IPCPR 2013 – Fratello Cigars

One of the new and exciting discoveries at this year’s IPCPR was Fratello Cigars.  We were able to catch up with Omar de Frias, the company’s owner/founder.  In this interview, de Frias gives us an inside look at his initial release, which is simply called Fratello – enjoy!

IPCPR 2013 – Jose Blanco of Joya de Nicaragua

Another one of our must stops at IPCPR 2013 was catching up with Jose Blanco and the gang at Joya de Nicaragua.  In this interview, Blanco gives us a couple of minutes to share a couple new and exiting things on the horizon for JdN.  Once of which being the all-new 1970 Antano Big Bull, a big and bold 7×70 full-bodied cigar – enjoy!

IPCPR 2013 – Chinnock Cellars Cigars

Today we spend time with one of the hot up and coming boutique brands, Chinnock Cellars Cigars. In this interview, owner/founder Brian Chinnock talks about their all-new Pressoir. In addition, Chinnock rewinds the clock to talk about his two previous releases, Estate and Terroir – enjoy!

IPCPR 2013 – A Moment With LFD’s Litto Gomez

Today we spend time with one of the true legends in the industry, Litto Gomez of La Flor Dominicana Cigar Company. In this interview, Gomez shares with us information on the all-new LFD Chapter One, Factory Press Limitado and all-new tubos – enjoy!

Take-5: Drew Estate Cigar Safari 2013 – Part-3, Stalk Cut Habano

Continuing our recap of last month’s Drew Estate Cigar Safari, we spend more time with masterminds Steve Saka and Nicholas Melillo. In this video clip we get a behind-the-scenes look at how pilones (large piles of stacked tobacco leaves) are used to cure tobacco during the fermentation process. The tobacco discussed in these videos is one of my all-time favorites, the extremely temperamental yet oh-so-flavorful Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut and Cured Sun Grown Habano wrapper. (aka “Stalk Cut Habano”) This signature wrapper has been used on such legendary Liga Privada blends as T52, Dirty Rat, L40, Ratzilla, UF-4 and pre-release UF-13…enjoy!

Take-5: Drew Estate Cigar Safari 2013 – Part-2, Fire Cured Tobacco

Following up on our coverage of the Drew Estate Cigar Safari, we jump right in to an interesting topic for 2013 – the use of fire-cured tobacco. In this clip, Steve Saka and Nicholas Melillo share details on how certain tobaccos are fire cured at one of the Finca La Joya barns. As you’ll hear, “fire cured” is a technique that plays a major part in producing the unique mesquite BBQ flavors present in cigars such as the Sam Leccia Black and the soon-to-be-released MUWAT Kentucky Fire Cured (KFC) line…enjoy!

Take-5: Drew Estate Cigar Safari 2013 – Part 1

Last month, our dear friends at Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua cigar companies invited members of the cigar media down for a special edition Cigar Safari. Media members were broken down in to two groups of 10-12 people per group. We happened to be in group-1 who went down April 28th thru May 1st.

The video below is a reflection of the great times had that very first day. There were no tours on Day-1. Instead, we simply got to know each other a little better – building and extending relationships – all in the spirit of comradery…enjoy!