Augusto Reyes Signature (Short Ashes)

At this years IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans, I was introduced to a few new brands. One of those brands, while not new to the industry, was Augusto Reyes. Having talked on Twitter, I was looking forward to getting over to the booth and sampling the brand. In addition to the sample I was given at the Augusto Reyes booth, I also came home with samples in my TBOTLCH Press Kit.

With time coming at a premium…

Spending Time With Ernesto Perez Carrillo

By now you are probably sick to death of IPCPR 2010 coverage, and I wouldn’t blame you. This is the biggest time of the year for the cigar industry and every cigar-blogger under the sun reports their take on industry news and new releases.

Here at Stogie Review, we try to do things a little differently and give you the news straight from the horses mouth (so to speak). Like last year, Ernesto Perez Carrillo, of

Oliva Serie V Liga Especial (Blind Tasting)

Last week I packed up my gear, hopped in the car, and took a trip down to Sir Stogies. As you may recall from last weeks post, I had a blind cigar tasting scheduled. I hung out with about a dozen guys, handed them an unbanded cigar, and turned on the video camera. The video below is what came to be from that event.

The cigar smoked was the Oliva Serie V Liga Especial Double Robusto.…

Blind Tasting at Sir Stogies

In the past, I have hosted blind tastings at local cigar shops. I would gather a group of people and create a sort of focus group to discuss a particular cigar. As the name implies, the cigar would be unbanded and no information would be provided before lighting up.

It has been some time since I’ve done a blind tasting. Logistically they were a little difficult to pull off but everyone always had a good time. I got to talking…

IPCPR 2010 – Random Show Floor Footage

Like past years, Jerry and I made a point to get over to the convention center when registration opened to pick up our press passes. As the day wears on, the line at the registration area gets horribly long. With our badges secured, and a little more than an hour of time to kill, Jerry and I decided to try something new. Unlike past years where we waited for the floor to open, we walked towards the entrance…

Press Release: La Gloria Cubana Serie N

As you may have guessed, IPCPR is the considered by many to be the mecca of cigar events. Each year all kinds of new products are showcased. So many, in fact, that it is difficult to see everything in the time allotted for the show. One of the booths that I regret not visiting this year was General Cigar. We were kindly invited to sit in on a General product tour by Barry, of

Women of IPCPR (2010)

Whenever Stogie Review covers an event, we try to bring back a little something for everyone. Some go crazy for detailed cigar information while others like to drool over the models making the rounds. Armed with the still camera this year, Brian set out to track down IPCPR models and bring them to you in all of their digital glory.

Andre Farkas on the Viaje Fifty-Fifty Red Label

During last years IPCPR convention, Brian, Jerry, and I were introduced to Matt Booth, of Room 101 Cigars, for the first time. After an interview and a few laughs, Matt wanted to introduce us to a friend of his, Andre Farkas of Viaje Cigars. At the time, none of us had heard of Viaje cigars.

Over the past year Viaje has picked up a lot of steam and is well known for their small batch releases. It was a pleasure…

Ron Melendi Speaks During CRA Seminar

During the IPCPR Trade Show, several seminars are held before the show floor opens. We generally like to sit in on those seminars, but only two were of any interest to us this year. The first being put on by Cigar Rights of America. Rather than present you with one two-hour presentation, we broke the seminar into digestible pieces.

Much like the speech given by Rocky Patel, we have Ron Melendi, of De La Concha in NYC, talking about…

George Rico and the Worlds Largest Production Cigar

During IPCPR, Jerry and I discovered that, with our press passes, we could walk past security and enter the trade show floor before the official opening. We took full advantage of this, scoping out the floor and making a plan of attack for the day. One of the first things to grab our attention was a nineteen-foot long cigar in the Gran Habano booth.

After taking various photos and video, we made plans to swing by later in the show…