On Thursday, December 5th, nearly 2,000 New York City cigar smokers descended on Pier 92 to enjoy cigars, premium spirits, food, live cigar rolling, and more. The event’s $240 ticket price gave attendees access to free cigars from 30+ premium cigar companies, including Drew Estate, Alec Bradley, Rocky Patel, AJ Fernandez, and more.
I was covering the event, and it is without a doubt the largest annual cigar event in New York City. Pier 92’s massive floor gave plenty of room for the 50 or so booths, and there was an entirely separate area for the catered food. It was a really treat to see so many old friends, and to reconnect with great cigar brands like Nat Sherman, which has quickly become one of the industry’s most up and coming brands.
As great as the event was, there were a few downsides — the ventilation was insufficient for the massive amount of smokers, and, somewhat ironically, smoking outside on the pier deck was off-limits. This is something that Cigar Aficionado should consider pushing to change next year.
Did you have a great time at The Big Smoke? Leave a comment below!
The biggest cigar event in New York City is coming December 5th. Cigar Aficionado’s annual “Big Smoke” attracts hundreds of cigar smokers from around the tri-state area, and it’s no wonder why. All attendees to the Big Smoke enjoy premium spirits, food, and also receive 30+ premium cigars from the hottest cigar brands, which makes the $240 ticket price a no-brainer. Here’s the link to purchase tickets.
This year, the Big Smoke is located at Pier 92 (711 12th Avenue at 52nd St and West Side Highway) and runs from 6:00pm to 9:30pm.
Cigars at this year’s NYC Big Smoke include:
Acid
Aging Room
A. J. Fernandez
Alec Bradley
Arturo Fuente
Cain
CAO
Casino Gold
Diamond Crown
H. Upmann Legacy
Joya de Nicaragua
Juan Lopez
Kismet
La Aroma de Cuba
La Flor Dominicana
La Gloria Cubana Serie R
Macanudo
My Father Cigars
Nat Sherman
Oliva Serie O
Padilla
Padrón
Partagas
PDR
Quesada
Rocky Patel
Sublimes
UnderCrown
Ventura
Villiger Talanga
FineTobaccoNYC is proud to support this Cigar Aficionado event, and we look forward to seeing you there! To purchase tickets, follow this link.
A few weeks ago, we wrote a short post on the increasing popularity of mobile cigar lounges. It looks like Zino has picked up on that trend and is celebrating their ten year anniversary with a nationwide tour. Press release below:
Zino Platinum, an ultra-premium cigar brand, unveils newest addition at international tradeshow, in celebration of ten-year anniversary. Zino Platinum pushes the boundaries of design with the unveiling of the newest addition to the brand, a mobile cigar lounge. The once-blank canvas, a Mercedes Sprinter 2500EXT, is now outfitted for the ultimate cigar lounge experience. The mobile lounge has every technological toy encased in it’s completely custom interior, including three new iPads, four 40” Westinghouse LCD TV’s, Sony Playstation 3, Apple TV, DirecTV, an LG BluRay player and a home audio system to support all. The mobile lounge wouldn’t be complete without the three built-in Zino Platinum Cavern humidors fitted in the rear and a custom cabinet humidor built into the interior.
The Zino Mobile Lounge
Featuring six custom two-toned captain’s chairs with branded headrests and grey suede walls, the mobile lounge has every luxury appointment with the modern touches the brand is known for. Riding on 20” one-of-a-kind Asanti 163 wheels and Nitto Dura Grappler tires, the matte black van features gloss black logo accents and a gloss black
bull bar to complete the look.
When stationary, the lounge will have two outdoor tailgate areas complete with televisions and outdoor surround sound supported by Hertz and JL Audio systems. All of these appointments will be controlled by a custom-designed remote system housed in one of the three iPads. Designed in conjunction with BLVD Customs, based in St. Petersburg, FL, “the mobile lounge will transform the industry’s definition of brand experience,” Richard Krutick, Davidoff’s head of marketing, said. The Zino Platinum Mobile Lounge will tour the country beginning in September in support of the brand’s
ten years of existence.
See below for dates and locations:
DRAPER’S BETHESDA 09|08
Bethesda, MD
TWO GUYS SMOKE SHOP 09|12
Seabrook, New Hampshire
REGENCY CIGAR EMPORIUM 09|13
East Greenwich, RI
TINDER BOX WALDORF 09|20
Waldorf, MD
OLD VIRGINIA TOBACCO CO. 09|21
Woodbridge, VA
BRENNAN’S STL ZINO PLATINUM LOUNGE* 09|28
St. Louis, MO
CASA DE MONTECRISTO 10|04
Countryside, IL
HYDE PARK CIGARS 10|11
Chicago, IL
HUMIDOR OF WESTMONT 10|12
Westmont, IL
WEST SIDE HUMIDOR 10|18
Wichita, KS
BELLE MEADE PREMIUM CIGARS 10|25
Nashville, TN
AMBASSADOR FINE CIGARS 11|01
Scottsdale, AZ
CLUB HUMIDOR 11|14
San Antonio, TX
SMOKE RING SUGARLAND 11|15
Sugarland, TX
ADDISON CIGAR 11|16
Addison, TX
RENEGADE CIGAR CO. 11|27
Jackson, MS
THE CIGAR SHOP 11|29
Biloxi, MS
CIGARS AND MORE 12|06
Birmingham, AL
BUCKHEAD CIGAR 12|07
Atlanta, GA
VICENTE OF LONDON ZINO PLATINUM LOUNGE* 12|11
Naples, FL
ANGRY MOON CIGARS ZINO PLATINUM LOUNGE* 12|13
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
For further information:
Contact: Richard Krutick
Marketing Manager – Davidoff & Zino Platinum
Richard.Krutick@DavidoffUSA.com
Cigar Aficionado reports that the Casa Magna Colorado, which we published a review of today, is due for re-release in box-press form. For those of you who haven’t smoked the Casa Magna Colorado, do yourself a favor and try it. You can read about the flavor profile here on our review, as well as see photos of the stick.
The original Casa Magna Colorado was rated the #1 cigar in 2008 in Cigar Aficionado Magazine, and you can find it at the Cigar Inn for ~$8 – a steal. Now I just have to hope that the guys at Cigar Inn pick up a few boxes of these new sticks for me to try!
Here’s a little bit about the cigar from the CA website:
“Packaged in boxes of 20, the thick, squared-off smokes are the Gordo Real, which measures 6 1/4 inches by 60 ring gauge; the Toro, 6 by 50; and the Short Robusto at 4 1/4 by 54. Retail prices should fall in the $6.95 to $8.95 range.”
