Category: Cigar Reviews

The Cigar Association of America (CAA) made its case against proposed U.S. tariffs on premium cigars this week, with President Scott Pearce testifying before the federal government’s Section 301 Committee during what was the final public hearing on a proposed tariff schedule. The proposal would impose a 12.5% tariff on imports from most cigar-producing countries. During his testimony, Pearce argued that premium cigars should be exempt from the tariffs, saying

The Cigar Industry Report (Edition 697) 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 Cigar Coop Sampler & Contest We are officially announcing a Cigar Coop Coalition Sampler Pack from Smoke Inn Cigars and a

Today, we are reviewing The Big Glizzy from Sheetz, a limited-edition hot dog offering. Sheetz is a chain of convenience stores found in the Eastern Mid-Atlantic States. These stores focus on made-to-order (MTO) food, including hot dogs. However, for Pittsburgh Pirates all-star pitcher Paul Skenes, the six-inch hot dogs Sheetz was offering were not big enough. He challenged Sheetz to come up with a larger hot dog offering, and that’s

La Capitana Toro (2025) by Villiger Cigars Today we review the La Capitana in the Toro size from Villiger Cigars. As many know, Villiger Cigars has been in business since 1887. While it has firmly established itself in the machine-made space, it has also been in the premium handmade sector for quite a while. Over the years, Villiger has built a portfolio of many brands. We have also seen Villiger

This week on Smoke Night LIVE, we welcome Christian Eiroa of CLE Cigar Co., one of the most influential voices in Honduran tobacco and a cigar maker whose family legacy stretches back more than a century. From his years helping shape Camacho to building CLE, Eiroa, and Asylum into distinct brands of their own, Christian has remained one of the industry’s most outspoken champions of authentic Corojo and old-school craftsmanship.

This past week the first 127 graduates from the Tamboril Tobacco School were certified. The school was launched in the Dominican Republic earlier this year in partnership with INFOTEP and PROCIGAR. INFOTEP is the The National Institute for Technical and Vocational Training, while PROCIGAR is the Association of Dominican Cigar Manufacturers. Both organizations came together to address the systematic training of new tobacco artisans to internationally recognized standards. This is

Ashton has released its new La Aroma de Cuba El Jefe Sampler. El Jefe is the name of a 7 x 58 size from the La Aroma de Cuba brand. Included in the sampler is the La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve El Jefe. This marks the first time the Habano Reserve has been made available in that size. The contents of the sampler include five cigars: 1 – La

Powstanie added their 4th new line to its cigar portfolio, called the San Andrés.  This new cigar features a San Andrés wrapper from Mexico, giving them another maduro option alongside their Connecticut Broadleaf, Habano, and Connecticut lines.  One of the main reasons for the San Andrés was the scarcity of Connecticut Broadleaf maduro, and they wanted to give their cigar smokers another, more available maduro option.   The Corona Gorda

Today, we review the La Aroma de Cuba Noblesse in the Coronation (Toro) size from Ashton Cigars. The version we are assessing today is the Noblesse version, first released in 2024. Back in 2014, Ashton Cigars (the parent company of the La Aroma de Cuba brand) decided to release a more premium, more limited line under its La Aroma de Cuba brand. The result was the La Aroma de Cuba

Black Label Trading Co. has begun shipping the 2026 edition of Bishops Blend to select retailers this week, marking the cigar’s 10th anniversary since its original debut in 2016. While the annual limited release returns with the same name, this year’s version introduces a notable change to the blend. For the first time, Bishops Blend uses a double-wrapper combination of Ecuadorian Maduro and Connecticut Broadleaf. The blend also incorporates Connecticut