Last year, I wrote a two-part article for CigarAdvisor.com on the leading cigar makers of the Dominican Republic. Upon its completion, I realized that more than a few of them had one connection between them in common: they had all worked with Jochy Blanco in some capacity. Aging Room, Freyja, Kristoff, La Flor Dominicana, Matilde, Pinar […]
Jim Colucci, the president and CEO of Sindicato Cigars, has been named the new chief operating officer (COO) and President of Gurkha Cigars. Colucci will now oversee Gurkha’s day-to-day operations while Gurkha will in return represent Sindicato Cigars.
I didn’t make it over to the Gurkha booth until day four, but to very little surprise, the company was still writing orders. I suppose that’s sort of the story of all the talk about attendance: if you are busy then it doesn’t matter. As for the booth, there’s not much change: it’s a larger […]
Manuel Quesada likes to tell the story about his first days of making cigars in the Dominican Republic, with the company’s sole assets being “$100, a chair and a phone.” It was 1974, and Manufactura de Tabacos S.A. (Matasa) was the only cigar factory in Santiago’s first free-trade zone.
Though none of their cigars are new for the show since they started shipping back in May, owner Emiliano Lagos took a moment to tell us about the two blends and what makes up these reasonably priced cigars, ranging from $6.40-$8.10 each.
If you haven’t heard of American Caribbean Cigars S.A., you’ve certainly heard of brands that have had cigars made there at some point or another, such as Toraño Family Cigar Co., Leccia and Gurkha. The booth is shared among a few other brands that the company produces, showing off their cigars as well as the brands owned […]
Other than moving around some of the display cases, Casa Turrent’s booth for this year’s IPCPR show was pretty much the same as last year. The company was showing off the Casa Turrent 1880 blend that was released late last year. That makes sense, as owner Alejandro Turrent told me that his goal for this year’s […]
While there is no new product for Matilde at this year’s IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, something is quite different. Matilde and MLB Cigar Ventures opted to start their own distribution company—Seibel Distribution—and the two companies had their own booth this year.
El Galan Cigars, known for its Semilla Cubana Habano and Reserva Especial cigar lines, is launching a new cigar next month called Vegas del Purial Gran Reserva. According to brand owner Felix Mesa, the cigar is named after the farm where his paternal grandparents, Felipe and Caridad Mesa, grew tobacco in the Cuban province of […]
