Category: Industry News

Cigar News – October 6, 2026 A Cigar Hustlers Podcast is expanding its lineup with Cheanno Respo and Siggy Schlieper joining as rotating co-hosts, and Tim McGuffie joining the engineering team. Tim is the brother of longtime show engineer Phil McGuffie. The additions bring more voices and perspectives to the show while giving the crew greater flexibility both on air and behind the scenes. They join a team that includes

Vector-KGM has released four new, wallet-friendly cigar cutters that it is targeting toward consumers looking for a great cut at an even better price. First up is the Vector Cutter-80, a stainless steel blade straight cutter that can accomodate cigars up to 80 ring gauge. Its cross body design features a cigar rest, providing a place to set a cigar down in between puffs. It has an estimated retail price

Laura Barlau, a cigar industry veteran for nearly two decades, will be joining Espinosa Premium Cigars as the company’s new vice president of key accounts and special projects. Most recently, Barlau was the director of purchasing, wholesale, and events for Best Cigar Prices. “We’re very happy to have Laura join an already solid team. She brings a wealth of industry knowledge and experience, along with a fresh energy that will

Tradecraft Cigars has announced the launch of Shinobi, its fourth core line. The blend features a high-priming Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, a Mexican San Andrés binder, and a filler that contains tobacco from Connecticut, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, all of which come from the viso priming. The blend was developed by Rob Blumenthal, owner of Tradecraft Cigars, and Hostos Fernández Quesada, owner of TABACALERA LA iSLA in the Dominican Republic,

Weekly News (Oct. 5, 2026) | halfwheel Bond Roberts Adds Non-Cuban Cigar Auctions Auctions of Cuban cigars are nothing new, and there is certainly a secondary market for non-Cuban cigars, but seeing Bond Roberts make this announcement caught my eye. While I don’t anticipate participating in any auctions, I do find it fascinating to watch how the open market prices things, especially on cigars that I’ve seen retailers mark up

Cigar News – October 5, 2026 Arturo Fuente at InterTabac 2026. After one year absence one of the most recognized brands in the cigar world returns to Intertabac. Of course, Arturo Fuente was missed at last year’s fair but the brand returned exactly from where it left, as one of the most crowded booths of Intertabac 2026. The charisma of Carlito Fuente always attracts a lot of people to Arturo

Cigar News – October 5, 2026 Quality Importers Trading Company announces the XIKAR Xi2 Dia de Muertos series. Quality Importers Trading Company announces the XIKAR Xi2 Dia de Muertos series, a celebration of the beautiful art surrounding the Mexican tradition of honoring deceased family and friends. Dia de Muertos will be celebrated on Sunday, November 1 and Monday, November 2. Each of the four designs is inspired by Mexican regional

Cigar News – October 5, 2026 Join GUNTRY for a Cigar and Bourbon night on Friday, October 26, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. This year, GUNTRY will be opening both the VIP lounge and outdoor patio area. Along with their premium cigar lounge and bar, attendees can enjoy live-action pasta and premium carving station for dinner, a build-your-own cobbler dessert station for dessert, cash-only raffles, and a live DJ.

When I first started getting into cigars, there were a few non-Cuban cigars that were often listed as holy grails for the cigar nerds. Pick your favorite vintage Davidoff, maybe even an AVO 22, whatever special OpusX you wanted to name, and, if you were a bit hipper, the Tatuaje Black Label from the jar. This was before the Black Label was a regular production line. In late 2007, Tatuaje

Seven years ago, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust released a new line as a collaboration with the retailer Smoke Inn and the Red Meat Lovers Club, an organization that gathers for meat-centric events with a charitable aim. The aptly named Red Meat Lovers debuted with a single 6 x 56 toro extra size. In 2020, a second vitola—this time, a 6 x 52 toro—was added, again sold exclusively through Smoke Inn.