Macanudo Gold Label is making its annual return next month and will mark the brand’s 20^th anniversary with a new, limited edition size available this year only.

Macanudo Gold Label will ship to retailers between May 1 and July 29, 2022 or until this year’s allotment has been depleted. A total of eight frontmarks will be available, including the Gold Label “Gran Pyramid” which is a new, limited edition frontmark created exclusively for the 2022 season.

Originally released in 2002, the line was inspired by a special golden Connecticut Shade leaf and has, for two decades, remained a perennial favorite among discerning cigar aficionados.

Laurel Tilley, Macanudo’s brand ambassador said, “Even after twenty years, the anticipation continues to build for the annual release of Macanudo Gold Label. This speaks to the allure of Gold Label’s mellow blend and the unique creamy notes it delivers. Whether it’s paired or savored on its own, this cigar makes for a great indulgence. I’m looking forward to enjoying it with fellow cigar smokers across the country.”

February 25, 2022 -- Club Macanudo has opened its first location in Southeast Asia, with the launchof Club Macanudo Kuala Lumpur.

Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s upscale shopping and entertainment district of Jalan Ampang, and just steps away from the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, the new Club Macanudo location is part of The Shoppes at Four Seasons Place, a stunning retail mall that caters to locals and visitors with discerning taste.

The elegantly-appointed, intimate cigar lounge is sleek and modern, designed in a minimalistic style. The interior of Club Macanudo at Kuala Lumpur boasts a smoking lounge, private VIP rooms and retail space with rich woods, lush upholstery and bespoke lighting that casts a golden glow throughout the space.

CAO leads the pack in bringing the world’s most unique and unexpected tobaccos to its fans. The brand team has gone deep into the Amazon jungle, to the wilds of Africa, and to Italy, Columbia and many points in between to create exciting blends. And now, with their newest release, CAO Borealis, CAO has set its sights on the North.

A new expression made exclusively for the Canadian market, CAO Borealis features a rare Canadian tobacco in its blend.

CAO Borealis gives a nod to the awesome skylights that only occur in locations as targeted as pinpoints on a map. This speaks to the fact that geography and climate are pivotal in so many ways, just as they are for tobacco. It’s why the CAO team ventured to the province of Ontario, where Canada’s highest quality farmland is located. There, in the province’s Southwest corner, near the Great Lakes where humidity and warm evenings prevail, a special Cuban-seed variety of dark air-cured tobacco is grown.

(Miami, Florida) - Plasencia Cigars, a world-leading premium tobacco grower established in 1865, announces that the limited release “Year of the Tiger” is now shipping. This launch was unveiled at the Tobacco Plus Expo which took place at the Las Vegas Convention Centerthis past January. In the Chinese Zodiac this is the Year of the Tiger and the Plasencias felt it apt to introduce a cigar which symbolizes values upheld by the family.

In Chinese culture the tiger represents characteristics such as determination, confidence, persistence, and is also known to be dynamic. Established in 1865 all those characteristics were needed for the company’s longevity. Being dynamic was especially relatable to the family, as to survive for well over a century, the company has had to be creative and forward-thinking to change with the times.

The Year of the Tiger is a Nicaraguan Puro with tobacco aged 10 years from the Plasencia library of tobaccos. Medium bodied, this limited release blend boasts deep and rich flavors, that only well-aged tobacco can deliver. Because of the limited availability of this aged tobacco, only 2500 boxes were created and shipped to the U.S. market.

In the great Italian sandwich debate, what you call it depends on where you’re from. It’s either a “sub,” a “hoagie,” or, if you lived in Brooklyn back in the day, you called it a “hero.” Either way, the bread’s soft inside and drizzled with the vinegar, oil and oregano mix, and there’s heaps of provolone, salami and lettuce. To be legit, it’s gotta have capicola. Or Gabagool as the cool kids call it.

Where are we going with this?

Partagas is launching “Añejo,” a refined cigar named for the profoundly-aged wrapper tobaccos that define its appearance and its taste.

Handcrafted at General Cigar Dominicana and shipping to retailers on March 1, Partagas Añejo is a dimensional blend that starts off mellow and builds to a medium-bodied experience as the smoke progresses. Notes of wood, leather and earth abound, stemming from the cigar’s artisanal blend.

The star of Partagas Añejo is its wrapper. Predominantly adorned with a rare 1998 Cameroon which is intermixed with 2013 Connecticut Shade in a barber-pole format, the aged wrapper tobaccos create a cigar of exceptional depth. The Mexican and Dominican filler and Dominican binder deepen the complexity of the aged wrappers to deliver a layered experience.

Protocol Cigars is pleased to announce its first exclusive limited release of 2022. The Protocol Hard Coal Detective, HCD for short is being release in collaboration with Breaker Cigars of Shamokin, Pennsylvania. Like all of the limited edition releases the company does with smaller brick and mortar shops, they try to incorporate the heart and soul of the shop into the project. Juan Cancel, founder and co-owner said, “When we do these great projects we try to capture as much of the spirit of the shop we are releasing the cigar through as possible. The Hard Coal Detective is no exception.” 

(Miami-Fl)- Carlos Alberto Toraňo Sr., the former President of the Toraňo Family Cigar Company, passed away peacefully in his home this month (February 2022) in Miami, FL. He was 78 years of age. Carlos Toraňo Sr. was the third generation of the Toraňo tobacco family. He is credited with bringing the Toraňo tobacco family to new heights, after relocating to the USA following the Cuban revolution. Toraňo Sr.’s storied career earned him many recognitions to include the “Lifetime Achievement Award” by Cigar Journal.

Founded in 1916 by Santiago Toraňo, the Toraňo tobacco family is recognized as one of the oldest tobacco families in the cigar industry. At the age of 16 Carlos Toraňo Sr. experienced the nationalization of Cuba in 1959, where his family’s tobacco fields were taken away and were forced to leave the island. The family however continued to seek out the finest quality tobaccos from many countries around the world. After being educated in the United States, Carlos Toraňo Sr. joined the family business and followed in his father’s footsteps by continuing the tradition and legacy of his grandfather.

Dunbarton, NH – Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust^® (DTT) is currently taking pre-orders for “The Bewitched”, its newest addition to it[s] much heralded Muestra de Saka line. The deadline for pre-orders is April 8^th, 2022.

“Muestra is the humble, common word for “sample” in Spanish, however it takes on much more important, sometimes reverential, meaning when used in a handmade cigar factory. A muestra is the vision of the ligador and torcedor realized, it is the promise of a new experience and possibly the key to financial success for the fabrica. Muestras are hoarded and coveted by not only their makers, but by the cigar smokers who seek to catch a glimpse into the cigarmaker’s soul within their smoke” states Founder and Master Ligador, Steve Saka.

Punch Knuckle Buster, the bold and wallet-friendly collection that debuted in February 2020, is adding a Maduro expression to its lineup.

“We created Punch Knuckle Buster to be a ‘go to’ for smokers who wanted a well-made, no-nonsense blend at an accessible price. With Knuckle Buster Maduro, we’re at it again, this time adding a little more ‘punch.’ This is a cigar that delivers on all fronts: strength, complexity, balance and above all, enjoyment,” said John Hakim, brand manager for Punch.

Handcrafted at HATSA, Punch Knuckle Buster Maduro offers a medium-to-full bodied experience derived from its lustrous, Connecticut-grown Broadleaf wrapper, Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan filler. The hearty blend offers peppery spice tempered by hints of nuts, leather and sweetness.

Diesel will roll out a new trilogy that blends storytelling, interactivity, and cigar mastery in one. Called ”Fool’s Errand,” the new, limited edition release will ship to retailers on April 1.

Justin Andrews, who oversees Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s (STG) cigar collaborations and the Diesel brand says, “AJ Fernandez and I recently completed the Elixir trilogy and in that time, Diesel fans grew accustomed to our cool approach to limited edition cigars. We’re keeping the tradition alive with ‘Fool’s Errand.’ It’s our next three-year series, and we’ll launch it annually to kick off spring. With Fool’s Errand, we’re taking it to the next level by adding an interactive game to the mix. As far as the blends for Fool’s Errand go, we definitely won’t disappoint.”

(Miami, Florida)- Casa Cuevas Cigars announces that the Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flaco Maduro and Habano are now shipping to retailers.The blends were unveiled at the Tobacco Plus Expo this past January. Originally released in December 2018, the brand was well received by the public and then tragedy struck as the Casa Cuevas Cigars’ distribution center in Miami was burglarized two months later. The entire Casa Cuevas inventory including all the individually numbered Flaco boxes were stolen. Because there was no record of which boxes had been sold and which had been stolen, Casa Cuevas decided not to pursue the project any further. However, after constant feedback and demand for the Flacos, the Cuevas family felt it was time to re-release the brand three years later.

The Lancero vitola is a favorite of the Cuevas family and a notoriously difficult vitola to roll consistently. In 2018 The Cuevas family felt confident that their factory could produce a premium brand available in only a lancero size. Master Blender Luis Cuevas Sr. settled on two blends and handpicked his best rollers to carry out his vision. The name “Flaco” translates to skinny from Spanish and is named after Alec Cuevas, Casa Cuevas’s Director of Operations. The Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flacos started to earn a cult following, especially after the burglary wiped out the majority of the inventory, which is a principal reason the Cuevas family decided to produce another limited run of these elegant cigars.

CAO is set to launch a blend called Pilón Añejo which pairs labor-intensive fermentation and finished cigar aging to deliver a cigar of great depth and character.

The limited-edition line will ship to retailers in April and a total of 5,000 boxes will be released in the US.

CAO Pilón Añejo is made with the same circular pilón fermentation technique as CAO Pilón, the collection that launched in 2015. However, that is where the similarities end. CAO Pilón Añejo features a unique blend of tobaccos that are met with aging after the cigar is finished, to release an intriguingly complex smoke.

Rick Rodriguez, CAO’s blender/ambassador commented, “With CAO Pilón Añejo, we’ve combined pilón fermentation which does such incredible things to the tobacco, with a full two years of aging of the finished cigars. Together, these methods add a whole new dimension to the blend. We’ve ultimately created a layered smoking experience that we could not have achieved through any other processes. This cigar is just a pleasure to smoke, and the team and I are really proud of it.”

Handcrafted in Honduras at STG’s HATSA factory, CAO Pilón Añejo relies on the pilón process of natural fermentation to heighten the smoking experience and aesthetics of the Cuban seed Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper. The blend is rich and savory, consisting of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers, beneath a Honduran Habano binder. CAO Pilón Añejo is a medium-to-full-bodied smoke that bears a deep, rich color and an array of notes including wood, earth and toast, with a touch of spice.

CAO Pilón Añejo will be presented in 20-count boxes, in the three sizes listed below.

CAO Pilon Añejo Robusto (5.5” x 54) -- SRP per cigar $8.89

CAO Pilon Añejo Toro (6” x 52) -- SRP per cigar $8.99

CAO Pilon Añejo Gigante (5.88” x 60) -- SRP per cigar $9.29

Fort Lauderdale, FL – February 11, 2022. Alec Bradley Cigar Company announced today that the Limited Edition, Black Market Filthy Hooligan Barber Pole and Filthy Hooligan Shamrock cigars will be returning to tobacconists' shelves on or around February 18, 2022.

Alec Bradley began pre-selling the 2000 box production and 1500 box production of the twenty-four count Filthy Hooligan Barber Pole and 10-count Filthy Hooligan Shamrock cigars, respectively, in August 2021 to tobacconists worldwide. Both production runs sold out immediately.

"We love using 'first grow' candela wrapper in different combinations," said Alec Bradley founder, Alan Rubin. "The double wrapped Filthy Hooligan Barber Pole and the tri-wrapper Filthy Hooligan Shamrock have great sweetness, complexity and balance. Our candela has really unique flavor characteristics which enthusiasts seek out in our annual releases."

Black Market Filthy Hooligan Barber Pole was introduced in 2016 and Black Market Filthy Hooligan Shamrock was introduced in 2019. Both cigars spotlight premium, 'first grow' bright green candela wrapper tobacco, representing the arrival of the spring season. The dual-wrapper Filthy Hooligan Barber Pole receives an additional lush, cocoa colored Nicaraguan Jalapa leaf to add richness and balance to the blend. The candela leaf on Filthy Hooligan Shamrock is accentuated by Nicaraguan Habano Maduro and Habano Natural wrappers for additional complexity throughout the smoking experience. The wrapper combinations are set atop the same blend of Ecuadorian binder and Panamanian & Honduran fillers, shared with the original Alec Bradley Black Market.

Bethlehem, PA (March 16, 2022) – Cigars International (CI) announced today that the company will open a CI Superstore in San Antonio. The new location will be the company’s third store in Texas and its eighth retail location in the U.S.

A grand opening event is slated for Saturday, May 14, 2022, with additional details to be posted on Facebook @CISanAntonioSuperStore and Instagram @CigarsInternationalSanAntonio.

The San Antonio SuperStore is located in The Landmark, at 5630 Landmark Parkway, on Highway 1604 and the I-10 corridor in the city’s bustling outer loop.

Punch Rare Corojo strikes again. The seasonal collection has begun making its annual return to retail earlier this month, with a frontmark pulled from the Punch archives.

The 2022 release of Punch Rare Corojo marks the addition of Aristocrat, a burly 6.125” x 40/54 figurado. This special size was originally made at the Villazon factory, commissioned by Frank Llaneza who founded Punch in Honduras. Frank made what he referred to as a baseball bat-size cigar for Red Auerbach and Art Rooney, two sports legends.

Ed Lahmann, senior brand manager for Punch said, “The ‘Aristocrat’ size was almost forgotten. Lucky for us, as we were looking back in the archives of Punch, we learned that this size hadn’t been made in decades. Further digging in the factory turned up 80 molds for this special size which is just what we needed for a limited edition smoke. This is our way of giving a nod to Punch Rare Corojo’s 20 year reign as the original seasonal cigar and paying tribute to the roots of the brand.”

Reintroduced in 2001 after a shortage of wrapper leaves caused the product to disappear at retail for several years, Punch Rare Corojo is released annually and is the premium cigar category’s first seasonal cigar. The cigar is crafted with a lustrous Sumatra wrapper cultivated in the mountains of Ecuador. Grown only in limited quantity, these rare, reddish leaves give Punch Rare Corojo its uniquely smooth taste. Bound with hearty Connecticut Broadleaf, the blend features Nicaraguan, Honduran and Dominican tobacco and delivers a layered smoking experience with notes of spice, chocolate, wood and earth.

Punch Rare Corojo is made at HATSA in Honduras.

PUNCH RARE COROJO ARISTOCRAT (6.125” x 40/54) – SRP per cigar $9.99

COHIBA TO LAUNCH NEW SIZE OF SERIE M

LIMITED EDITION RELEASE EXTENDS PARTNERSHIP WITH EL TITAN DE BRONZE

General Cigar announces that Cohiba Serie M, the first collection of Cohiba to be handcrafted by artisans in the U.S., will be released in a new, limited edition size for 2022.

Cohiba Serie M is the result of a collaboration between General Cigar’s Cohiba team and the family-owned El Titan de Bronze Cigar Factory.

Cohiba Serie M Corona Gorda (6.5” x 48) will be available for a suggested retail price of $29.99 per cigar, and will be presented in 10-count boxes that sell for $299.90 apiece. The new frontmark will begin shipping to retailers on April 4, and just 5,000 boxes will be released.

Cohiba Brand Ambassador Sean Williams said, “Since its debut a year ago, Cohiba Serie M has been a resounding success. We’ve received high praise from cigar media, shop owners and cigar lovers who have called Serie M one of the most exciting Cohiba blends they have ever smoked. Together with Sandy Cobas (owner of El Titán de Bronze) and her team, we’re proud to release the blend in a new size, giving cigar connoisseurs another opportunity to experience the artistry of Serie M.”

Each Cohiba Serie M cigar is handmade by the Cuban expatriate cigarmakers of the El Titán de Bronze Cigar Factory in Miami’s Little Havana district.

BOLIVAR COFRADIA RELEASES LIMITED EDITION LOST & FOUND COLLECTION

Blends Developed in a Collaboration with Robert Caldwell

STG’s Justin Andrews and Robert Caldwell have collaborated to create Bolivar Cofradia Lost & Found, a limited edition collection created in Caldwell’s tradition of bringing “forgotten tobacco” from Central America’s best cigar factories to cigar lovers in the US.

In 2021, Robert Caldwell and Justin Andrews traveled to Honduras, where they were given full-fettered access to the vast tobacco library of the legendary HATSA factory in Danlí. They centered on a reserve of burlap-wrapped bales containing 5-8 year old Ecuadoran Sumatra and Connecticut Broadleaf. These tobaccos would ultimately form the building blocks of Bolivar Cofradia, two limited edition blends crafted at HATSA and shipping to retailers this month.

Given the rarity of the tobaccos used in the blends, Bolivar Cofradia Lost & Found will be released in a limited run of five packs.

Justin Andrews said, “Bolivar Cofradia made waves when we re-launched the brand in 2020. It’s fitting that we’re now partnering with Robert Caldwell, given that he’s made a lot of noise in the premium cigar category with his Lost & Found line. This collaboration gave us the opportunity to work with the hidden gems waiting to be discovered in our tobacco library, and we’ve definitely done them justice.”

Robert Caldwell noted, “Lost & Found started when a Central American factory gave me a rare blend to sell in the US, and today with the release of this capsule collection from Bolivar Cofradia, it feels like Lost & Found has come full circle. I would have never imagined standing among a sea of bales at HATSA, knowing that any tobacco we wanted to blend with was available to Justin and me. This collection represents the power of a strong collaboration.”

Handcrafted at HATSA, Bolivar Cofradia Lost & Found comes in two varieties, Natural and Oscuro.

Called EMS, the natural blend features 5-8 year-aged Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper, with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Dominican, Nicaraguan and Honduran filler. This is a mild to medium bodied smoke with subtle notes of pepper balanced by earth and sweetness. An approachable and symmetrical smoke, EMS delivers a smoking experience best compared to that of a vintage cigar.

Called Oscuro, the maduro-wrapped version is made with a 5-8-year-aged Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, an Ecuadoran Sumatra binder and Dominican, Nicaraguan and Honduran filler. Oscuro is a bold and meaty smoke that delivers peppery notes and a lingering finish of earth and spice.

Robusto EMS (5” x 54) – SRP per cigar $6.99

Toro EMS (6” x 54) – SPR per cigar $7.49

Robusto Oscuro (5” x 54) – SRP per cigar $6.99

Toro Oscuro (6” x 54) – SPR per cigar $7.49

Artwork on the five packs depicts a modern day and a historical figure riding a chopper, nodding to both the collaboration and the age of the tobaccos. As to which character represents Justin and which one represents Robert, there’s no right answer.

El Rey del Mundo, the legendary Honduran brand that became available in all retail channels in February 2021, is adding a new full time expression to its lineup. Called “El Rey del Mundo Naturals,” the collection ships to retail in March and features a completely different blend from the Sumatra version of El Rey del Mundo that launched last year.

Handcrafted by artisans at the HATSA factory in Danli, Honduras, El Rey Del Mundo Naturals is a mellow-to-medium-bodied smoke featuring an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper, a Honduran binder and a Honduran and Nicaraguan filler. The cigar delivers a smoking experience that is richly layered, with a subtle note of white pepper, surrounded by deeper notes of cedar and graham cracker.

Olga Koke, assistant brand manager for El Rey del Mundo said, “With ‘Naturals,’ we are introducing a great all-purpose cigar. It is easy to smoke, loaded with nuances and extremely versatile when it comes to pairing. Factor in its accessible price and we believe El Rey del Mundo Naturals has all the makings of a runaway success.”

El Rey Del Mundo Naturals will launch with four vitolas, each presented in 20-count boxes:

Rectangulars (5.625” x 46); SRP per cigar $5.19 (box pressed)

Robusto en Vidrio (5.5”  x 50); SRP per cigar $6.49 (crystal tube)

Flor de Llaneza (6.125” x 54); SRP per cigar $6.79 (pyramid)

Reserva Salado (6” x 54); SRP per cigar $6.79 (toro)

Diesel is rolling out its third Sunday Gravy release with “Rosamarino,” a Nicaraguan puro made with premium tobacco from the country’s main growing regions.

In a nod to the layered smoking experience this blend delivers, Rosamarino takes its name from the Italian translation of rosemary, a popular herb that lends complexity to any dish in which it appears.

Blended by AJ Fernandez and Justin Andrews and handcrafted at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua, Diesel Sunday Gravy Rosamarino features a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper over a Nicaraguan Habano Condega binder and blend of three, Nicaraguan fillers from Esteli, Ometepe and Condega. This is a bold and distinctive cigar, with savory notes of pepper and spice.

Justin Andrews said, “When AJ and I develop blends for the Sunday Gravy series, we bring our opinions to the table, and we go head to head on which tobaccos we’re going to use. Ultimately, AJ wins when it comes to delivering a bold smoke, and I get my way when it comes to delivering on balance. With Rosamarino we’ve shown how the optimal ratio of tobaccos in a blend can deliver a cigar that can appeal to a wide range of cigar smokers.”

Rosamarino is being released in a toro size only, which both AJ and Justin agree is the best expression of the blend. This release is being offered at an SRP of just under $5.00 per cigar, making it an affordable indulgence for a variety of smokers.

Rosamarino (6” x 50); SRP per cigar $4.99

Diesel Sunday Gravy Rosamarino will be available nationally from February-March 2022, or until the cigars are sold out. The next Sunday Gravy blend will be released in April, 2022.

Diesel cigars are produced by Scandinavian Tobacco Group and distributed by Forged Cigar Company.

About Diesel Sunday Gravy

Diesel Sunday Gravy launched in August 2021 as a full-time line of seasonally-released, Nicaraguan-forward smokes, blended and handcrafted through Diesel’s winning partnership of AJ Fernandez and Justin Andrews. Blends will be released quarterly, sold until their limited supply is deleted and offered at an unbelievable SRP of less than $5.00 per cigar.

About Diesel

Handcrafted by artisans in Esteli, Nicaragua, Diesel cigars are “bold by design.” The brand challenges the current conventions of the handmade cigar category through the bold, unapologetic style of its Cigar Master, AJ Fernandez. Diesel cigars are unified by their deeply complex flavor which is achieved through AJ’s steadfast adherence to time honored cigar making techniques and his insistence on using the highest quality tobacco. The Diesel portfolio includes Hair of the Dog which was released in 2019; Whiskey Row which launched two expressions, one in 2019.