Archive for the ‘Camacho Cigars’ Category
What to Smoke for NASCAR 2020
Thursday, February 13th, 2020Davidoff Goes All In, Camacho Goes Bold and Smoking = Jobs by Frank Seltzer
Wednesday, June 19th, 2013Davidoff is expanding its core business—that is cigars. Last week, the Oettinger Davidoff Group released its 2012 results (basically its cigar brands grew at about 5 percent). But the company is now changing its strategy. Previously, Davidoff was a branded house, meaning it focused on the Davidoff label. The company under the leadership of Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard it is becoming “a house of brands” which will include Davidoff, of course, but also the Camacho and Zino Platinum flagship brands along with AVO and Griffin. The company also will continue to expand its stores and is seeing large growth potential in Asia.
Camacho goes Bold
With its launch by Christian Eiroa in 2000, the Camacho label has been known for its full body. The original Corojo was one of the first stronger cigars in the market. Since that time, others have joined in the higher strength league and Camacho has added several other lines which provide flavors to all taste profiles. In 2007, Eiroa’s marketing director Dylan Austin convinced Christian to re-do the packaging for the lines while it rolled out the Triple Maduro. The next year, Christian and his family sold Camacho to Davidoff. Dylan Austin stayed with the brand and once again re-launching it.
The official debut of “Camacho The Bold Standard” is this Thursday at a big party in Dallas (how convenient for me). The event will be hosted by legendary coach Mike Ditka (who has his own cigar called the Throwback being made by Camacho), Room 101’s Matt Booth and screenwriter Rob Weiss (HBO’s Entourage). One of the most visible changes is new bigger bands, which now run lengthwise, and the Camacho logo now has a scorpion on it. The boxes also are changed with a more modern look. According to Austin, the idea is to create a bolder brand identity.
As part of the move, Camacho is slimming down its portfolio to six blends and re-blending four of the lines or as they call it an upgrade. The original Corojo is one of the blends that will be upgraded along with the Diploma line. According to Austin, “We kept what was great, like our Authentic Corojo, and made it better. For our famed Corojo, a top-grade fifth priming wrapper is now standard – it’s back to knock your socks off level.”
The former Havana blend is now going to be called what it is Criollo for its wrapper and under the new formulation it will have Dominican Piloto Cubano in the filler. The Triple Maduro and Connecticut will not change except for the bands and boxes.
The Dallas party on Thursday is the official release, although the new blends will not really go on sale until the industry trade show in the middle of next month. Camacho expects the cigars to be in stores nationwide around the beginning of August.
Want Jobs? Allow Smoking.
That is the message Las Vegas mogul Sheldon Adelson is sending to Spain. It makes sense since you may recall the story on Revel Casino in Atlantic City, which was proud of its non smoking policy. That policy stayed until Revel hit bankruptcy and THEN decided to allow smoking. Adelson is now working on a new project in Spain for gamblers.
Adelson is proposing a development called Eurovegas on the outskirts of Madrid.
Eurovegas would become one of Europe’s biggest construction sites, creating tens of thousands of jobs in a country where the unemployment rate is expected to hit 28% by the end of this year. But Adelson wants gamblers to be allowed to smoke inside the complex – something that is against Spanish health laws.
According to The Guardian, the anti-smoking laws came from the previous socialist government in Spain and now with a new conservative Prime Minister Adelson thinks the time is ripe to change the law to allow smoking in the casinos. Adelson met with the Spanish Prime Minister to make his case. The development would cost upwards of 9 billion dollars and when complete could create nearly a quarter million jobs. It will be interesting to see what Spain does.
Glendale Nixes Smoking
The California city of Glendale has decided to reach into private homes and ban smoking. The council voted last month to ban smoking in condos and apartments. The catch is that the law is for new construction. It means for now, they cannot ban it in existing buildings. But there is another side to this…
One of the biggest problems with Glendale’s smoking rules has been enforcement. Police or code enforcement officials can’t cite a smoker if they don’t catch them in the act. City officials said giving private citizens the right to sue smokers for breaking the rules is another tool to add more teeth to the smoking restrictions.
If found guilty, violators could be fined $250 for every day they violate the law, according to a city report, although they would first have to violate the law twice and receive a written notice before being sued. The smoker could also have to pay for the costs of the lawsuit if found guilty.
Gee wonder if the ACLU would defend the smokers?
Pig-Skinning-Out on Premium Hand Rolled Cigars! by Tommy Zman
Friday, January 20th, 2012Last week we talked about ANY excuse to smoke a cigar, but there’s one HUMUNGOUS excuse I’ll always have, and that’s NFL Playoff football. Cigars and football… damn guys, it’s like mac n’ cheese… Starsky n’ Hutch… mashed taters n’ gravy… beer nuts and… well, um… beer. Now being a lifelong New York Giants fan, you can only imagine how I’ve been enjoying the gridiron action so far. With the reaming of Atlanta and the pummeling of the 15 – 1, heavily favored Green Bay Packers, I have admittedly been a horror for anyone to be around who doesn’t bleed blue.
Now I always break out the premium smokes when there’s hot playoff action on the telly, but when it’s my team winning, I will pass the good stuff around like a proud papa celebrating the birth of a child! And these past two weeks I’ve been like Santa on a month-late run handing out the likes of the Camacho Triple Maduro, Jaime Garcia Reserva Especiale, Montecristo Red, El Rey Del Mundo Real, and some Oliva Cain Daytonas! What am I nuts? No, just a generous BOTL who is enjoying the pigskin madness that only the National Football League can provide.
The unfortunate problem we will forever have up here in northern New Jersey is that it is just frigid outside this time of year, and even heading to the garage for a halftime shortie will undoubtedly freeze some important parts of the anatomical structure. Now come on guys, we’ve been thru this crap for over four years now, and you KNOW that I don’t smoke in the house. Yeah, go on tough guy, call me a wuss, girlie-man, or any kind of insult you’d like, but it’s not gonna change things for me. And I tried getting a really good heater for the garage, but I still freeze my little bag of onions off so I can only really go to a friend’s house where smoking is accepted, or a local cigar shop – and thank God, there are a few by me that I frequent for just these kind of occasions.
So this weekend we have two stellar match-ups: the NFC has My New York Football Giants on the road to take on the defensively tough San Fransisco 49ers, and the AFC has the Baltimore Ravens trying to take down the Patriots Brady Bunch in Foxborough, Massachusetts. If you’re a football hound anything like me, you’ll be glued to the flat screen, tossing epithets at opposing players, coaches, and referees, all while noshing an assorted mix of man-food goodness. (I’ve got a rootbeer pulled pork recipe that’ll knock your taste buds off into another stratosphere. Let me know if you want me to send it.)
Now these match ups are going to call for some special play selections direct from the JR CIGARS humidor. For the AFC game, your friendly neighborhood Polack is taking the New England Patriots along with a the Alec Bradley American Blend Classic with its Connecticut-seed Honduran wrapper intermingled with a flavorful binder and hearty blend of long fillers from the town of Condega, located in the province of Estelí, Nicaragua, to create a mild-to-medium-bodied, smooth, and creamy smoke with great balance and a sweet cedar finish. As for the NFC, well, you KNOW I’m picking the road dog Giants paired up with a Macanudo Cru Royale GIGANTE! Don’t let the Macanudo name fool you because this dark stick is packed with with a long-filler blend of Brazilian, Nicaraguan, and Dominican Mata Fina tobaccos, a smooth La Vega Especial binder, and a deep, dark, oily Ecuador Habano-seed wrapper. Plus the Blue band goes perfect with a Big Blue victory. (Sorry, dude, I told you I was an obnoxious snob.)
So, I guess what I’m saying is that it’s gonna be a rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl, Patriots vs Giants and I’ll be looking for a repeat of that amazing game. (Can anybody see where that David Tyree fella is at?) Hey, don’t let me get ahead of myself, because it’s only Friday and we’ll see on Monday if the Zman is a champ or a chump. But no matter what happens, I’m gonna be smoking up some serious premium goodness, courtesy of our friends at JR CIGARS! Ahhhh… football and cigars… say, it’s just a hunch, but I bet some ice cold beer would work with this whole shindig, whaddya think?
Stay Smoky My Friends,
JR Cigars Blog with the Zman
ANY Excuse to Smoke a Cigar… by Tommy Zman
Friday, January 13th, 2012If you’re anything like me (whoa that’s a scary friggin thought, you’ll have to agree) then you will basically make any excuse whatsoever, anytime, any place, to smoke a good cigar.
“Hey honey, I’ll be barbequing for 20 minutes,” and that’s all I need to break out a shorty and herf away while I’m grilling up the mid-section of some four-legged carcass. Gonna be in the garage for a little bit? I don’t care what the chore is because my leafy buddy is there by my side, stinkin’ up the joint and keeping me good company. An hour ride in the car alone is excuse enough to grab a big burly stick from the humidor and use it as my navigational device! Any ride of an hour or more requires a kettle sized mug o’ java, some rockin’ tunes on the radio, and a smoldering double corona to signify the passing of every single yard marker.
A few neighbors of mine smoke cigars and what a great excuse to partake while they walk their dogs. When I see one of my buds strolling by their pooch, I quickly throw on my shoes and coat and join in on the festivities. I’ve actually lobbied for a dog for this very reason, but the reality of taking bowzer out and picking up his steaming pile in two feet of snow is not my idea of enjoyment… but at least a good cigar would make it somewhat more enjoyable.
If my son wants to have a catch or pitch to me, that’s good enough reason to have a stellar stoag hanging from my face. If my neighbor or pal is returning a tool he borrowed, well, I will ALWAYS coax him into kicking back with a single malt and a tasty hand rolled treat from a variety of Latin American countries. Twenty minutes later his nagging wife will be screaming out the door, wanting to know where he mysteriously disappeared to, and unfortunately for him, all the lies in the world can’t cover up the luscious scent of premium aged tobacco lingering from every fiber of his being.
Then there are the blatant made up stories I use, and no matter how much bullshit I toss out as a smoke screen, the wife will always know the real deal. “Hey honey, Jim needs me to help fix his mower, so I’m heading over there for a little bit.” “FIX HIS MOWER?” she’ll yell out in a ‘you’re completely full of Shinola’ voice. “You don’t know how to change a god damned battery in a flash light! You’re going over there to smoke cigars so don’t even try to pull one over on me!” Busted… like every single time. Of course I’ll then get pummeled for being a lazy-ass who just wants to smoke cigars and escape from performing any of my household chores, which is basically true, but why the hell does she have to make me feel so bad about my love for the aged leaf?
Now nothing is more enjoyable than a celebration smoke, like when your team wins a big game. The past few weeks I’ve been celebrating the New York Giants latest victories including their decimation of the Atlanta Falcons in round one of the NFL playoffs. Of course this weekend is a MONSTER challenge for my G-men as they take on the Cheese Heads of the Frozen Tundra, but I believe in my team and I’m about to choose some major league celebratory smokes like the Alec Bradley Tempus, Camacho Corojo, or the Bolivar Cofradia. Yeah, I know, decisions, decisions. And if by chance my team doesn’t happen to win, well, you can bet your sweet ash I’ll find some kind of an excuse… ANY kind of an excuse to smoke them anyway!
So hey, share in the comments section here and let me in on YOUR favorite excuse to smoke a cigar! We’re all Brothers (and Sisters) of the Leaf, and your favorite cigar is ALWAYS the one you’re smoking at that very moment. Okay, I can’t take credit for that last one, but it was good enough to repeat!
Til’ net time, Stay Smoky My Friends,
JR Cigars Blog with the Zman
A Smoky Goodbye to 2011 by Tommy Zman
Friday, December 30th, 2011First off, wish me a happy birthday, ya slugs! Yeah, it’s today, December 30 and I don’t smell a day over 40.
Okay, I seriously ask you guys, how can it possibly be the end of another year? I remember celebrating the new millennium like it was yesterday and now that’s a dozen years ago? This is crazy! And now we’re facing a glitch in the Mayan calendar, hoping and praying that these ancient knuckleheads simply ran out of paper.
A hell of a lot of crap happened during the course of 2011, way too much to talk about in detail, so I might as well just stick with the cigar happenings. First off, the good people here at JR Cigars gave Steve Nathan and I our own YouTube show where we get to entertain and spread the cigar knowledge to the world. The feeling of power is somewhat overwhelming, and gratifying all-the-same. Of course when you mix a ranting, psycho Polack with a chemically imbalanced Debbie Downer of a cigar training manager, you’re going to create a chemistry that is horribly unpleasant, yet for some unexplainable reason, you just can’t stop looking at it. I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you.
As far as cigars go, JR went completely bonkers bringing in a plethora of new brands to the company, the brands you’ve been asking for, ie; Rocky Patel, My Father, Don Pepin, Jaime Garcia, NUB, La Flor Dominicana, Alec Bradley, Oliva, VegaFina, EP Carillo, CAO OSA Sol, Macanudo Cru Royale! Yeah, the list is long and deep and I personally couldn’t be happier. I am definitely gonna celebrate the new year in JR style with more smokes than I could have ever imagined enjoying. Sweet!
Now, while the good stuff was certainly good, the bad stuff was incredibly annoying. The Food and Drug Administration decided they wanted to regulate the cigar industry, treating our precious smokes in the same way that they scrutinize cigarettes. If these politico nightmares get their way, an entire industry that employs some 85,000 people will be in for the fight of their lives – so it’s up to us to fight these clueless numbskulls with every last ounce of smoke that we’ve got! January 19 is now the date that the FDA will stop taking feedback from the public on this matter and it’s up to us to make as much noise as we possibly can until then!
And now you’ve got these stooges on the Orange Bowl committee who have been bamboozled by the ancient and out of touch Frank Louseyburg of NJ and his smoke Nazi cronies. Our good friends at Camacho Cigars had a 3-year deal with the Orange Bowl to be an official sponsor of the game which included outdoor smoking lounges at the event. But three holier than thou senators stirred up a bunch of health organizations and bullied the Orange Bowl Committee and the NCAA, getting Camacho tossed out as a sponsor! Of course the Bowl organizers used the lame and shameless excuse of what a poor message a cigar company would send to kids, but somehow it’s okay for collegiate sports to advertise alcohol, fast food, and the pill that makes you call the doctor after 4 hours. From what I understand, a rum company is an official sponsor of the game, which is a hypocrisy that has us all shaking our heads. What kind of message does consuming alcohol send to our children? The message is simple: when enjoyed responsibly by adults in moderation, all of these grown-up products should be allowed to do business under the name of freedom in these here United States of America.
So what’s up for 2012? Well this FDA thing is looming and we need to educate, get the word out, and fight these fascist legislators with everything we’ve got. And while the crap keeps hitting the proverbial fan with new anti-smoking laws and continual tax hikes on our cigars, new brands will continue to come out this year as our industry will stick together like never before.
So, that’s it from the great state of Jersey, guys. You and I will be talking again next year for sure!
JR Cigars Blog with the Zman