The Russians Are Here!!! Glasnost and Perestroika for cigars!
In 2011, a pair of Russians on rented Harley Davidsons were touring in the US Southwest and they decided to found a US expansion of their Russian cigar business, thankfully using primarily Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos and not their “local” seed. Maxim Privezentsev and Vladimir Roshchen paired up with local Texans in Amarillo and launched the Total Flame brand. Their attachment to...
The Russians Are Coming!!!
The Russians Are Coming was a 1966 comedic movie starring Alan Arkin, Brian Kieth and Carl Reiner about a Russian submarine running aground in Massachusetts during the cold war and it was entertaining in its day. But in 2011, a pair of Russians really arrived – on rented Harley Davidsons – to found a US expansion of their Russian cigar business. Maxim Privezentsev and Vladimir Roshchen...
A New Magnum in Town
Crossfire Cigars is a cigar importer headquartered in Louisville, KY managed by Scott Meneffe, the President and CEO. He formed this boutique cigar company several years ago as a means of producing flavorful cigars while also directing Crossfire’s economic benefits to the Dominican Republic economy and other third world countries. Scott points out that Crossfire’s profits are redirected...
7 X 50 Churchill on a Budget
Large size often gets our attention, the bigger the better as they say. The present trend in cigars is taking sizes to amazing levels – 8 X 60 or more (any larger and the stick will have to have a built in handle). However popular, the larger sizes use more tobacco so cost increases accordingly and more of your hard earned funds go up in smoke when you kick back to enjoy the big ones. ...
Arandoza’s Battle of the Bands – Blue
Arandoza’s Battle of the Bands – Blue Arandoza Cigars is a family owned company that apparently started early 2011, launching its first line of cigars called Blue Label in 2012, with light blue bands. This cigar was reviewed by my compatriot in October 2012 and he gave it a 3.5 out of 5. At the 2013 IPCPR, Arandoza announced the “rebirth” of the medium bodied Blue Label line with a...
