The Cigar Association of America, Inc. (CAA) announced today the hiring of Scott Pearce

The Cigar Association of America, Inc. (CAA) announced today that it has hired a new president to begin May 28, 2024. Following an extensive search process, CAA will be led by Scott Pearce, the current Executive Director of the Premium Cigar Association (PCA). Pearce’s tenure with PCA will end on May 21, 2024. Pearce has over 20 years of experience working in associations with a strong track record of driving growth and implementing innovative strategies.

“Scott is uniquely positioned to grow and bring innovative lobbying and advocacy to CAA. His depth of experience working in industry and trade groups and his most recent experience with PCA provides CAA a leader who is prepared to take on the difficult issues our association faces.” said Chris Howard, CAA Board Member and Chair of CAA’s committee that sought out its new President. Leaning into one of CAA’s critical areas – premium cigars – Scott will continue to build on CAA’s successful efforts over the past several years to collaborate with other cigar industry trade groups and associations. Under Scott’s leadership, CAA will continue to build synergy amongst CAA, PCA, and local and state tobacconist associations to represent the premium cigar industry at all levels. “We expect that Scott’s experience at PCA will build on CAA’s already strong relationships throughout the industry and look forward to collaborative efforts for all cigar industry members,” said Howard.

Pearce said he is excited to embark on a new phase of working in the industry and looks forward to creating more impactful programs for CAA members. “I am humbled and honored to take the reins of the CAA,” Pearce said. “I am optimistic about the future for our industry and look forward to working with the great companies and people of CAA to drive greater value for members and develop new advocacy strategies to both defend us and catapult the industry to new heights,” said Pearce.

CAA was founded in 1937 as a non-profit trade association and is now the leading national trade association representing the interests of cigar manufacturers, importers, distributors, major industry suppliers, and supporting members. Today, its member companies come from all sectors of the industry from major manufacturers of handmade premium cigars to the largest producers of machine-made cigars.

Scott will begin as the CAA President on May 28, 2024

Premium Cigar Association Announces Departure of Scott Pearce

The Premium Cigar Association (PCA), a leading trade association representing specialty tobacco retailers, announces the departure of Scott Pearce, its executive director. Pearce has led the PCA since 2018. His last day with the PCA will be May 24, 2024. In the interim, Deputy Executive Director Joshua Habursky will fill the vacancy and oversee operations in coordination with PCA's Executive Committee and Board of Directors.

"We are grateful for Scott's time at PCA that saw transformative positive changes for the association from advocacy to trade show and especially grateful that he was able to work with us to hire an incredible team that will have a lasting legacy even after he leaves the organization,” says Scott Regina, PCA Board President.

Joshua Habursky, Interim Executive Director, added: "With change comes opportunity. Scott was part of a team of staff and a board of directors that resurrected an organization that faced tough times during the pandemic. The association is in a strong position and will continue to be the advocacy leader for premium cigars, host its world-class trade show, and grow all facets of its membership with our existing team.”

Pearce will join the Cigar Association of America (CAA) as its new president, effective May 28, 2024. The PCA Board and staff look forward to working with Pearce in this new position. During this transition, the PCA will continue to serve and advocate for its membership.

Tripadvisor Names J.C. Newman as the Top Museum in Tampa

 

Tripadvisor now lists J.C. Newman Cigar Co.’s historic El Reloj cigar factory as the top museum in Tampa, Florida. Based on visitor reviews, Tripadvisor ranks El Reloj ahead of 33 other museums in Tampa and presented it with a “Travelers Choice” award for 2023. When El Reloj was built in 1910, it was recognized as the largest and finest cigar factory in the world. Today, El Reloj is the last large cigar factory still operating in the United States.

“In celebration of our company’s 125th anniversary in 2020, we restored El Reloj and opened the factory to the public for the first time,” said fourth-generation owner Drew Newman. “Last year, more than 15,000 visitors explored our cigar museum, took a guided factory tour, participated in a cigar-rolling class, or attended a private event.”

Because J.C. Newman is a four-generation family business, many of its Tripadvisor reviews note that guided tours of El Reloj are both informative and personal:

A century ago, Tampa became internationally known the fine cigar capital and “Cigar City.”  Tampa’s 150 cigar factories rolled more than 500 million cigars by hand each year, more than anywhere else in the world. Today, J.C. Newman keep’s Tampa’s historic cigar making tradition alive by rolling 60,000 cigars per day at its historic El Reloj cigar factory. With its cigar museum, guided tours, cigar-rolling classes, factory store, and private events, El Reloj has become the premier destination for cigar tourism.

Black Label Trading Co. shipping Orthodox next week!

Black Label Trading Co (BLTC) will begin shipping the new Limited Release, ORTHODOX, next week. Hand crafted at Fabrica Oveja Negra in Esteli, Nicaragua.

ORTHODOX is a small batch release offered to retailers who attended this year’s PCA tradeshow.

"Orthodox is really about Black Label getting back to its roots. We’ve done a lot over the last 10 years but at our core we are about highlighting the strength & intensity of Nicaraguan tobacco. That’s what I went for with the Orthodox. It’s extremely bold with spice throughout the palate and nose. Its intensity is balanced by flavors of dark fruits, cherries, raisins and finishes with star anise. This cigar is bold but very balanced and extremely complex,” says James Brown, creator of Black Label Trading Co./Black Works Studio and partner at Fabrica Oveja Negra.

ORTHODOX

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Wrapper: Mexico San Andrés

Binder: Ecuador Habano

Filler: Nicaraguan

Available vitolas:

5.75x50 Toro (20 count box) MSRP $13.00

5x46 Corona Gorda (20 count box) MSRP $12.50

4.5x52 Short Robusto (20 count box) MSRP $12.50

Black Label Trading Company is redefining the standards for cigar making. With a less is more philosophy, Black Label Trading Co. creates hand crafted premium cigars of the utmost quality with unique flavor profiles and creative artwork.

Room101 Hit & Run Redux Robusto (5 x 50)

Video review HERE.

(Description provided by Forged Cigar Co.)

The redux of Room101 Hit & Run Redux new blend is created by the dynamic duo of Matt Booth and Robert Caldwell.

Matt Booth said, “I’m thrilled to bring another Room101 sub-brand back to life with this expression of Hit & Run. The brand was born of a collaborative seed between myself and Robert Caldwell. It’s about our creative process as much as it is about two-like minded psychopaths who’ve stuck together over the years. This cigar is the physical and combustible manifestation of an intergalactic connection which proves that an authentic friend and a good cigar can help more than you may imagine.”

The blend is made with a Mexican San Andres wrapper, an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and a blend of Nicaraguan C-98 and Pennsylvania filler with an added layer of Nicaraguan leaf. Matt Booth describes the experience as being “sophisticated with depth and transition,” and notes that it “blends power with balance.” He says Hit & Run “pairs well with your favorite memory of the DMV.”

The line is crafted at William Ventura in Tamboril, DR, where four frontmarks have been made:

Available vitolas:

Robusto (5” x 50); SRP per cigar $12.99 (REVIEWED TODAY)

Toro (6” x 50); SPR per cigar $13.29

Gordo (6” x 60); SPR per cigar $14.39

Perfecto (5.12 x 60); SRP per cigar $16.99

The Robusto, Toro and Gordo come in 20-count boxes, while the Perfecto comes in a ten-count box. All Room101 Hit & Run packaging features colorful Room101 branding.

Room101 is distributed by Forged Cigar Company.

The cigar is dark brown and has an average feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were citrus, peach, brown sugar, and dark chocolate. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2 to 8. Nice start.

At the first third (18 minutes) the notes were the same. The percentages are also the same. The black pepper remains very good. You have really nice citrus/peach/brown sugar notes, dark chocolate, and black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is peach and dark chocolate with very good lingering black pepper. I rated the first third 94.

Moving through the second third (41 minutes) I had a little less sweetness and a little more dark chocolate. Same notes but the percentages of each have changed. The cigar is still medium bodied. The finish is primarily dark chocolate with a little peach and very good lingering black pepper. The cigar is still good just a little darker. I rated the second third 93.

The cigar lasted 56 minutes. The dark chocolate kept slowly increasing with the sweeter notes decreasing. You still get all the notes but the dark chocolate is the lead player. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is unchanged. The dark chocolate slowly rises over the course of the cigar. Still, a pretty good cigar. I rated the final third 92.

Overall Score: 93

Filthy Hooligan Shamrock 2024 (6 x 50)

 

Video review HERE.

(Description provided by Alec Bradley)

Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan and Filthy Hooligan Shamrock are now available, marking the twelfth and sixth release of the annual, limited edition take on the brand’s popular Black Market blend, respectively.

For 2024, 5,000 boxes of each blend will be released.

Bradley Rubin, brand ambassador for Alec Bradley cigars said, “Anticipation continues to build each year for the release of Filthy Hooligan and Filthy Hooligan Shamrock. With their bright green wrappers and fresh herbal notes, these candela smokes offer a great change of pace at a time when spring’s on everyone’s mind. The blends have become part of the cigar community’s annual ritual and we’re pleased that we have once again been able to source the perfect aged candela wrapper to make this year’s release a reality.”

Filthy Hooligan and Filthy Hooligan Shamrock are based on the popular Alec Bradley Black Market blend which has been tweaked to complement the multiple wrapper format.

Today we look at the Filthy Hooligan Shamrock.

Filthy Hooligan Shamrock is triple-wrapped with a Honduran Candela, Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro and a claro shade Nicaraguan Habano leaf, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder, with Honduran and Panamanian filler.

Handcrafted at Tobacos de Oriente in Danli, Honduras, available exclusively in 6” x 50 toro format. Filthy Hooligan Shamrock comes in an attractive, 10-count gray box with a large shamrock on the lid. The cigars will sell for $15.09 apiece.

The cigar is nicely made and visually pleasing. It has a nice feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were citrus, citrus peel, brown sugar, and earthy black coffee. There was black pepper rated at 7 to 7 1/2. Decent start.

At the first third (30 minutes) I still had the citrus/citrus peel notes with more citrus peel than citrus, brown sugar, grassy, and a lot of earthy black coffee. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is citrus peel and brown sugar with good lingering black pepper. The cigar is not wowing me but it's not too bad. I rated the first third 89.

As I moved through the second third (58 minutes) the brown sugar is keeping the cigar afloat. There is light citrus/citrus peel, decent amount of brown sugar, and increased earthy black coffee. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is a little grassy, light citrus peel, light brown sugar, and good lingering black pepper. I rated the second third 88.

The cigar lasted 1 hour 19 minutes. The earthiness pulled back but the black coffee increased. At this point about all I had was brown sugar and black coffee. No citrus and only slight hints of citrus peel. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is brown sugar, touch of grass, and very good lingering black pepper. I held the score of 88 for the final third. I found this cigar to be a little better than the Filthy Hooligan but neither impressed me.

Overall Score: 88.33

Filthy Hooligan 2024 (6 x 50)

Video review HERE.

(Description provided by Alec Bradley)

Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan and Filthy Hooligan Shamrock are now available, marking the twelfth and sixth release of the annual, limited edition take on the brand’s popular Black Market blend, respectively.

For 2024, 5,000 boxes of each blend will be released.

Bradley Rubin, brand ambassador for Alec Bradley cigars said, “Anticipation continues to build each year for the release of Filthy Hooligan and Filthy Hooligan Shamrock. With their bright green wrappers and fresh herbal notes, these candela smokes offer a great change of pace at a time when spring’s on everyone’s mind. The blends have become part of the cigar community’s annual ritual and we’re pleased that we have once again been able to source the perfect aged candela wrapper to make this year’s release a reality.”

Filthy Hooligan and Filthy Hooligan Shamrock are based on the popular Alec Bradley Black Market blend which has been tweaked to complement the multiple wrapper format.

Today we look at the Filthy Hooligan.

Filthy Hooligan features a Honduran Candela and Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro barber pole wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder, with Honduran and Panamanian filler.

Handcrafted at Tobacos de Oriente in Danli, Honduras, both blends are available exclusively in a 6” x 50 toro format. Filthy Hooligan is presented in a handsome green and black striped box containing 24 cigars, which will sell for an MSRP of $12.69 per cigar.

The cigar is nicely made and has a nice feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was good with a touch of firmness. The initial flavors at light up were citrus, apple, lime, a little brown sugar, and a lot of dark chocolate fudge. There was black pepper rated at 7 to 7 1/2. 

At the first third (27 minutes) the flavors have boiled down into lime, light brown sugar, and a lot of dark chocolate fudge. The finish is lime and some of the fudge with good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. The lime with dark chocolate fudge is not wowing me. I rated the first third 89.

As I moved through the second third (58 minutes) the notes were a little lime and brown sugar, quite a bit of earthiness, dark chocolate, and black coffee. The cigar got a lot darker. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is lime with a little underlying dark chocolate fudge with average lingering black pepper. The entrance of multiple dark/earthy notes hurt the cigar. I rated the second third 86.

The cigar lasted 1 hour 23 minutes. The cigar stayed very much the same in the final third. It's still medium bodied. The finish is unchanged. The notes just don't work for me. I held 86 for the final third. The cigar is a beauty to look at but not very flavorful. 

Overall Score: 87 

Alec Bradley Uncut Series Taps EverNorth Spirits for Coveted Single Barrel Pairing

 

Alec Bradley will release an exceptional Uncut Series pairing in partnership with EverNorth Spirits. The single barrel and cigar pairing will launch on April 22 when 126 collectible sets will be available for sale exclusively on Bourbon Outfitters.

The one-of-a-kind pairing represents the fourth iteration of the Uncut Series and is “expected to sell out shortly after its release” at 10:00 AM Eastern according to a spokesperson for the respected online bourbon retailer.

Alec Rubin, Alec Bradley’s brand manager of strategic partnerships said, “This single barrel pick shows how we’ve come full circle with Dan Shook and Sean Paisley, also known as Bourbon Junkies. We were their first sponsor and have been amazed to watch their popularity skyrocket. Now that they’ve come out with their own bourbon under the EverNorth Spirits brand, we wanted to support their new venture in a big way. So we set out to find a whiskey that would stand up to Alec Bradley Fine & Rare and we knew that would not be easy. Dan and Sean are big cigar guys it was great to have their thought process come into play. Together we picked the ideal whiskey for the pairing. Our only wish was that it wasn’t so limited because the pairing is that good.”

Alec Rubin and Bradley Rubin who serves as brand ambassador for the Alec Bradley cigar brand, tasted through 23 barrels of EverNorth Essence Bourbon before ultimately deciding on their pick for this Uncut Series release. Crafted by MPG, the seven-and-a-half-year-old light bourbon (131 proof/65.5% ABV) they selected is made of 99% corn and 1% malted barley and was distilled by MGP in Indiana. It was aged there for seven years before being moved to Michigan where it rested for an additional six months in a warm, conditioned environment to maintain continuous barrel interaction. Bottled at cask strength to preserve the integrity of the spirit, EverNorth Essence is heavy on complexity with notes of orange zest, caramel, cinnamon and oak. When met with the honey, nutmeg and hazelnut nuances and earthy, woody notes of Alec Bradley Fine & Rare BCN 143, the pairing becomes a moving sensory experience.

Dan Shook, co-founder of EverNorth Spirits said, “Working on this project with Alec and Bradley was every cigar and bourbon lover’s dream. Developing a single barrel pairing for the newest iteration of Fine & Rare gave us the opportunity to really flex our palates, and it made us appreciate the beauty of EverNorth whiskey on a deeper level. This collaboration goes to show you how a great cigar and a great bourbon can elevate one another to make totally new experience and we’re proud to put our name on this.”

Each Alec Bradley EverNorth Uncut Series pairing contains one 750 mL bottle of EverNorth Essence and two Alec Bradley Fine & Rare BCN-143 (7” x 50) cigars and will sell for a suggested retail price of $99.99. Released in limited quantity in 2023, the box-pressed Toro cigars are made with a masterful medium-bodied blend that contains ten unique tobacco varietals. This includes a Honduran Trojes Criollo 98 wrapper from the La Vega Coyol Farm in Honduras, a double binder comprised of Honduran Trojes Criollo 98 and Nicaraguan Esteli Criollo, and these filler tobaccos: Honduran Jamastran Criollo 98, Nicaraguan Jalapa Criollo 98, Honduran Trojes Criollo 98, Honduran Jamastran Criollo 98, Honduran Trojes Corojo 99, Honduran Jamastran Corojo and Nicaraguan Jalapa Corojo 99, all.

Interested buyers can purchase via the following URL: https://bourbonoutfitter.com/collections/alec-bradley

NOW SHIPPING! THE LIMITED EDITION AVO EXPRESSIONS 2024: A COLLABORATION WITH WORLD-RENOWNED DJ D-NICE

Avo Cigars, a leader in hand-made premium cigars announces that the “Avo Expressions 2024” Is now shipping. This highly anticipated blend is a collaboration with world-renowned DJ D-NICE. Only 6,900 boxes containing fifteen cigars were created of this exclusive brand.

The Avo Expressions line of cigars was created with the purpose of collaborating with individuals who are true experts in their craft, following in the footsteps of the late Avo Uvezian, the founder of AVO Cigars. Avo Uvezian was a musician and composer, who later in life skillfully channeled his musical genius into the creation of cigars that reflected his creative talents.

The AVO Expressions 2024 draws artistic inspiration from DJ-Nice’s dynamic world of mixing music, through disc jockeying (DJing), echoing the DJ's skill by crafting a captivating and stimulating journey, with AVO's expertise in blending and rolling. To capture the innovative spirit of DJ D-Nice's artistic creation, AVO has added a Bourbon cask aged filler tobacco, to enrich the blend with delightful caramel notes. The toro's pigtail concludes the harmonious experience and highlights AVO's elevated level of craftsmanship.

Taste experience.

The taste journey of the 50 RG toro cigar begins with a harmony of sweet cream and cedar wood, then transitions into a rich blend of coffee and spice, concluding with a smooth trio of caramel, buttercream, and roasted coffee. Just as a DJ curates an evening of music, AVO Expressions has been blended to take aficionados on a comparable journey of taste, evolving elegantly from one note to the next.

Wrapper: Ecuador

Binder: Mexico

Filler: Dominican Republic & United States

The AVO Expressions cigars are housed in elegant wooden boxes, engraved with motifs inspired by the artistry of DJing. These unique boxes reflect the creativity and rhythm that parallels the DJ's craft and are limited to 6,900 boxes, each containing fifteen toro cigars.

Click image to view video:

J.C. Newman Opens a Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge at Corona Cigar Co. Tampa

Last night, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. and Corona Cigar Co. opened a new Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge at Corona’s Tampa cigar store at a grand opening celebration attended by 250 people, including local politicians and local celebrities. This is the 36th Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge currently open in the United States.  This new Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge is also the second one at a Corona store; the Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge at Corona’s downtown Orlando store opened in 2008.

Florida Representatives Susan Valdés and Dianne Hart joined the Newman and Borysiewicz families at the grand opening.

“We are so proud to have a Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge in our hometown,” said Eric Newman. “Because Tampa is ‘Cigar City,’ it is important to us that cigar enthusiasts have a first-class location to enjoy luxury cigars like Diamond Crown.”

J.C. Newman opened the first Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge in 2007 as a response to the proliferation of smoking bans across the United States. During the past 17 years, three dozen Diamond Crown Cigar Lounges, from New York to Washington state, have become havens for cigar aficionados to light up fine cigars.

“My family and I have been friends with the Newmans for more than 20 years,” said Jeff Borysiewicz. “I fondly remember when Stanford Newman gave me my first Diamond Crown cigar. It was an outstanding luxury cigar then, and it remains an outstanding luxury cigar today.”

The Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge at Corona Cigar Co. Tampa store features a private room that overlooks the retail store. Inside are rare selections of Diamond Crown Classic, Diamond Crown MAXIMUS, Diamond Crown Julius Caeser, and Diamond Crown Black Diamond cigars along with The American, Angel Cuesta, and LeRoy Neiman Collectors Edition.  Later this year, J.C. Newman and Corona will unveil Diamond Crown Tampa, a new cigar rolled with Borysiewicz’s Florida Sun Grown tobaccos.

For a list of all 36 Diamond Crown cigar lounges, please visit jcnewman.com.

J.C. Newman on Discovery Channel’s Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America

A new episode of the Discovery Channel show, Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America, profiles J.C. Newman’s restoration of the Sanchez y Haya Real Estate Company building in Tampa’s Ybor City historic cigar district.  The episode can be streamed for free here (J.C. Newman’s segment begins at 22:30).

A few months after J.C. Newman’s iconic El Reloj cigar factory opened in 1910, Sanchez y Haya constructed a two-story building across the street to serve the factory and its cigar workers, visitors, and neighbors. A century ago, the second floor was a small hotel, and a restaurant and bar were on the first floor. In the years that followed, the building was home to a grocery store, distillery, brewery, speakeasy during Prohibition, and lots of criminal activity. Sadly, the building has been abandoned and neglected for decades.

J.C. Newman is in the midst of restoring the Sanchez y Haya building. When the project is complete in two years, the building will look and feel like it did in 1910, with a small hotel on the second floor and a café and cigar lounge on the first floor. This project is part of the Newman Family’s efforts to expand the El Reloj District, which has become the premier destination for cigar tourism.