A Volcano From Canada – Tierra Volcan Grande
Each ICPR can be a springboard for a new company/brand to enter the US market after already selling outside the US. The Tierra Volcan line, from the Mombacho Company headquartered in Toronto Canada, did so in 2014 with a large booth and a high quality product sampler for interested parties. They spared no expense with this launch and gave me some samples for testing. Mombacho is a large volcano...
A Bugatti You Can Afford! The Epicure.
Maserati. Bugatti. Lamborghini. Very high end, sexy sports cars that we wish we could afford. But which one is not Italian? Bugatti – it is a French car company founded in 1909 that sells vehicles with price tags that often reach 7 figures. What does one do while driving a million dollar glove fitting Bugatti automobile? Can’t reach the beautiful model sitting in the tight bucket seat next...
High Interest In The New “Banker” from Upmann
Back in the mid 1800’s a pair of German bankers named Upmann were operating in Cuba and they invested in cigar making as a side business which subsequently grew in both size and fame. Eventually Upmann was purchased by Altadis where Upmann became a major brand, along with Montechristo, Romeo y Julieta and Pleiades. Now, in 2014, Altadis fittingly used The Banker to name one of its latest...
An “Aged” Cigar from Blue Mountain
Marvin Wright’s Blue Mountain Cigars has several brands and he has continuously introduced new blends since he began in 1995. At the 2014 IPCPR Marvin provided me with a Black Anejo to test. This cigar is made in Esteli, Nicaragua with Nicaraguan filler and binder, wrapped in a Habano criollo tobacco. The Black Anejo is a 7 X 54 toro grande whose long black band is unusual but it does protect...
Valentia Espada San Andres
Cigar making traditionally passed within families from generation to generation, often until the business is acquired by a large corporation. Less traditional entry comes from retailers or cigar lovers plunging into cigar making by having an established manufacturer produce a blend for the new operator to market. Valentia has an unusual pedigree – it was created by a weapons accessories...
The Ghost Envy – a Halloween Trick or Treat?
Gurkha’s Ghost series apparently first materialized in time for Halloween in 2012. For the 2014season, Gurkha is planning a big extension to the Ghost series – a 7 X 70 mysteriously called “Envy”. It has the same blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos, a Dominican Criollo 1998 binder, and finally the same dark Brazilian Arapiraka Maduro wrapper as the rest of the Ghosts. The...
