Beyond his past work with Davidoff, starting his own cigar company and factory, Eladio Díaz is likely known for his birthday cigars. Once, they were a project he created for himself and those lucky enough to receive one from him, but it has since turned into commercial releases. In 2026, Díaz once again created a cigar for his birthday—the most recent being his 73rd—and called the cigar the Unforgettable Edition.
Craig Reynolds, who once led Cigars International and General Cigar Co., has joined Best Cigar Prices and its related companies as an advisor. He told halfwheel that he will serve as an advisor to Greg Fox, the head of New Global Marketing, Inc., the parent company of Best Cigar Prices, a Drums, Pa.-based retailer. Best Cigar Prices includes an online retail operation, a physical store in Drums that has a full
Casa Carrillo has not one but two new international releases. shipping to stores this month. The company already announced the Perez-Carrillo Encore Noir II, but there’s also a second version of a different Encore. The Perez-Carrillo Encore Edición Unica II is a 6 1/4 x 54 toro extra that uses a 109 head, meaning the top of the cigar is slightly tapered, something in between the standard parejo cap and
Emperors Cut Cigars proudly announces the upcoming release of Prophecy, a limited-production premium cigar. Developed in collaboration with master blender Manuel Inoa of La Aurora, Prophecy is presented in an elegant 7 x 52 vitola. The blend features an African Cameroon seed wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and a balanced filler composed of Pennsylvania, Nicaraguan, and Dominican tobaccos. “Prophecy is a manifestation of all we have learned and what
Earlier today, Cavalier Genève announced it started shipping the LE2026 to US-based retailers at the end of last week. The LE2026 has been produced in one size only, a 6.5×47 Parejo. This size has been carefully selected to provide the passionado with the most intense and balanced expression of the blend for this year. For reference, the yearly Cavalier Genève Limited Edition always comes in a single size,
Casa Carrillo announces that Ascend, the newest regular production release in the Perez-Carrillo Series, is now shipping to retailers nationwide. Joining releases including Pledge, Allegiance, La Historia, and Encore, Ascend represents the next chapter in the Perez-Carrillo Series and Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s continued pursuit of refinement, balance, and an evolving smoking experience. Crafted at the Casa Carrillo Cigar Factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic, Ascend features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper,
Earlier today, Cavalier Genève announced that the 10th Anniversary release started shipping at the end of last week to US-based retailers. To start the celebration, Cavalier Genève Cigars is announcing the 10 Years Crafting anniversary release. A release offered in one parejo vitola, 6.25×52, presented in 14-count boxes, with alternating cigars between claro and a darker wrapper, a beautiful blend of 10 tobaccos to celebrate 10 years. The
Spain is one of the largest markets for cigars outside of the U.S. While it’s known mostly because of the large sales volume of Cuban cigars, for some non-Cuban brands, it is a very important market. One of those companies is Joya de Nicaragua. Since 2022, Joya de Nicaragua has been releasing an annual regional exclusive for Spanish retailers under the name Pata Negra, Spanish for black hoof and a reference
The CRAFT Maquette Foreign & Domestic, released last year as part of RoMa Craft Tobac’s CRAFT Maquette Series, will be returning to shelves this fall. It’s the first time that a CRAFT Maquette Series cigar has gotten a second release. Skip Martin, co-founder of RoMa Craft Tobac, said he liked the cigar so much that he personally placed an order with the Nica Sueño factory, which he also co-owns, for
To some degree, I imagine that all of the AJ Fernandez-made Altadis U.S.A. products are chasing the legacy of the H. Upmann by AJ Fernandez, one of the first releases in the Altadis U.S.A.-AJ Fernandez partnership. Nearly a decade ago, Altadis U.S.A. turned to Abdel Fernández to make a Nicaraguan H. Upmann. While I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that many other AJF-made Altadis U.S.A. products have sold better, that