Miami, FL, 31 July – Cigar Express is pleased to announce the exciting new cigar release San Lotano, a signature blend by A.J. Fernandez. With a rich history, San Lotano dates back to Cuba’s pre-Castro era where the brand was among the most popular with traditional Cuban cigar makers. Retired for decades, the line is being reintroduced by A.J. Fernandez whose grandfather first started the brand in San Luis, Cuba. San Lotano is made entirely by hand in the Fernandez factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, and is available in three enticing variations encompassing Habano, Connecticut and Maduro wrappers.
A.J. Fernandez is no stranger in the cigar industry. As a third generation cigar maker, born in Cuba, Fernandez is well known for being one of the only cigar makers in the industry to still employ many of the oldest traditions and secrets that have earned him an unmatched reputation among cigar aficionados. When asked about the importance of the brand, A.J. says, “San Lotano has been a project many years in the making for me, and it is made to honor the tradition of cigar making that I learned from my father and my father’s father. The blends are extremely rich, flavorful and are the culmination of my family’s knowledge which has been accumulated over the last century.”
The Fernandez factory is one of the largest in Nicaragua, producing 9 million cigars a year. While this is the first nationally distributed release coming from Fernandez himself, he has made cigars for many notable brands in the industry over the past few years including: Padilla, Rocky Patel, Graycliff, Gurkha, Man O War, Diesel and many more.

San Lotano will officially debut at this year’s IPCPR Tradeshow in New Orleans. The brand will be available exclusively through brick and mortar tobacconists nationwide late this summer.

Coming up with these lists always proves harder than when the thought first goes through your mind. There are so many good smokes out there that it is very difficult to narrow them down to a list. I started with 5 and decided to go to 10 based on my inability to choose just 5. The easiest choice was #1. After that it was tough.

#1 Oliva Connecticut Reserve. I absolutely love this smoke. It is a bit more full bodied than most Connies but not much and the flavor profile is just ridiculously good. A nicely balanced toasty, creamy cigar with the perfect touch of spice for this profile. It goes perfect at anytime with anything. This stick is probably in my top 5 overall. Check out the review I did of the Toro here.

#2 Perdomo Patriarch. This stick embodies my vision of a Connecticut wrapped cigar. Thick, creamy smoke and a wonderful light nutty flavor. Check out what Chris had to say about it here.

#3 Camacho. A very good nutty, toasty smoke that has a bit of kick for a Connecticut. I have had quite a few of these since my review and they have grown on me quite a bit. Doesn’t come close (in my opinion) to the Oliva but it is now up in the running for my #2 Connie. You can find my review of the Monarca here.

#4 Rocky Patel Connecticut. This is the Rocky Connie that is made for cigar.com and CI not the Vintage 1999. (Sometimes you just can’t get away from them.) This stick has a ton of nutty/woody flavor yet is very light in body. I thoroughly enjoy this stick with a strong cup of coffee.

#5 Perdomo Lot 23. An all around good smoke to me. The pepper spice up front will turn some people off but for me its goes great with the balance of the rest of the stick which has a nice woody/nutty base flavor. This cigar goes great with a ice cold pilsner on a hot day. You can see the review I did here.

#6 Gurkha Park Avenue. This may be a surprise to some but I just straight up like this stick. Is a flaky, cheap ass cigar but it has a very enjoyable, ultra light body with pleasing roasted nut flavors. Not much complexity to the stick but it provides a ton of satisfaction for very little cost. Like the Rocky, this stick is great with coffee.

#7 Nub. Another Oliva product from Sam Leccia, I am sure you are all very familiar with the Nub. The Connecticut is my favorite in the line and as I am putting this together I am a bit surprised we don’t have a review up yet so look for this one in the near future. To me the Nub Connie has more of a light cedar flavor that drives the profile and a nice mild-medium body.

#8 Devils Weed. The craziness that was the CI/Devils Weed “incident” doesn’t take away from the fact that is is a very good, creamy, woody smoke that is nice and light on the palate. These sticks consistently perform well and I think were under valued by the cigar community. Check out Charlie’s thoughts of the Devils Weed here.

#9 CAO Gold. I have yet to try the Gold Vintage from CAO but the original Gold to me stands up quite well to most Connecticut wrapped cigars on the market. The flavors are well balanced with a nutty base complimented by just a touch of a pepper spice. Creamy smoke and consistent construction really make this stick one that you can sit back, enjoy, and let your mind go. Although we don’t have a review of the Gold up on the site, you can find Ben’s review to the Gold Vintage here.

#10 Montecristo White. Probably the priciest stick of the group which makes it difficult to buy over others listed here, but based on flavor alone, this stick deserves mention. Creamy thick smoke that leave a buttery taste in you mouth compliments a nice light woody base flavor. Another great smoke with coffee but goes well with a creamy brew or smoky scotch.

Well, that’s it for my opinions of the top Connecticut Wrapped sticks that I have had the pleasure of smoking. I am interested in your thoughts of the list and what you favorites are. Tell me what I NEED to try. Look for other “Favorites” of different wrapper selections in the future but until then…Nothin’ Beats a Nice Tight Ash!

Wrapper: Dark Connecticut Broadleaf ligero
Binder: Plantation grown Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan Cuban Seed

Wrapper aged for 18+ months
Cigar aged 1 year before release

I received this cigar from from the Drew Estates crew at IPCPR in 2009. I paired this cigar with a new coffee I’m trying out because the flavor profiles seemed to compliment each other. How did it work out? Watch the video and find out.

Looking back on the event Brian and I are still impressed with just how well it was put together. It just seemed like everything was thought of. We’re not sure on the exact number of attendees, but it was much lower than others which made talking to the manufacturers and reps much easier.

We could probably talk all day about what a great time we had, but the message would be the same. Famous Smoke Shop’s Cigar Expo is a must for cigar enthusiasts. We don’t see any way you could be disappointed by this event.

As most people know, fellow cigar reviewer, Jerry Cruz over at Stogie Review, tragically lost his son 3 years ago to SIDS. As a father myself, I can’t imagine something like that happening and how I would cope. So, today, on JJ’s 3rd birthday, we will celebrate his life by smoking a Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ. This is the third year for this and cigars smokers from all over Twitter and cigar blogs are joining in today to smoke a JJ for JJ. Another cigar reviewer, Barry Stein from A Cigar Smoker’s Journal and gone a step further and has stated that he will donate $20 for every picture he receives today of you smoking a JJ for JJ up to $500 to the American SIDS Institute! GREAT gesture, Barry! So, please join us and celebrating JJ’s life and light up a DPG JJ. Don’t forget to take a pic and send it to Barry!

• Robusto – Santiago (Carlos Sr. Father’s name) 5 x 50
• Toro – La Esperanza 6 x 52 (Means Hope in Spanish and is the name of the Tobacco farm in Cuba)
• Torpedo – Latin – 6 1/2 x 54

I found this cigar to be medium in body and filled the gap nicely between the Casa Torano and the Exodus 1959.  Check out the video for more.

National Cigar Event Series to Kick Off in July

Richmond, VA—General Cigar will commemorate its golden anniversary with a ten-city tour that will hit chic, cigar-friendly venues across the U.S. beginning on July 27 at Chicago’s swanky Vertigo Lounge in the Dana Hotel, and ending on November 11 at the legendary Foundation Room in Las Vegas. The complete event schedule appears on the General Cigar 50^th anniversary website www.cigarcelebration.com.

At each event, General Cigar will welcome tenured cigar enthusiasts and fellow connoisseurs drawn to the lure of handcrafted cigars to celebrate the company’s past 50 years of artistry in cultivating venerable brands such as Macanudo®, Punch®, Partagas®, Hoyo de Monterrey® and La Gloria Cubana®.

Benji Menendez, the legendary cigar master who recently celebrated his 58^th year in the premium cigar business will be on hand to regale event attendees with glorious stories spanning five decades of tobacco cultivation across Latin America, South America, the Caribbean and the U.S. Emerging cigar masters Michael Giannini and Rick Rodriguez and other key General Cigar staff will also be present to pair a selection of the company’s new and critically-acclaimed cigars with fine wines, spirits and hors d’oeuvres.

Debo Mukherjee, vice president of marketing for General Cigar comments, “At General Cigar, we take great pride in our heritage and our unparalleled tobacco expertise. We developed this event series to celebrate the people whose passion and mastery have made General Cigar one of the world’s foremost producers of premium cigars. Invited guests will not only have a chance to experience the premium cigar lifestyle in a connoisseur’s setting, but will also have a rare opportunity to learn about tobacco cultivation and blending from Benji Menendez, our cigar sage, and from the emerging cigar masters who will take our company into the next half century.”

General Cigar Co. Inc. manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar also produces Macanudo, Cohiba®, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur®, La Gloria Cubana and several other leading premium brands. In addition, the company grows its own premium Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco, as well as natural and candela wrapper in the Dominican Republic. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

®  Macanudo, Punch, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, La Gloria Cubana, Cohiba, Excalibur and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co. Inc.

Richmond, VA—On July 14, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of General Cigar in the latest round of litigation in the Cohiba® trademark case, affirming that General Cigar is the rightful owner of the Cohiba trademark in the U.S.

According to Dan Carr, chief operating officer of General Cigar, “The Second Circuit court’s ruling upholds what we have always believed since we first filed a U.S. application to register the COHIBA trademark in 1978:  that General Cigar is the rightful owner of Cohiba in the U.S. We continue to remain confident that our exclusive right to the Cohiba cigar brand in the U.S. will be upheld even if Cubatabaco attempts further legal efforts to challenge these rights.”

The appeals court concluded that Cuban-government-owned Cubatabaco’s argument that a change in a law justified re-opening this case was “without merit” and restored the U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling in 2005 in favor of General Cigar over Cubatabaco.

In various court opinions beginning in late 2008 and into early 2010, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that there were changes to New York State Unfair Competition law that provided Cubatabaco the basis to re-open this case. Yesterday’s Appeals Court decision overturned the lower court’s rulings.

Cubatabaco first filed suit against General Cigar in 1997, claiming rights to the Cohiba name in the United States under U.S. law, although Cubatabaco had failed to take any legal action against General Cigar for nearly 20 years.

About General Cigar

General Cigar Co. Inc. manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar also produces Macanudo®, Cohiba®, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur®, La Gloria Cubana and several other leading premium brands. In addition, the company grows its own premium Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco, as well as natural and candela wrapper in the Dominican Republic. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

®  Cohiba, Macanudo, Punch, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, La Gloria Cubana, Excalibur and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co. Inc.



The Toraño Family, makers of some of the finest cigars in the world, is proud to announce that effective August 1st the family will distribute its own brands. To add to this exciting news, Toraño launches a new company name, a new logo and two retail exclusive cigar brands.

The company name is changing from Toraño Cigars to Toraño Family Cigar Company to truly capture the family legacy and emphasize that this is a family-owned company. The taking over of its distribution is the result of the family’s decision to enhance its personal relationships with the trade and consumers.

“We are energized and excited to be announcing these positive changes,” said Charlie Toraño, the company’s president.

The new logo, which combines a contemporary, yet classic look, is symbolic of the company’s new direction, one which will focus on the introduction of innovative cigar brands, unique blends and building a strong Toraño Family Cigar community.

“We recognize the value of building communication,” Charlie said. “There’s no better way to reach cigar smokers and the trade than through social media, the Internet, the use of viral campaigns and the personal touch and interactions at cigar events that only the family can provide.”

The IPCPR in New Orleans will be the platform for the unveiling of Master by Carlos Toraño and Single Region, two retail exclusive brands. The company is also offering a value priced bundle cigar named Brigade.

“I am looking forward to seeing everyone at our upcoming annual trade show and personally showing all of the changes which are taking place,” Charlie said.

A leader in the cigar industry, Toraño Family Cigar Company is a four-generation company currently based in Miami, Florida. It enjoys a rich heritage and history in tobacco growing and cigar manufacturing.

Torano Family Cigars Facebook Site

Torano Cigars Website

The value and quality of the Oliva lines make these smokes excellent candidates for humidor stuffers. Let’s see how this G compares to the O…