography in ads and marketing collateral all over the world. Recently, when Arturo Fuente Cigars decided that it was time to make some changes to their print ads, it was Manny that Carlitos Fuente hired to do the work.

Early 2008: Manny is setting up the studio for a product shoot for J. Fuego Cigars (www.tabacossa.com) while Jesus (pronounced Heh-Zeus), the J in J. Fuego, is thinking aloud about a problem he’s having. “I have this new blend that I love, I already have the initial batch of cigars rolled and ready, I have the name for the brand, but I don’t have a band design that I like. Do you know someone who can help?” Similar to the tourist who gifted Manny that 35mm back in Cuba and sparked his passion for photography, Jesus didn’t know he was playing with a blowtorch in a barn full of hay. “I’ll do it. I’ll create the label for the new cigar!” Manny designed the cigar label for the 777 by J. Fuego brand. Much like the events that led to this one, this chance request paved the way for the next step in his career.

Over the last 12 months, Iriarte Photography and Design has been hard at work balancing the photography requests with the growing number of design requests. The biggest area of growth for Manny’s business over this time has been cigar label and box art design. “I think that in order to stay energized and motivated in life, you need to take yourself out of your comfort zone,” explains Manny. “At first it wasn’t easy to come up with designs that worked for cigar labels, but I worked closely with Albert Montserrat and his team at Cigar Rings in Santiago, Dominican Republic and we’ve been able to come up with some incredible new designs.” It has reached the point where Manny’s designs are pushing Cigar Rings out of their comfort zone. “We’ve ordered new machines and new materials that can execute some of the amazing designs that Iriarte Photography and Designs has sent us and we are excited about what we’re able to produce together,” added Albert during a recent phone interview.

It won’t be long before Manny runs into a new medium of inspiration… or perhaps he already has. “I’m working on the most exciting project I have ever worked on. I am thrilled and honored that my company was chosen to create this design to commemorate a major milestone in the modern cigar industry, I can’t wait till it’s public!”

There he goes again…

Known for pushing the envelope when it comes to marketing premium handmade cigars, Alec Bradley’s Fine & Rare is no different. Produced at Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas, the cigar boasts a shimmering Honduran Trojes wrapper leaf that conceals dual Honduran and Nicaraguan binders plus seven long-filler tobaccos which the company prefers not to disclose. To ensure the consistency of every cigar, Raíces Cubanas assigned only one team for the job which was supervised by Alex Miguel Artica. The cigars are meticulously rolled, and each vitola has been assigned a serial number which is imprinted on the band.

Alec Bradley believes this cigar is the only cigar in the world made with 10 different tobaccos; moreover, the cigars have been aging since production was completed in August of 2010. Since then, the master team has moved on to another special project that will be released in 2012.

Each of the 11,110 cigars bear the signatures of Alan Rubin (President), Ralph Montero (Vice President), Alex Miguel Artica (Supervisor), Antonia Baquedano Aluarenga (Master Roller), and Juan Miguel Rodriguez (Master Buncher).

“1000 boxes are already pre-sold for retail cigar stores, said Alan Rubin, “They sold out in 15 minutes back in July.”

100 boxes containing 10 Toros and 10 torpedos will be used at Mr. Rubin’s discretion, while another 11 boxes containing 30 cigars (10 Toros, 10 Torpedos and 10 Perfectos) will be used to raise money for Alec Bradley supported charities.

“Since we were only able to make 1,111 boxes, we thought it would be fun to release the cigars on 11-11-11,” said Alan Rubin. “I’m really excited about this cigar, too. We’ve done a lot of special things over the years, but this cigar is really in a class by itself. We took as much time as we needed to carefully select only the best of the best tobaccos. It’s one of the reasons we could only make a limited number of boxes. As for the smoke itself, it’s aromatic, full-flavored and as about complex as it gets.”

Fine & Rare will be presented in boxes of 10 cigars with an MSRP of $14.00 per cigar (pending taxation).

For more information on Alec Bradley Fine & Rare cigars, visit the Alec Bradley Cigars Fan page.

On Saturday October 15th, not even the steady rain kept the crowds out of this one. Several of the top cigar brands as well as liquor and wine sponsors were on hand to celebrate Aficionado’s 15th year in business. Proprietors Elena and Armando Artamendi were thankful for the love they received, “We just want to thank our great clientele for 15 years of support and a big thanks to our great sponsors and vendors for joining us on this great night.”

It’s hard to imagine that it was only 5 years ago that we partied till the wee hours at the 10th year anniversary bash of this Pembroke Pines mainstay (112 South Flamingo Road, Pembroke Pines, FL). Check out some of the coverage from October 2006…

We’ll be there again to chronicle this year’s event on October 15th but we won’t wait 5 years to post the images!! Don’t miss it.
RSVP today at 954-431-9800 or by email at: premcgar@bellsouth.net

Here’s part of the note:

This email is being written on behalf of Mr. Omar Ortega.  This email is to inform you that the dispute between Mr. Fernandez and the Garcia Family has been resolved.  The parties have amicably resolved all disputes and have agreed to end their business relationships.  Jose “Pepin” Garcia has acquired full ownership of El Rey de Los Habanos, Inc. and of Tabacalera Cubana de Garcia y Fernandez, S.A. ( ”TACUBA, S.A.” ).

Jose Oliva and Bert Gottfried at an Oliva event at 3Js Cigar Emporium in Davie, FL

Bert joined Oliva Cigars 15 years ago and was instrumental in making Oliva Cigars a household name. Jose Oliva added, “He was the consummate salesman, his passion and pride are without equal. We will miss him terribly.”

Like most of the old-school cigar industry guys, they were quick with a colorful quote and Bert was no different. One of the most imitated Bert quotes was, “there are two types of cigars in this business; those that sell and those that don’t.”

Rest in peace Bert.

The following is a collection of our photos of Bert. Through the years Cigar Snob Magazine covered more of Bert’s events than we can remember, the images from these events are stored on countless external hard drives. We are going through them and as we find shots of Bert, we’ll add them to this gallery.

For tickets click on: Cigar Marathon Tickets!!

The upcoming Cigar Marathon on October 8th, 2011 promises to be the biggest and best one yet with an exciting lineup of venues, cigars, food, and adult beverages already confirmed. Among the exciting developments is the recent signing of the Afro-Cuban Funk band PALO! (www.gopalo.com) to play live for the marathoners. PALO!’s band leader Steve Roitstein, “I can’t wait to play for the Cigar Marathon crew! I’ve seen the energy that they bring and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”

In addition to the Marathon on October 8th, a Marathon Kickoff Party has been organized for the eve of the Marathon (Oct 7th from 7PM – 10PM) at Waxy O’Connor’s (690 SW 1st Ct, Miami, FL www.waxys.com/miami). Marathoners will receive additional gifts including cigars. You’ll also enjoy your first complimentary cigar along with your fellow marathoners. Waxy’s is providing appetizers for us along with a $100 bar tab up for raffle!! If you’ve never been you will love the location on the Miami River with plenty of room to smoke and rock out.

NOTE: If you can’t make it to the Kickoff Party, your items will be held for you and given before commencement of the Marathon on October 8th.

What you get with paid admission:

Cigar Marathon t-shirt
Goodie bag
Assorted SWAG (caps, cutters, lighters, etc…)
Minimum of 12 cigars but usually more
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
All-day transportation (coach bus)
Liquor samples from sponsors
Craft beer samples on the bus
Free concert by PALO!

And 2 raffle tickets (more available for purchase) to win great prizes!

For tickets click on: Cigar Marathon Tickets!!