We started the day bright and early considering we still had some jet lag and a little bit of late party lag still in us from last night. Walking onto the convention floor is akin to a kid walking into a candy store. Where to start, is the first thought that comes to mind. Today we spent some quality time with some of the big and not so big companies that painstakingly blend the brands we so much love. Meeting the owners has been a rewarding experience as each had a story to tell and proudly presented their latest creations to us talking about the blends. There were many highlights from today, which we at Stogie Press still need to compile and present to you – our readers.
Two of the most enjoyable moments we had were the interviews we did with Cesar Blanco from Blanco Cigars about the Blanco Family history and Litto Gomez from La Flor Dominicana about how it all started for LFD. Both of these gentlemen spoke from humble hearts and you quickly understand the true brotherhood of the leaf. We also had some time to speak to the young owners of Valentia Cigars and shared some scotch and start up stories. There was the Davidoff booth that highlighted their latest member of the family Camacho and of course the always popular My Father Cigars booth that featured the latest creation the La Antiquedad. We drank some espresso and relaxed in the Oliva coffee lounge learning about the new Nub Cafe. We met Derrick (J.T.) Taylor from DEF-ART who paints some awesome humidors and more. I even held a Golden Cigar, that when smoked, the ashes are worth about $50 in gold dust since it is wrapped in 24 carat gold leave. The list goes on, Kristoff, Arandoza, Torano, Crowned Heads…..
We will continue to gather the knowledge you need from IPCPR 2014, to select the latest in your stogie pleasure. So stay tuned as we process the material we are gathering and in the mean time here is a small selection of photos we took from the convention floor on day 1.
Long Ashes to All
Boston Jimmie