It’s pretty interesting to note that this celebrates five years of the 20 Minutes with Pete Johnson series of videos here on Stogie Review. So first I want to thank Pete for always being giving with his time. Secondly I want to thank W.Curtis Draper for giving me a home to record for the past five years. This series of videos has turned into a tradition that I hope continues for many more years to come.

In this interview Pete talks about the special release he does for W.Curtis Draper called the WCD 120 Redux. The WCD 120 Redux celebrates Draper’s 125th Anniversary and is based off a Cabaiguan cigar Pete did for W.Curtis Draper 120th Anniversary. Pete also talks about some of the projects we can look forward to in 2012. Most notably the addition of a Little Monster Series as well as an update on the next two releases of the Moster Series and the status of the next La Verité. Pete also takes some time to talk about the La Dueña, a cigar he blended for Janny Garcia, as well as many other things like his most underrated line, Saints and Sinners, Para Ti and FT114…

If the above video isn’t enough for you, stay tuned the rest of the week as I post footage from a two hour discussion between Pete Johnson and George Brightman (Cigar Aficinado fame). It’s a must watch especially for any of my fellow bloggers as they take time to discuss our role in the industry.

For those of you who come here often, you already know or at least have an idea of what The Little Robusto Project is. “Little Robusto” was the affectionate nickname I gave my son JJ. Sadly, JJ passed away on November 2, 2007 from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) while at daycare when he was just 3.5 months old. When JJ was born, the first cigar I smoked to celebrate his birth was the Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ. A cigar blended by father (Jose Pepin Garcia) and son (Jaime Garcia) team at My Father Cigars. Even though JJ isn’t with us anymore, I still celebrate his birthday. Every July 22nd, I light up a Series JJ just like I did when he was born. Many of you have joined me every year and so, Smoke a JJ for JJ Day was born.

In 2010, for Smoke a JJ for JJ Day, my good friend Barry from acigarsmoker.com and others raised money for SIDS. It was a such a popular social media event that it caught the attention of My Father Cigars who joined and participated, even matching the money that Barry and others raised. This was the beginning of The Little Robusto Project. From retailers to bloggers, many had a hand in this and I’m really not sure whose idea it actually was but there was enough support for My Father Cigars to make a special “Little Robusto” version of the Series JJ to raise money for SIDS.

At IPCPR this year when we were talking to Jose Ortega, it was officially announced that the Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ “Little Robusto” (pictured above) would be made. Earlier this week I heard from Jose that the “Little Robusto” was rolled, boxed and started shipping. The “Little Robusto” is a 4.5 x 50 short robusto. It features a Broadleaf maduro wrapper with Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo filler. 300 (24 count) boxes were made with a MSRP of $6 a cigar (doesn’t include any taxes).

Where Does My Money Go? – This will vary by retailer as I’ve left it up to them to decide what percentage will go to two charities:

The Center for Infant and Child Loss works with Maryland families and communities facing the sudden unexpected death of their infant or child as they learn to live with their loss. The Center is committed to increasing the understanding of sudden infant and child death, risk reduction practices, grief, and compassionate intervention.

First Candle – First Candle is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to safe pregnancies and the survival of babies through the first years of life. Their current priority is to eliminate Stillbirth, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID) with programs of research, education and advocacy.

Like I said, I left the actual percentage up to each individual retailer. Your mileage will vary but I’m happy to say some retailers have already committed that 100% will go to charity.

Where Do I Buy The Little Robusto? – There are a dozen or so shops that agreed to carry the “Little Robusto” months ago. I haven’t received confirmation from all of them indicating that they are still onboard but I can tell you some retailers like W.Curtis Draper, Buckhead Cigar, Cigar Connections, Delaware Cigars, Ruben’s Smoke Stack, Smoke Inn and Atlantic Cigar have confirmed and the “Little Robusto” should be showing up at those locations this week. I believe some already got them in. I’ll update this post as I hope the retailer list grows.

Personal Note – I want to thank My Father Cigars especially Jose Ortega and Janny Garcia for making this happen. Like true friends you asked nothing of me and offered to do this out of the goodness of your heart. I also want to thank my retailer, blogger, online and real life friends (some of you fall into multiple categories). Whenever you guys saw Jose Ortega at events you always asked about the status of The Little Robusto Project. You never forget about him. You know, when JJ passed away we had prayer cards made. One part of that prayer card read:

When you are lonely and sick of heart,
Go to the friends we know
And bury your sorrows in doing
good deeds.

I hope this classifies as a good deed and that my “Little Robusto” is a little prouder of his papa.

Normally we don’t publish news here on Stogie Review. Our friend Charlie over at The Cigar Feed does a better job than we could ever do but with my huge ego, this was too cool not to post. Over a week ago Charlie posted some Viaje news on his site and he mentioned Stogie Review and our interview at IPCPR we did with Andre Farkas of Viaje Cigars. In the video we were joking around with Andre about all of the Viaje seasonal releases and I made a comment about how he was just missing a Thanksgiving themed release. That was July. Fast forward to today and I get an e-mail from Andre as well as a mention on his Facebook page confirming Charlie’s post and our inspiration for the Viaje WLP Stuffed Turkey:

I don’t have an exact release date or a list of retailers but I’m sure it will be on shelves in time for Thanksgiving.

So whats the solution? Ending the Monster Series would be a bit of an extreme right? Do you do away with the dress box altogether? Do you do the entire release in dress boxes? I don’t think Pete’s solution of creating two different dress boxes is the answer. I think that would just compound the problem as collectors would then want to hunt down both versions. There probably isn’t a perfect solution.

Personally, my solution would be retailers get bundled or regular boxes of the Monster Series with empty dress boxes available for sale to members of Saints and Sinners. Again, not a perfect solution but at least the money from Saints and Sinner memberships and possibly dress box sales would go to charity and another benefit of being a member of Saints and Sinners. As a member myself, it sucks that I pay a premium but have no advantage in any aspect of the Monster Series.

When the name Savinelli is mentioned in the smoke shop, the first thing that comes to peoples’ mind is pipes. You can hardly blame them, Savinelli has been making pipes since Achille Savinelli Sr. opened up shop in Milan back in 1876. After a 135 years of doing something, you do build a bit of a reputation for it. But more recently (i.e. since the early 1990′s) Savinelli has also been producing cigars, and not just the one or two you may have seen in a cigar shop a few years back. The Savinelli catalog has grown to include seven lines, including two that don’t actually bear the Savinelli name. And that’s why I crossed paths recently with Steven Ysidron.

Steven Ysidron has been traveling the country acquainting shop owners and customers with Savinelli’s cigar business, particularly his pet project, the new Dos Campeones cigar line. I caught up with Steven here in Atlanta and we had a 15 minute chat about the new cigars, some history of the brand, and his passion for premium cigars.

If you’d like more information about Savinelli cigars, you can stick by stick details on their website. Steven can also be found on twitter at @live4.

Like I said, they have some unpacking to do but I’m looking forward to spending hours in their new location and rumor has it, that the Draper Empire will be expanding even more…Congrats and continued success to my extended family.