April has arrived and I am sure all my brothers and sisters of the leaf in the frigid north are happy that spring is in full swing. April also brings the end of tax season and the start of baseball, but there is one more event that happens in April, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) show in Las Vegas where we should hear from Mitch Zeller, the Director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, on the looming cigar regulations. That happens next week and I am sure the blogosphere will be abuzz with his comments. You can rest assured that Stogie Press will bring you the news as fast as we hear it.
April is also a time of renewal, a time to look back and remember where you came from and where you are going. This month’s issue of Stogie Press we will provide a short history of the cigar industry back in the 1990s, otherwise known as the boom and bust years. We also sample a few of the oldie but goodies from back then.
We report on Xavier’s Cigar Lounge in Hallandale Beach, FL where we met some pretty awesome people including the Owner Harris, Anwar from Kings and Jen from Royal Danish Cigars who just happened to be in town.
Stogie Press is continuing to evolve and we have now added a Best Ash Facebook page where you can post your long ash photos. If you didn’t receive an invite just shoot us a message from our contact page or message us on Twitter @SCCIGAR and will send you one. Unlike other pages we are trying to keep this as a forum for long ash photos we will see how that worked out.
There has been a few more new blends hitting market or announced this past month and more are on the horizon. We had the opportunity to sample one of the possible new blends from Swinger Cigar and hope to see it on the shelves this year. We also caught up with our friends in the Mancave Cigar Lounge in Fort Lauderdale.
Video Reviews are continuing, but not as fast as we like as they do take more time to develop, but you can expect to see more as we have fun making them and hope you enjoy watching them.
We are always looking for new input and guest articles, so if you would like to contribute to Stogie Press let us know. We will get your name out there.
Long Ashes to All
Boston Jimmie