CLE Cigar Company has announced that industry veteran Leo Wijnbelt has joined its operations at the company’s Havano S.A. factory in Danlí, Honduras. Wijnbelt has a long history in the industry, beginning his career at Culbro, where he gained experience with shade tobacco. He then advanced through the ranks at General Cigar. After that, he worked at Universal Leaf, the world’s largest tobacco leaf company, and at Swisher, where he
Crux Passport Super Selection No. 3 Today, we are reviewing the Crux Passport in the Super Selection No. 3 size. This size is part of the Crux Passport’s return to Crux Cigars’ portfolio in 2026. The Crux Passport dates back to the early days of Crux Cigars; it was first introduced in 2014, the same year the company launched. The line was discontinued shortly before Crux underwent a packaging rebrand
To age or not to age—that is the question. How long should a cigar rest before you light it up, and is there such a thing as aging it too long? On this episode of Flavor Odyssey, Robby and Randy explore one of the cigar hobby’s most debated topics: the benefits and potential pitfalls of aging. They’ll discuss the sweet spot for resting cigars, which types of blends tend to
Alec Bradley is returning to its Uncut Series with a tenth release, this time pairing its Thirty Years anniversary cigar with a seven-year-old bourbon from Heaven Hill Distillery. Uncut Series Batch 10 includes two Alec Bradley Thirty Years Perfectos, measuring 6¾” x 54, alongside a 750 mL bottle of Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond Single Barrel. The package is limited to 150 sets and is available exclusively through Bourbon Outfitter.
Prime Time Episode 197 is exactly as advertised – short smokes and short songs. Dave and Coop build a playlist of tracks clocking in under 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Meanwhile they will smoke some short cigars including the Independence Firecracker (Coop) and H. Upmann Half Corona (Dave). Plus there will be the usual music news, cigar news, Developing Palates Review of the Week, the music pairing of the week,
Undercrown El Tigre Dominicano Toro by Drew Estate Today, we are reviewing the Undercrown El Tigre Dominicano in the Toro size. As the name suggests, this Undercrown blend features Dominican tobacco. Although Drew Estate has primarily been known for its Nicaraguan tobacco, we’re starting to see a shift. In 2025, Drew Estate introduced us to Dominican tobacco with the Deadwood Dominicana. This year at the Trade Show, they unveiled two
The Cigar Industry Report (Edition 705) is a one-stop place to read about Cigar Coop’s activity over the past week. It combines the news reports, cigar reviews, and assessment updates we provide throughout the week. Ordinarily, this report is published every Saturday at 8 a.m. Eastern Time. The Headlines Lars Tetens Passes Away Lars Tetens, one of the pioneers in the conditioned (flavored) cigar space, died this week at age
On El Oso Fumar Takes Take #372 Coop joins Bear Duplisea as they go through some of the top blunders, faux pas, and LOLs from El Oso Fumar and Prime Time Special Edition. We’re going back through the history of #ELOsoFumarTakes and the Cigar Coop Prime Time Special Edition to revisit some of the funniest, most awkward, most cringe-worthy and downright unforgettable moments we’ve managed to create over the years.
Perdomo Cigars has announced that the Perdomo 30th Anniversary is moving to 20-count boxes. With this move, the Perdomo 30th Anniversary will also be more widely available in its retail network. The changes are being made based on consumer feedback. The new 20-count boxes will be introduced for all three blends in the Perdomo 30th Anniversary line: Connecticut, Sun Grown, and Maduro. All three cigars were featured in the 2024
Today, we review the Whataburger Bacon Wrangler Double. The Bacon Wrangler Double is a limited-edition item reintroduced in 2026, after debuting a year earlier for a limited run. The Wrangler features two Whataburger hamburger patties with American and Monterey cheeses, crispy onion strings, chipotle aioli, pickles, and bacon. When it was released, it was part of Whataburger’s 75th anniversary. Its return for 2026 is another limited run For 2026, there