On Wednesday at 2pm Eastern Time, Matthias will join Reinhard Pohorec as a guest on Light ’em Up Lounge, the global virtual cigar lounge that has played host to the world’s leading voices on all things cigars.
Here’s the description from Light ’em Up World:
Our dear friends and fellows, please be invited to this week’s Light ’em Up Lounge feat. Matthias Clock, Fine Tobacco NYC
🗓 Wed 2pm EST / 8pm CET ⏰
Matthias Clock is not only the founder of Fine Tobacco NYC, a widely acknowledged event community and communications platform, but his striking cigar photography is amongst the most sophisticated out there. He’s a “brand evangelist and digital marketer” and has hosted hundreds of cigar and spirits events, both for consumer and industry experts. We’re delighted to welcome Matthias to the Light ’em Up Lounge. Together we want to discuss:
+ Building cigar communities + Fine Tobacco NYC and what exactly it is + Responsible cigar marketing
As always, we are looking forward to your questions in person via Zoom, or on Facebook live.
You can join the event via Zoom (more info here) or watch the livestream on the Light ’em Up World Facebook page.
(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 Center this 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.
Plasencia Cigars CEO Nestor Andres Plasencia stated: “Smooth and flavorful is the best way I can describe the Year of the Tiger. This medium strength cigar delivers notes of chocolate, nuts, and some initial spiciness.”
The Year of the Tiger carries an MSRP of $40 and comes in boxes of eight. The blend is expressed in one vitola, a 6.25×54 Vitola.
For more information, visit: www.plasenciacigars.com, and follow @PlasenciaCigars on social media.
ABOUT PLASENCIA CIGARS
Plasencia Cigars is one of the world’s leading growers of first-class tobacco. The Plasencia family has been pioneering the industry since 1865 when Don Eduardo Plasencia began growing tobacco in Cuba, and five generations of the Plasencia family have continued the legacy. Today, Plasencia Cigars produces more than thirty-five million handmade cigars per year, and harvests tobacco on more than 3,000 acres across several countries in Central America, including Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama.
The Room 101 Johnny Tobacconaut has exclusively reappeared and safely landed at Luxury Cigar Club and their preferred retail partner stores. The cigar is reintroduced with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper and a Nicaraguan binder and filler. The vitola adopted the name “Ranflactic” but featured a new size of 6×56 perfecto. And it is currently being produced out of AJ Fernandez’s factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.
Blend Specifics
Cigar Reviewed: Room 101 Johnny Tobacconaut (Chapter 1)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Ranflactic (6″x56)
Blind Review: Johnny Tobacconaught
Appearance & Construction
The figurado shaped cigar has a light amber color wrapper. Visually, I do not see any blemish or even the seam of the wrapper. I run my fingers across the cigar for further inspection, and it is smooth and silky to the touch. I do come across a small soft spot by the cap, but other than that, the construction is flawless.
Flavor & Smoke Characteristics
The Connecticut wrapper has a floral and honey scent to it, and since most of the foot is tapered, I can’t get many scents from there. I tend to v-cut most of my torpedo-esque cap. Therefore, I decided to use my Colibri SV cutter on this one. Once the cap becomes the shape of a crown, I take a cold draw and get tangy dry apricot from it.
I strike two matches together and slowly roast the foot. A stream of smoke slithers its way past my nose, and I immediately smell roasted barley from it. As I draw my first puff, white pepper spice floods my palate from the tip to the back of my tongue. As I expect the smoke, I get dry hay and cedarwood as the dominant profile, followed by white pepper spice. The most shocking part of this cigar is the finish; the flavor reminds me of green grapes. I proceed to retrohale and get bombarded with red pepper spice. Once my receptors calmed down, I get honey, tanned leather, and barnyard.
So far, the cigar is holding its shape. The burn line is even but a little wavy and the ash is still holding on past the 1-inch mark while providing a plethora of smoke from each puff. I am thoroughly enjoying this cigar.
I reach the second third, and the cigar becomes sweeter and buttery while toning down on the pepper spice. The flavor develops nicely with hints of sunflower seeds, syrup, dry hay, and cedarwood. As I retrohale the next puff, the cigar maintains its brightness with flavors of roasted nuts, tanned leather, honey, and red pepper spice. On a side note, the construction of this cigar is still good; it is burning well and even and there are no issues whatsoever.
I smoked past the final third, and suddenly the flavor shifted to highlight roasted peanuts as its main profile, with syrup, cedarwood, and hay tagging along. The spice on the palate withers with each puff. The uniqueness of this cigar though returns on the retrohale: blackberry, maple syrup, roasted nuts, cedarwood, and red pepper spice. The finish on this cigar remains sweet and clean to the palate. With a final retrohale, the fruity, sweet, and nutty flavors remind me why this cigar is out of this world.
Conclusion
Just like Matt Booth, the Johnny Tobacconaut is an eccentric cigar. While the pepper spice set the initial tone for the Tobacconaut, the journey didn’t truly begin until the second third, with the marriage of sunflower seeds, syrup, dry hay, and cedarwood. And it continues to develop from there. Lastly, to go where no cigar smokers have gone, I’ve experienced green grapes and blackberry for the first time in a cigar. Excellent.
Big news today from AVO, with the company announcing the conclusion of their much beloved Improvisation Series which debuted in 2015 with Classic Covers.
Pinellas Park, FL – Febuary 8, 2022 – AVO Cigars, the global premium cigar brand, is proud to announce the newest addition to the Improvisation series, The Final Improvisation. This is the 10th and final release in the Improvisation line to commemorate this special and iconic milestone.
The ‘Closing Improvisation’ showcases two distinct yet complimentary blends to pair with various occasions, times of the day, and flavor and intensity preferences of the aficionado.
Edward Simon, Chief Marketing Officer at Oettinger Davidoff
The AVO brand over the past decade has released the AVO Improvisation to honour the birthday of the brand’s late founder, Avo Uvezian. A composer who had a passionate zest for life. A life that was filled with music and seizing opportunities whenever possible to create rich, noteworthy experiences for all to celebrate. This year the limited edition will arrive in March in time for Avo’s birthday which is celebrated on March 22.
Two blends are used for this year’s release and are inspired by the layout of white and black keys on a piano to capture the essence of AVO as a brand and the musical affinity of its founder.
“The AVO Improvisation 2022 packaging memorializes both the luxury and musical inspiration of the AVO Lines. The box utilizes black and gold color themes to reflect the two most commonly observed colors in a symphony. Additionally we see the contrasting nature of these two blends reflected to the surface with this box design,” says Edward Simon, Chief Marketing Officer at Oettinger Davidoff. The ‘Closing Improvisation’ showcases two distinct yet complimentary blends to pair with various occasions, times of the day, and flavor and intensity preferences of the aficionado.”
The Improvisation 2022 White is created with binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and dressed with a silky, golden Ecuador Connecticut wrapper. The Improvisation 2022 Black also uses an Ecuadorian Wrapper, but contains a binder from Mexico and filler tobaccos from both Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
ABOUT AVO CIGARS AVO Cigars started when the brand’s founder, Avo Uvezian, a legendary jazz and cigar composer of global fame orchastrated his passion for each into the soul of this brand. It’s the ability to elevate the moment, to connect with the energy and to “CHANGE THE TEMPO” that defines AVO Cigars. Those very same qualities are reflected in the heart and soul of those of undeniable character who align with and carry on the rhythm of this iconic brand of fine cigars.
MEDIA CONTACT Eddy Guerra Senior Brand Manager Eddy.Guerra@davidoff.com
Cigars are a delicate, temperamental, and hand made product, and there are thousands to choose from. That means that where you buy cigars matters big time.
Fortunately, among the 30+ places to buy cigars online, there are a handful of fantastic online cigar stores that can help you find the perfect cigar, get you a great deal, and deliver it quickly and safely. Unfortunately, for every great retailer, there are two more around with poor product quality, bad customer service, or that are downright scams (more on that below).
Whether you’re buying cigars for yourself or for someone else as a gift, you’re here asking ‘what’s the best place to buy cigars online’? You’ve come to the right place for an answer. I’ve been purchasing cigars online from a variety of retailers for 10+ years and have had enough experiences to be an experienced judge of the best online cigar stores out there.
So how do I determine the best websites to buy cigars online? The most important components of a cigar store are customer service, price, selection, quality, and the usability of the website.
Renowned for excellent customer service, reliability, and quality. Offers secure packaging, competitive pricing, and swift shipping. Famous Smoke Shop also features Cigar Monster for hourly deals.
Known for incredible deals on packs of name brand cigars. Although its selection and web design are more limited, it offers excellent service and value.
Features an upgraded web design and a vast selection of boutique and hard-to-find cigars. Known for its responsive customer service team and as a favored destination for enthusiasts.
Famous Smoke Shop won #1 on my first list of top cigar retailers in 2016, again in 2019, and it wins it again today. It is, in my opinion, the best place to buy cigars online. Why?
In short, it’s at or near the top of the list on all of the important categories: customer service, reliability, quality of product, etc. I’ve ordered thousands of dollars in cigars from Famous, and I know from experience that cigars will always be packaged securely, the price will be lower than any brick and mortar retailer, and if there are any problems, they’ll fix it without hesitation. Their shipping is also insanely fast – I often receive cigars within just one or two days of ordering.
On top of that, their website is fast, simply designed, and purchasing cigars with an account is a breeze.
They also operate Cigar Monster, which is a take on the ‘deal-an-hour’ fad of the 2000s. An old fad, but still a fun idea with some great deals.
Cigar Page is runner up for one reason: stupid good deals. While its selection is a bit more limited than Famous, and its web design is a bit dated, it does have incredible deals on 5 and 10 packs of name brand cigars. Service is on point as well.
When I wrote my first ranking in 2016, Smoke Inn was a runner up, with the caveat that its web design needed some work. Then the website upgraded and it’s one of those great online cigar stores that just makes you want to buy more! Another reason Smoke Inn makes the list is that they have a huge selection of boutique smokes, and hard to find smokes—great gifts for enthusiasts! The website is run by a great team as well who are always there for questions or concerns.
As the name suggests, Luxury Cigar Club is a new kind of cigar retailer. While the company has a modest online offering of brand name cigars, it’s main feature is a cigar of the month club. Choose between four different subscription levels, and Luxury Cigar Club mails hand picked selections of boutique and brand name cigars. For gift-givers looking to give the cigar smoker in their life a fun gift, Luxury Cigar Club is a great option.
The Worst Websites to Buy Cigars Online
If the above places to buy cigars online represent the best, the stores listed below represent cigar retailers to avoid.
Thompson Cigars
I hate to say it, but even after writing my first article on online cigar stores more than five years ago, Thompson Cigars still hasn’t improved their reputation much. True, they have a A+ rating on Better Business Bureau, but look under the hood at the customer reviews and you’ll find that, as of this writing (1/15/2022), the company has a 1.3 out of 5 rating. And if you actually read the reviews themselves… they’re pretty ugly, with talk of signing unsuspecting shoppers up for expensive monthly subscriptions without their consent, which is, you know.. Bad.
I don’t have first hand experience, but here are some of the comments on my previous post about Thompson:
“Please avoid Thompson Cigar…they did exactly what you said they would do…Back in the summer my boyfriend spoke to them about starting a monthly subscription starting September 11 2017…and told them he would call them first before he wanted his card charged…Well on September 1 2017 they went ahead and charged his card….he immediately called them and told them to cancel it….after all kinds of back and forth they refused to cancel the order and we would have to wait until after he received the cigars then call them back to have a return slip sent to him…2 months later he was still waiting, he finally got it after several months but at that point decided to keep them, which I’m sure was done deliberately so he did keep them…well they got $120.00 but he won’t ever purchase from them again…Thank you”
“Thompson’s cigar club is a nuisance, as are their pushy sales people!”
CigarBid
Cigar Bid was actually on my “best” list in previous years, but due to my own personal experience they are now on my worst list. Cigar Bid is certainly a website to get good deals, but I’ve found a number of my orders were delivered with dry cigars inside. Cigars that aren’t humidified are mostly ruined, so this is equivalent to getting a box of wine bottles that have oxidized and turned into vinegar. Second, I had one order placed where I was then told they didn’t actually have the product in stock and let me know they’d be sending them somewhere else.
All that said – I have gotten comments on previous posts from purchasers who are very loyal to Cigar Bid, so take what I write with a grain of salt. I’m writing based on my personal experience.
If you want a full breakdown between CigarBid and Cigar Auctioneer, read my detailed breakdown here.
Solo Cigars
I’ve never purchased through Solo Cigars, but I’ve read on countless internet forums now that, not only do they sell fake Cuban cigars, but they’ve also been involved in creating fake accounts on popular cigar forums to try to get people to change their mind about the retailer. Just google their name and look at result 2 – 10. You’ll get the idea. Key point here is: always check the reputation of any cigar retailer you purchase from. Just google their name and add “reviews”.
Do you have a favorite cigar retailer that should be on this list? Or, if you have a question about a cigar retailer, or you’ve had your own experiences (good or bad) with an online cigar retailer listed above, drop it in the comments section below.
Affiliate disclosure: when you purchase something using the retail links on this or other Fine Tobacco NYC pages, we may earn a small commission. Our opinions remain our own!
