While Davidoff’s flagship stores have long catered to their local clientele, the City Edition is also geared towards global travellers, collectors, and aficionados looking for a souvenir or special gift. “With the City Edition, we bring the exclusivity of Davidoff directly to our flagship stores. For the first time, we are launching a series that belongs entirely to the cities that inspire it. New York and Las Vegas each have their unique blend and box, which cannot be found anywhere else. They are perfect for travellers and collectors alike”, says Javier González, SVP Head Global Marketing & Innovation at Oettinger Davidoff.

City Edition New York

The New York City Edition embodies Davidoff’s core principles of balance, elegance and refinement. Its filler is composed exclusively of carefully selected Dominican tobaccos, combined with an Ecuadorian binder and wrapper. It will be available exclusively as a 5 1/2 x 55 robusto.

City Edition Las Vegas

The Las Vegas City Edition embodies the sophistication and refinement characteristics of Davidoff. Like the New York version, it comes as a 5 1/2 x 55 robusto. Its filler is composed exclusively of carefully selected Dominican tobaccos, combined with an Ecuadorian binder and wrapper. A wine cask aged Dominican filler tobacco lends a distinctive character and greater aromatic depth.

Each City Edition arrives in refined, city-inspired packaging that captures the essence of its destination through iconic symbols, distinctive character and the skyline. Reserved solely for its designated city, each box becomes as much a keepsake as the cigars it holds, a precious find for tourists, souvenir purchasers, collectors and aficionados in search of something truly exclusive and rare. These will both be available starting November 2nd, in the respective Davidoff of Geneva since 1911 flagship stores in New York City and Las Vegas with an MSRP of $49.

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The presentation begins with a rich green exterior, embossed with an intricate pattern and finished with gold detailing. A golden sleeve slides outward to reveal five cigars; each housed in its own cosmetic-grade aluminum tube. The result is a presentation that places equal emphasis on the cigars themselves and the experience of discovering them. At the heart of the collection is a defining characteristic of Selected Tobacco: its exclusive post-roll aging process. Every cigar in the Robusto Edition Set has undergone this meticulous process, with a minimum of four to five years of post-roll aging before release.

The Robusto Edition Set includes five cigars representing the Selected Tobacco portfolio:

• Byron Poemas (5 x 52)
• Atabey Brujos (5 x 52)
• Alfonso Añejo No. 2 (5 x 52)
• Bandolero Premium Atrevidos (5 x 52)
• Nelson Hidalgos (5 x 50)

The inclusion of the new Bandolero Premium Atrevidos and Nelson Hidalgos sizes add another dimension to the collection, giving attendees an exclusive introduction to cigars that extend beyond the established portfolio. The set carries a suggested retail value of $200 and is already sold out. Shipments have begun to United Cigars retail partners who attended the Madrid celebration, with availability limited to the original allocation.

For collectors and retailers fortunate enough to secure a set, the Robusto Edition represents more than a collection of cigars. It is a commemorative release tied to a defining moment in the Selected Tobacco story, bringing together the aging process, award winning presentations, and an exclusive first look at two new sizes.

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Carranza joined Plasencia Cigars in 2016 as U.S. National Sales Director, during the early stages of the Plasencia family’s efforts to establish its own branded cigar portfolio in the American market. Over the past decade, he has played a central role in building the company’s national sales organization, expanding distribution, and cultivating relationships with leading premium cigar retailers and strategic partners throughout the country.

In his new position, Carranza will oversee Plasencia’s U.S. sales organization and commercial strategy, focusing on strengthening retailer partnerships, developing the sales team, refining distribution strategies, and driving sustainable growth while maintaining the brand’s premium positioning.

“Javier has been an integral part of Plasencia’s journey in the United States, helping build our branded business from its earliest days,” said Ed Bello, Chief Executive Officer of Plasencia Cigars. “His leadership, deep understanding of the premium cigar industry, and commitment to our retail partners have contributed significantly to our growth. This promotion recognizes his accomplishments and reflects our confidence in his ability to lead our U.S. sales organization into its next chapter.”

“When Javier joined us ten years ago, we were beginning an important new chapter in our family’s history, building a cigar brand that would carry the Plasencia name,” said Néstor Andrés Plasencia. “He believed in our vision from the very beginning and has dedicated himself to helping us bring that dream to life. Over the years, Javier has become much more than a colleague. He has become part of our family. We are incredibly proud of the leader he has become, but even more proud of the person he is. This promotion is a recognition of his dedication, loyalty, and the trust he has earned, and I look forward to everything we will continue building together.”

“Being part of Plasencia’s growth over the past ten years has been an extraordinary experience,” said Javier Carranza, Vice President of Sales, United States. “When I joined the company, we were building something that went far beyond selling cigars. We helped establish a legacy that carries the Plasencia family name. I’m grateful for the trust the family and our leadership have placed in me, and I look forward to continuing to build on what we’ve accomplished alongside our team and the retail partners who have supported us throughout this journey.”

Born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and raised in Miami, Carranza brings approximately 12 years of premium cigar industry experience. Before joining Plasencia, he held positions with Gurkha Cigars, House of Emilio, and AJ Fernandez, developing the sales expertise and industry relationships that have shaped his career.

The post Plasencia Promotes Javier Carranza to Vice-President of Sales appeared first on Smokin Tabacco.

Brad Winstead, who served as CEO of Casa de Montecristo, is now Chief Commercial Officer of Tabacalera USA. With more than two decades experience across the business, brands, customers and retail experience, he leads commercial excellence and distribution across Altadis U.S.A. and Santa Clara. Davide Moro, who was CEO of Altadis U.S.A., is now Chief Marketing and Brand Experience Officer of Tabacalera USA. He is responsible for leading an integrated marketing, branding and experiential retail agenda that strengthens storytelling across the company’s portfolio. He is also responsible for leveraging Casa de Montecristo as a platform for new concepts. Nicolas Maslowski, who was CEO of JR Cigar, is now Chief Direct to Consumer Officer of Tabacalera USA. He continues to lead our retail e-Commerce business while advancing our digital agenda, omni-channel customer experience and new growth opportunities.The changes were effective October 16.

“These appointments,” said Charles Gibb, President & CEO of Tabacalera USA, reflect our commitment to operating as ‘One’ Tabacalera USA and bringing the combined expertise of our businesses together to serve customers and partners more effectively.”

“As we continue building a stronger and more connected Tabacalera USA, these three leadership appointments will strengthen our commercial organization, our brands and retail experiences – and our digital growth capabilities,” he said.

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In addition, Tatuaje has also announced it began shipping the Skinny Monsters Krueger and Michael in a 6 x 38 format only ever seen in the original Skinny Monster sampler. They will ship in their respective jars with will have an MSRP of $9.50 per cigar.

Tatuaje Skinny Monster Krueger

• Wrapper: San Andrés
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 6 x 38
• MSRP: $9.50 per cigar

Tatuaje Skinny Monster Michael

• Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 6 x 38
• MSRP: $9.50 per cigar

The post Tatuaje Ships Skinny Monsters Krueger and Michael, Coffin Ash Trays to Stores appeared first on Smokin Tabacco.

The Smokin Tabacco media brand was launched on September 1st, 2019. The Smokin Tabacco Show was originally created in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic by Jonathan Carney. The following year, Matt Tabacco and William Cooper of Cigar-Coop.com joined forces to create the Spare Notes Series show.

“To be honest, podcasts require so much time and effort to prep, manage, and plan for. Then there is time to record, edit etc. With our personal lives continuing to grow, I knew that I needed to cut something out to make room and for me personally I knew it would be best to move forward without the shows. Our primary storefront is our website, the majority of our content lives there, and in a world where – everybody has a cigar podcast – I would rather focus on more traditional journalistic methods moving forward.” says Matt Tabacco, founder of Smokin Tabacco.

Smokin Tabacco does want to stress this doesn’t mean an end to all video content, as there will be video content moving forward with trade show coverage, one off interviews from time to time and other things that we choose to share. The shows that have already been published and released will continue to be available on all platforms, which also helps leave the door open for a future return. In the meantime, it is full steam ahead at SmokinTabacco.com.

“We want everyone to know that we have also reminded ourselves, and remain very open to, possible returns in the future if things felt right and it worked out.” Tabacco added.

We plan to continue production on both shows until January 2027, through the awards season, after which point the shows will cease production. Lastly, we want to thank everyone who has helped make our shows happen over the years from our partners, co-hosts, guests and most importantly, our viewers. Thank you all so much.

The post Smokin Tabacco Announces End of Podcast Productions – Rest of Operations Will Continue appeared first on Smokin Tabacco.

Originally introduced to commemorate the five-year anniversary of Pledge Prequel, Pledge Purple was created around a historic Havana-seed Connecticut wrapper from the same standout crop used in the original Pledge Prequel. Following the announcement of that honor in 2021, Casa Carrillo made a deliberate decision to set aside a select portion of the finest wrapper from that exceptional crop, allowing it to continue aging.

• Size: 5 1/4 x 52 Robusto
• Wrapper: Nearly decade-aged Havana-seed Connecticut
• Wrapper Origin: Connecticut River Valley
• Wrapper Source: Dunn & Foster
• Binder: Mexican
• Filler: Nicaraguan — Estelí, Condega & Ometepe
• MSRP: $16.50 per cigar – 10ct box
• Collection: Premier Collection
• Production: Limited boxes released throughout the year
• First Shipment: Shipping to select retailers this month

Grown in the Connecticut River Valley—renowned for its rich soils, distinctive microclimate, and generations of tobacco-growing expertise—the Havana-seed Connecticut wrapper was sourced from Dunn & Foster, a respected name in premium Connecticut tobacco. For the original Pledge Prequel, this wrapper was aged for more than three years, contributing to the balance and refinement that helped define its award-winning profile.

The new Pledge Purple Robusto measures 5 1/4 x 52 and carries a suggested retail price of $16.50 per cigar. The original Pledge Purple Toro, measuring 6 x 54, remains available at a suggested retail price of $18 per cigar. Both sizes will be produced in limited quantities, with boxes released throughout the year. This measured approach allows Casa Carrillo to maintain the quality and consistency expected from the Premier Collection while keeping availability intentionally limited.

The first batch of Pledge Purple Robusto is available to select retailers now and will begin shipping this month. The addition of the Robusto provides retailers and consumers with another opportunity to experience Pledge Purple while maintaining the limited-production nature of the release.

Purple—long associated with power, artistry, and nobility—represents the ultimate expression of the Pledge line. Pledge Purple is not a sequel to Pledge Prequel, but a culmination: a rare and considered expression of legacy, patience, and intentional craftsmanship.

The post Casa Carillo Adds Robusto to Pledge Purple appeared first on Smokin Tabacco.

The Boveda Humidor was released back in August of this year to consumers worldwide. It is not the first humidor that Boveda has offered. There was previously an acrylic humidor that, I personally loved the look of, I never got to own because it was discontinued in 2022 after issues with production. I always wanted one and never got around to picking one up. But when the new humidors came around, I knew I couldn’t make that mistake twice. Currently, Boveda says this humidor is only available on their website.

Under the Lid

The Boveda humidor was packaged extremely well with a very luxurious feel. A soft textured outer box started off the presentation and once it was opened, it revealed a very well packaged unit that was inside of a velvet bag, like many ultra-premium cigar dress boxes come, surrounded in foam wrap to give it the most absolute safe handling possible. Once I got the humidor completely unwrapped and unpackaged, I could see why this is a beautiful humidor with fabulous texture a beautiful color with woodgrain I would not want this to be damaged.

The bottom of the humidor has a classic velvet, covering allowing it to protect any surface that it sits upon while also giving it some protection to the bottom of it itself, the side features a silver powered by a Boveda decal very similar to the one scene on boxes of cigars that come out of the factory with the Boveda packs inside on the chrome handle on the very front the words “LOVE YOUR CIGARS” is laser engraved on the front edge opening the humidor, a rich aroma of cedar immediately escapes. The above the logo is laser engraved at the top edge of the lid inside and all of the pieces necessary to get your humidor started sit in the bottom.

The humidor measures 12″ by 10 1/2″ inside and has a manufactures rating of up to fifty cigars.

It features chrome hinges that open and close absolutely beautifully, with very silky-smooth operation. Over the years, I have seen a lot of these box or desktop style humidors come out of China that are not as high quality and while they mostly work fine, there is something to be said about the extra elegance of absolute perfection when it comes to the way things are made. To open the lid and have it be smooth with no friction – that’s nice. The Boveda humidor has a nice seal to it and when you close the lid you can feel it snug firmly around the upper edge of the cedar inside. This gives the humidor a nice grab, while not being too tight, but also not loose whatsoever. This is important because it means that the humidor has a nice air-tight seal on the edge of the lid so that none of your humidity will escape and perfectly contains the ecosystem inside. If you know anything about wood, you’ll know that if a dry humidor out of the packaging already feels this nice then once more moisture is introduced inside, the wood will swell making it even better. It shouldn’t over swell to the point where it does become tight and difficult to open and close, not unless it was an extreme amount of moisture/humidity that was introduced, but at that point if you’re at that problem, the seal on the humidor is the least of your worries.

It does come with a nice white polishing cloth for keeping fingerprints and dust off of the nice wood finish, and a set of dividers that you can use to configure the organization of your cigars inside. It also comes with an instructional booklet that will help you properly set this up and maintain going forward.

Pricing and Availability

The Boveda Humidor has a retail price of $299 and can be purchased from Boveda’s website or through an authorized retailer. The humidor utilizes the Boveda 320 two-way humidity packs, which can be replaced for $27.99. There is a QR code inside the lid, under where the magnetic humidity pack holder sits which also takes you to the Boveda Humidor website where you can learn more about it and also set up automatic Boveda pack refills for your humidor that would auto ship to your house if you wanted. These packs, according to Boveda, should last up to six months. I will add that results may vary, and you could see these packs last much less if the humidor is consistently in a very dry and colder environment where it needs to work harder.

Performance Notes

For this review, I’m going to do everything by the book. I’m going to follow the instructions and set this humidor up with the seasoning packs of 84% humidity that came with it and let it sit inside the humidor for fourteen days. After which point I removed these packs and I set up the humidor with cigars to give them their actual operational set up. I put the Boveda pack holder, which has a magnetic hold on the lid up top after placing the enclosed Boveda pack box inside of it. I want to stress this because I know people have done this, but you do not want to open the cardboard pack the actual paper pack stays inside that box the box slides inside the holder and allows it to sit properly inside the humidor so that it doesn’t flop around as well as breathe and function correctly.

Now normally for a product review, I would do it over the course of a couple weeks such as with cutters and lighters using them with multiple cigars trying to really get the kinks to come out if there are any, so I can give them a very accurate review. Something like this is going to take place over a few months because you can’t really capture the performance of a humidor in a few weeks or even thirty days. For the record, this review began back in July, and I am just now publishing this review so that I have plenty of time to make sure this thing works well.

I began to check the humidor every week or so after letting the cigars continue to rest inside and acclimate to their new environment. What I found is that the humidity stayed within one degree or so of the rating on the pack inside. For me, I don’t need it to be dead on the number all the time because I know that is impractical. But withing a degree or so up or down is fair. Had it been off by five or so degrees it would have been a much different story. As time continued to go on, I check the humidor more often and it continued to stay within the same parameters.

I also checked the cigars themselves during this period in which they all seemed to stay fresh, small sponge like squeeze and didn’t ever feel dry or make any cracking sounds upon squeezing them. These cigars were perfect to smoke right out of the humidor evetime.

Smokin Wrap

I would like to be the first person to tell you that I think this humidor is not only great and a slam dunk, but I am seriously considering this for the Accessory of the Year award this year. I will be honest, I have been doing this for quite some time now and I find it hard to find a box humidor that check off every box 100%. Unfortunately, there are many people out there who fall victim to spending money on poorly made humidors (for the love of God people STOP buying the glass top ones on Amazon) but this one is the one to swoop in and save them and their pricey cigars. If you are considering buying a humidor of this size, please do not look any further. I am very critical when I try new accessories and this one was a no brainer. Huge congratulations to Boveda for proving why they are the leader in keeping your cigars safe.

Smokin Facts

• Boveda Does Not Advertise with Smokin Tabacco
• Boveda Sent Humidor for Review
• Boveda Two-Way Packs Can Be Ordered Online
• 320G Pack Should Last Up to Six Months

Purchase recommendation: Are you serious? Buy it…today.

Score: 95

The post Product Review: Boveda Humidor appeared first on Smokin Tabacco.

Smokers can enter to win some really cool prizes that were created by Subculture Studios through the I Love Acid program. Every piece was hand painted by Subculture Studios and will never be made again. Three winners will be selected at random to win one of the following:

• A 1 of 1 custom painted ACID guitar
• A 1 of 1 pair of hand painted ACID sneakers
• A 1 of 1 ACID skate deck

In order to win, here are the official rules:

1. Post an original photo of your ACID moment, with your ACID in the shot, on a public Instagram account
2. Tag @drewestatecigar and use #I❤️ACID and #DrewEstateSweepstakes
3. Fill out the entry form at drewestate.com/i-love-acid

Drew Estate also says that posting alone doesn’t count, you MUST fill out the form. The contest is running now through November 30th, 2026, at 11:59PM EST. Photos must be real and original and AI photos DO NOT count – don’t be lazy people. For a full list of rules, visit Drew Estate online.

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Each installment opens a different file, examining a figure, event, or archival theme connected to the era. Together, the releases form a broader narrative around the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba and its lasting influence on the cigar industry. “Fidel” establishes the collection’s historical framework and visual identity. Military-green packaging, vintage-inspired typography, a red star, and custom cigar bands introduce the dossier concept that
connects the six releases.

The new edition also continues Concealed Carry’s approach to withholding production details. Factory locations, blend components, and exact tobacco origins remain undisclosed, keeping the focus on the smoking experience and the story behind each release.

“Concealed Carry was created to remove preconceptions and let the tobacco tell a story of intrigue and craftsmanship,” said Omar de Frias, Creator of Concealed Carry. “With ‘The Cuban Embargo theme’, we are pulling back the curtain on a historical moment that forever reshaped our industry. ‘Fidel’ is just the beginning of a six-part journey that will take collectors deep into the secret history of 1962.”

This release will be limited to only thirty-five stores nationwide with only select authorized Fratello retailers and will begin shipping soon.

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