End of the Embargo - Beginning of the Rumbles

Oh what will become of Cohiba. And Montecristo. And Sancho Panza.
Once the embargo is lifted, let the lawsuits begin.

Story in Today's Star Ledger by Mark Drajem of Bloomberg.

Let's hope it means that Cuba can revamp its quality - in my opinion, with the overfarming and unskilled labor, they have fallen behind competing nations.

Davidoff snatches up Boutique Cusano Cigars

Mr. Razzo will be interested in this, since he has given high praise to Cusano in the past...

According to the Bradenton Herald, Davidoff has purchased Cusano for an undiscliosed ammount. Michael Chiusano will remain president of the company. Full story found here.

If the cigars are as beautiful as the box....

...then the new Espinosa and Ortega "Mi Barrio" Limited Editions are going to be some SPECIAL smokes.  Is what's inside a comparable work of art to what is featured outside? 

Today, E&O announced the release of El Forro and El Billetero.  From its press release: "Espinosa y Ortega is now combining the release of El Forro with the release of the final cigar in the series, “El Billetero,” a 5.5” x 52 Belicoso. 

The names of the last two cigars reflect very traditional Cuban happenings in the barrio (neighbourhood).  

El Forro is a move in dominos, not necessarily respectable, where a player tries to sneak the wrong tile onto the table. He has a 6/3, the available dominos are 4 and 8 – he uses the 6/3 in the hope that no one will notice. It happens! 

El Billetero is a ‘lottery ticket seller’, and one is depicted in Gutierrez’s art in a traditional street scene. “La Bolita” is somewhat like a lottery, on a smaller scale. Playing La Bolita is an everyday occurrence in Cuban culture."

The artwork on the box is courtesy of Cuban artist Edin Gutierez.  

Looking forward to trying these out, I am huge fan of the 601 series and really enjoyed the El Puro when it came out last year.

  

If I had an iPhone, Mobile Stogie would be my first app

When it comes to technology, I am the first to admit I am a little behind the curve.

My friends know that I was late to the cell phone game. My first iPod was a gift given to me by my beautiful wife last year - which I can't imagine being a commuter without it.

So its no surprise that I don't own an iPhone. But let me tell you, if I did, Mobile Stogie would be the first application, or "app", I would purchase.

As my cigar inventory has exponentially increased over the last few weeks, knowing what I have in stock at my cigar locker at Fume is essential. Especially now this it is hard to get to most of them. So how could I keep track?

Mobile Stogie is a great answer. In a roundabout chain of events that usually happens only in the cigar world I got to talking to Ken Sayward, the creator of this application. In one of those necessity spawns inspiration moments this avid cigar smoker dedicated himself to developing an app for his iPhone that has been available on the Apple's iTunes App Store since the end of March. The appc omes preloaded with a directory of nearly 2,000 cigars and provides one-click web search information on a certain cigar.

Smokers can even manage their personal collections on the "My Cigar" section, which can track quantity, year, date acquired, and where the cigar was acquired from. This section also includes fields to add your personal rating and notes and keeps a wish list of cigars you are looking to try so your friends and family can, maybe, pick you up a nice gift for holidays and occassions.

"I've done this simply as a hobby, not a business," Ken told me in some emails back and forth. "But it has been really cool to interact with people from all over the world, as feature requests and other ideas come in to me via email. for example, somebody in France is currently working with me to localize the application for the french language."

I can see tobacconists using this at their shops to better manage their businesses, maybe even allow them to do business with greater mobility.

The app also works with the iPod Touch models.

Email of the day - my friends at Fume

So I just got this message from my friend Ralph Alberto from Fume in Montclair:

Dear Members and Friends,
Happy New Year. Its been a while since I last e-mailed and am taking this opportunity to let everyone know whats new at Fume'. the new Mi Barrio size is out it is called El Acere and costs $14 a stick. also new and very limited is the La Flor Dominicana Salomone. A great smoke with a medium body. It takes about 3 hours to smoke but it well worth it. it costs $28 a stick and I only have 2 boxes of 10 left.

Thank You, Fume'

WOW - "3 hours to smoke?" Is it a cigar or a side of beef?