IPCPR Minus 1 by Frank Seltzer

Officially, I guess the annual industry trade show is under way.  Today was seminars and the welcoming cocktail party, but already there is news.

First up, Steve Saka has retired from Drew Estate which as we know makes ACID ,  My Uzi Weighs a Ton    and the Liga Privada Undercrown.   Steve went to Drew Estate from here at JR.  Before that, he wrote extensively about cigars on his own website, Cigarnexus and co-hosted three amazing cigar events known as Boondoggle.

He went to Drew Estate as president of the company in 2005 and was the driving force behind the Liga Privada #9 (and the number 9 came from the number of blends they went through but truth be told it was 9 and then some more) and the construction of the current and new expansion of the Drew Estate factory in Esteli.  He lived in Miami for several years, but eventually he moved back to New Hampshire, which is where he still felt was home.  Last year, Steve was named Chief Executive Officer with Mike Cellucci taking over the duties of president.  His retirement came just before the show opened on Friday.  According to the company no one will replace Saka.

Steve posted on Facebook that, “I am officially just a cigar citizen and looking forward to herfing up a storm with all my good friends in Vegas!!!”

In a joint statement printed by Cigar Aficionado, company founders Marvin Samel and Jonathan Drew said:

The team at Drew Estate would like to thank Steve for all of his hard work and dedication over the past eight years. His passion, leadership and expertise are a very rare combination within our industry. Steve will be truly missed and we wish him all the best moving forward.”

 Steve will be at IPCPR this year but hopefully with more free time.  And once it is over he can concentrate on his other passion, fishing.

 

New San Cristobal

The folks at Ashton are adding to the San Cristobal line with a new cigar called Revelation.  Like the other San Cristobals, it comes out of the My Father factory in Esteli and is made by the Garcia family.  The cigar uses an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper over a blend of aged Nicaraguan tobaccos.  It is described at medium to full-bodied with an earthy core flavor.  No word on price or sizes yet.

 

Dubloon

Over at Miami Cigar and company, Nestor Miranda is coming out with the Casa Miranda Chapter 2 and a new La Sirena size will be unveiled. The Dubloon is a 7.35” x 56 Salomon.  It will come in boxes of 8 and there will only be 500 boxes.  It uses a dark Habano oscuro wrapper over Nicaraguan fillers and binders.  The suggested retail is $12 each.

 

Cubita Noveau

Cubita has been a value brand for the Quesada family for many years, and now it is getting a refresh. The latest incarnation is called Cubita Noveau and will be a bit fuller bodied than the original.

According to Manuel Quesada, “We have been making the Cubita Brand since the Cigar Boom but over the past few years we’ve focused on promoting our other lines of cigars.  This new Cubita is medium in body and priced to ensure that you can afford to smoke them everyday.”  It is priced from $4.70 to $5.75 and comes in four sizes, a 5”x 54 Robusto, 6”x50 Toro, a 7 “x52 Churchill and a 6”x60 Gordo.

 

Mr. Sam

Bill Paley owns La Palina cigars which was the cigar that started the CBS network.  Yup Bill’s father was William Paley founder and the chief guy at both the radio and television networks.  William’s father, and Bill’s grandfather was Samuel Paley the founder of the original La Palina in 1896.  Now Bill is coming out with a cigar to honor his grandfather and it is called the Mr. Sam.  The cigar comes from the El Titan de Bronze factory in Miami and is limited to 850 boxes of 10.  It features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan fillers and binders and is 4.75” x 54.

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