It’s been a busy time here at Stogie press the past month or so. We spent 3 weeks in Germany as you may have seen in our social media posts visiting castles and small villages from Bamburg to the Rhineland-Palatinate region on the French border. Though it was not ideal smoking weather, Boston Jimmie found way to enjoy a fine smoke just the same.
Home base in Germany was my favorite city, Nuremburg, which is the home of a terrific Casa Del Habano lounge which we do an extensive review of this month. The resident tobacconist is a story unto himself that is worth reading.
After our return from Germany, Boston Jimmie from Stogie Press took a small cigar vacation to Santiago, Dominican Republic, with a couple of his Brothers of the Leaf, Ryan Gallimore from Swinger Cigars and Jim Files from Jimmy’s Cigar Lounge here in Melbourne, Fl. Taking this trip after the craziness of the Pro Cigar Festival was over, in addition to being with the owner of a cigar line, afforded us some amazing opportunities to see the inner workings of the industry in a way many don’t. We walked from the factories to the fields, the processing, and even the box manufacturing along with the day-to-day dealings, trials, and tribulations that it takes, to get that cigar, to you, the consumer.
Starting with this issue and over the next few months we will walk you through the many hands that touch the process of making cigars, not to mention some of the fun and enjoyment the city of Santiago has to offer.
We also had a moment prior to leaving for Santiago, to sit down with Mr. Carlos Flores from Flor de Florez cigars to hear his story as he works diligently to rebirth his brand. He took us through his life from Cuba to the US, from Jersey to Miami.
You may have noticed we are starting to use better photography in our articles and reviews. You can thank my partner Dianne for that. She has been on my case for some time now to stop using my damn iPhone for doing review pictures. She was right, so we hope you like the look it provides to Stogie press.
We also have teamed up with Famous Smoke Shop and are running monthly giveaways, this month it is a Cuban Heritage Sampler pack and if you have not done so already here is the link to enter. Cigar Giveaway