Unless you have been living under a rock for all of your cigar smoking life then the name José Garcia a.k.a. “Don Pepin” should ring bells. His cigar blends have reached cult status throughout the industry and throughout the world. That being said, this stick has been on my “get to” list for some time now I was eager to get my hands on some, especially in the Generoso(Toro) vitola.
First look at this stick and I must say it just looks classy. The band was well balanced and elegant. The wrapper was clean, satin and chocolate in color, very smooth with a slight tooth with no visible imperfections
One classy band, even through the cellophane
Taste & Smoking Characteristics
First third: Consistent with Don Pepin cigars, this stick starts off zesty, with spice just dominating the palate and rich creaminess, wood and leather in the background. If your anything like me, you love to see great amounts of smoke and this stick proved to be very visually pleasing. As I progressed the burn was razor sharp and the bright white ash proof of excellent tobacco. Close to end of the first third the spice starts slowly to diminish leading into the second third.
Second Third: There was a slow transition from a zesty spice to a rich creamy flavor which I must admit I found delicious and entertaining. As I proceeded the flavor would ever so slightly change between creaminess, wood, leather and a subtle tease of spice in the finish.
Final Third: The last third was a continuation of the second except that this time the flavor profiles were present for a longer amount of time as to give me there last hurrah or final appearance. In the following order I bid farewell to the rich and creamy, the smooth leather and the shy zesty spice that was lingering ever so slightly in the background. Following this great show the cigar lost its energy and while never getting harsh, it did get woody and dry and due to respect I layed her down and watched another good stick turn to dust in the wind.
Conclusion:
Overall, this stick was just shy of being full flavor and full strength. There was plenty of complexity for those willing to pay attention and while the changes were subtle I believe they were enough to satisfy even a picky snob such as myself especially at the price point of $10-12. I absolutely recommend.
On Saturday, June 18th, cigar smokers from around the city came out for the FineTobaccoNYC Financial District HERF, sponsored by Antonio Lem and Reinado Cigars. The event ran most of the day, from 3pm in the afternoon to 11pm at night. We had to reschedule from Friday because of stormy weather, and am I glad that we did! The weather on Saturday was a gorgeous 80 degrees with just enough clouds and a slight breeze. The view from 350 feet was spectacular, and the smoking was great. You can find all of the pictures on our Facebook page.
The crowd was a great mix, so everyone who came made new friends and smoked with old ones. Kevin Bristow and others from New York G&S showed up as well. Take a second and check them out on Social Cigar!
FTNYC members brought their best sticks, and Dave Alicea blessed future FTNYC events with a beautiful porcelain San Cristobal ash tray. I could tell the event was fully underway when we had to empty the ash trays three times to accommodate all of the ash! Throughout the day there were at least 25 FTNYC members that showed up to the free event.
Antonio (left) with Kevin Bristow, myself and Bigeye
Antonio Lem from Reinado also showcased his uniquely fermented Nicaraguan puro cigars. When you get a chance, head over to his website and pick a few up. His cigars have gotten great reviews, and after smoking a few (including the one I’m smoking now), I can say that they live up to the reviews.
Kelvin and the wife!
FineTobaccoNYC events are open to smokers of all ages, backgrounds, and experience. You can follow FineTobaccoNYC on Facebook and Twitter for details on events, but for event specifics and invites, sign up for our event mailing list on the upper right side of this page!
Until the next event (this Friday!), long ashes and happy smoking!
After a long week of classes and work, I finally found a couple of hours to pick up another PANA cigar for a review. Granted, the time I found was at 1:00am, but I don’t think it detracted from the review too much – no nodding off anyway. Next on the docket for a review of PANA’s blends was the PANA Triple Corojo, and I was pretty excited. Then again, I get excited (and a bit nervous) any time I see “triple” anything (maduro, corojo, etc). In any case, this really was is an excellent cigar, as I will try to describe below. In case you aren’t familiar with Pana Cigars, it is a new brand by Pablo Enchiton that launched midway through 2010. You can find the website here. Enchiton has developed four lines: the Ligero-Maduro, Connecticut Especial, Triple Corojo, and Triple Maduro.
The Corojo wrapper is a reddish brown with light oil on the wrapper. There are a few veins, but nothing significant, and there are no visible imperfections. The black and white band prominently displays “PANA” in large framed lettering. After clipping the pig-tail cap, I test the draw and it is (like other PANA cigars I’ve smoked) pretty liberal, but not too loose. The scent on the wrapper is subtle, but the foot reveals granola and leather.
Click to Enlarge
Taste & Smoking Characteristics:
The first few draws of this cigar produce large amounts of medium bodied smoke. The texture of the smoke is slightly creamy, and the main notes are black pepper, spice, and some leather. There is also a subtle sweetness to the aroma of the smoke which adds nicely to the experience. The more I smoke this cigar, the clearer it becomes that this stick would be paired very well with Mexican or Southern food. Smoking the cigar actually makes me imagine relaxing on a lounge chair on a hot arid evening in Arizona. About an inch in, the spice picks up considerably and so does the black pepper. The pepper continues to build into the second third of the cigar, and at one point builds a bit too much for my tastes. Still, very enjoyable. The final third of the cigar tamed a bit on the pepper, but also got a bit hot which may be a result of the slightly more liberal draw. Not the best way to end a cigar, but I wasn’t crushed – it was a great smoke.
Conclusion:
This cigar is an experience. At $7.50, it isn’t a cheap stick, but I think that it will satisfy the Corojo lover in all of us, and I definitely recommend getting your hands on some as soon as you get the chance.
I would be lying if I said that I reviewed this cigar tonight because I’m behind on my reviews (although I am). I decided to review this cigar because, all joking aside, I was really, really excited to smoke this cigar. A few weeks ago I ran into Barry from acigarsmoker.com, and he gave me some pretty glowing remarks on the new La Sirena line. So, when I found a few of these sticks in the mail when I returned from my Christmas travels, I dropped everything, even postponing cleaning my apartment (pretty impressive, huh?) to smoke this stick.
Part of the Miami Cigar portfolio, La Sirena cigars are a result of the masterful blending technique of Don Pepin Garcia of My Father cigars, and the new cigars were well accepted at ICPCR. On hand with this smoke was a glass of cognac, music from Pink Martini, Melody Gardot, and Coldplay. I also brought along a copy of one of my favorite books, Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton (take a week and give this book a read – it is well worth it).
Specifics: Size: 5 x 50 (The Prince)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Binder: Nicaraguan Filler: Nicaraguan
Appearance & Construction:
Wow! What a label! It easily takes up half of the cigar and features an oceanic theme with a silver mermaid, an anchor on top and a helm on bottom. Attempting such a daring theme for a label could have been dangerous, but the designers at Miami Cigar pulled it off well. On an unrelated note, I am also a big fan of the name of this particular cigar, only because it is named after one of my all-time favorite works of political philosophy by one Niccolo Machiavelli. But to get back on track: the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper is a gorgeous, well textured dark brown with minimal veins and clean lines – well put together. The foot of the cigar smells faintly of berry granola, natural tobacco, and a good deal of spice. The draw was excellent, and I couldn’t wait to light this cigar up.
Flavor & Smoking Characteristics:
The first puff of this cigar told me that this was going to be a truly special stick. The taste was flavorful, complex, with dark chocolate, coffee, and a hint of spice taking the spotlight. These flavors were accented with a savory aroma. I’m not sure it is an accent I liked, but I was sure willing to investigate further after such a great opening. About half an inch in, I picked up a bit of leather which is a nice addition, and the savory aroma moved more to mirror the taste – dark chocolate and leather – a bit more enjoyable. I really enjoyed the richness of this cigar. The smoke was smooth and sweet, the burn was great, and the smoke stayed cool. A great combination.
Great burn!
At around 2/3, I turned the lights off and enjoyed the complex flavor and aroma of the cigar. Pink Martini playing in the background was a perfect compliment. I can’t say that I was taken to an underwater wonderland (that wouldn’t jive well with the physics of smoking a cigar), but in any case it was a great place to be. The more I think about it, actually, the more this cigar reminds me of one of my all times favorites, the Casa Magna Colorado (the Cigar Aficionado 2008 cigar of the year). Both cigars have impeccable construction, weigh well in the hand, and generate ultra-complex flavors. At the last third, the spice picked up a bit, and unfortunately so did the heat of the smoke. The cigar was enjoyable down to the end, but wasn’t quite how I would have liked it to end.
Conclusion:
I’ve got to agree with Barry’s review of this stick and say that it is simply a stellar smoke. This La Sirena cigar is complex, full bodied, and has a great flavor profile. The construction is great too. The only complaint that I have is that at a few points the savory aroma became a bit too prominent and (to me at least) threw the balance of the cigar off. Even in light of that, I enjoyed this cigar immensely and was sad when the smoke ended. I’ll definitely be buying more of these in the future and recommend you to do the same.
The past two months have found me completely inundated with college work. My senior thesis, finals, and a stack of topics to write papers on. In that time, I haven’t set up many events, but I have put some serious work into improving the website and expanding FTNYC into more online venues – more on our other sites later.
The most important update is that I just added a nifty new tool to the FTNYC Facebook page that makes it that much easier to join the event mailing list. You can still send me an email at matthias.ftnyc@gmail.com to join, but now interested individuals can simply submit their emails through the Facebook page. Individuals can also register to hear about events on the “FineTobaccoNYC Events” page that has a form like this one:
[contact-form subject=”New subscriber” to=”matthias.ftnyc@gmail.com”]
[contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” /]
[contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /]
[contact-field label=”How did you hear about FineTobaccoNYC?” type=”select” options=”Search Engine,Friend,Twitter,Facebook” /]
[/contact-form]
So, you can now connect with FineTobaccoNYC through:
Nestled on 7th street in Manhattan’s picturesque Lower East Side is Velvet Cigar, an oasis for the new and experienced cigar smoker. On any given night of the week, a visitor to Velvet Cigar is likely to experience what I have on many occasions. Walking in the door, I am met with the familiar aroma of fine tobacco, the din of friendly conversation, and a welcoming staff. A brief look around reveals exposed brick walls that provide a classic backdrop to dark mahogany wood tones, rustic leather chairs, and dim candles flickering around the room. The lounge could be considered small compared to Manhattan’s larger lounges, but don’t let the lounge’s modest 400 sq. ft. of real estate fool you – Velvet’s relaxed atmosphere is hard to beat. The lounge and its unique boutique blend cigars has won high praise from media outlets like Yelp, Time Out NY, Affluence, MartiniBoys, and StogieReview.com, to name a few.
Dan Bsharat – Managing Partner at Velvet Cigar
I recently had the opportunity to sit down for a cigar and conversation with Dan Bsharat, Managing Partner of Velvet, and he described for me a bit of the lounge’s history and his business philosophy. I also had a chance to light up a cigar from Velvet’s new line, the Bowery – more on that later.
Dan started by telling me a bit about the history of the lounge. Velvet Cigar Lounge existed by the same name before Dan and his business partners purchased the lounge in 2005. After making Velvet a favorite place to hang out, they were inspired to consider buying the lounge after an employee overheard Dan complimenting the lounge’s natural charm. The employee mentioned that the lounge was on the market, and the seed was planted. In Velvet, Dan and his partners saw a golden opportunity because the lounge exemplified cigar culture and the perfect hang out. Soon after, they had purchased the lounge that they now own today.
Dan described the philosophy behind Velvet as a “new approach to cigar smoking for a younger generation.” He said that Velvet approaches cigar smoking differently, and that the boutique blends offer paradigms of different cigar tastes by using a variety of wrappers.
Just as inviting as the lounge’s warm environment are the humidors that line the high-seated bar. Although Velvet does have a small selection of big-brand cigars, Dan said that the main focus is on the boutique blend, which until recently featured three main lines named after famous NYC city areas: the Tomkins, Astor, and Cooper blend. These Dominican blends are made by a family owned farm in the Vila Gonzalez region and rolled in New York.
The most recent addition to the Velvet boutique arsenal is the “Bowery” line, named after the famous lower east side neighborhood that Dan said has recently experienced “a revival.” Although new on the scene, the Bowery is already Dan’s favorite boutique blend (and I must admit the same is true for me after trying each line).
Made in the same Nicaraguan factory that produces quality cigars for Rocky Patel, the Bowery is a real piece of artwork. The Bowery features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos for fillers, all rolled and produced in a classic box-press style. The Bowery comes in four sizes: Robusto, Toro, Torpedo, and Churchill, and is available in packs of 6 and boxes of 20 online and in-store.
"The Bowery"
As I mentioned, during my interview with Dan, I had the opportunity to enjoy my third Bowery (Churchill), and whenever possible I jotted down a few notes for a quick review. Fortunately, I have realized since the interview that notes on the cigar were not really necessary as it had a distinct flavor profile that provided for a memorable smoke. Below is my review of the cigar:
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Pre-light: There really is no other way to say it: the Bowery is a beautiful cigar. The dark Habano wrapper is complimented perfectly by the dark red and gold label that displays the Velvet logo. Admittedly, I’ve only had three of these sticks so far, but from what I’ve observed construction has been impeccable – well packed, no serious vein issues, and no visual blemishes. The foot of the cigarsmells of mocha, and a hint of sweetness.
Smoking characteristics: The draw was just about right – a tiny bit tight, but still a great amount of smoke. This stick is a medium-full bodied smoke, though for the most part I found it to be medium.
Flavor: To me, the first two third of this cigar are the most distinct. This cigar opened up with tastes of spice, mocha, and woodiness. I found that the spice on this particular cigar started off pretty strong, but as I started 2/3 the spiciness faded into the background while the mocha and woodiness started to really stand out. From there the stick smoked perfectly. During the end of 2/3 and beginning of 3/3 I noticed a bit of leather coming through along with pepper. Ultimately, the flavor profile on this cigar has really captured me – it is simply a delicious stick.
Overall impression: This cigar is beautiful, well constructed, and packs a great and distinctive taste. I didn’t have any burn issues during the smoke, and enjoyed it all of the way through. Even though this particular line is more expensive than Velvet’s other blends, this will probably be my standard pick during my visits to Velvet.
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I’ve always enjoyed business and love to see thriving new organizations expand, so after visiting Velvet at least a dozen times in the past two years, one of the biggest questions I had for Dan near the end of the interview was “where does Velvet go from here?” Taking a moment to think, he cracked a smile and said that “expansion is on the table” and that another lounge is a “possible option.” He went on to explain, however, that the owners of Velvet are focusing on expanding their business contacts and looking for ways to network around the city to make their cigars more widely available. As I’m not always near the Lower East Side, I hope he makes it happen!
One Classy Establishment
If you haven’t visited Velvet cigars, then put it high on your priority of night life attractions to see in New York City! The Bowery can be found for order at Velvet Lounge and online at the Velvet Cigar site.
Last night, FineTobaccoNYC hosted the first Fall smoke of the season at Velvet Cigars on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. By the day before the event, 17 people from all over New York City had RSVPd for the event, and 14 showed up. So there were plenty of people to meet, and even more conversations to have! The event was officially scheduled to run from 7:00pm – 9:00pm, but FineTobaccoNYC event guests stayed much later enjoying cigars, wine, and the beautiful atmosphere set by Velvet’s gorgeous lounge.
Full house! – click to enlarge
Cigars making an appearance last night were mainly Velvet’s boutique blends, although some other cigars from Rocky Patel and Davidoff were present. The cigar of the night was definitely Velvet’s new house blend, the “Bowery” (pictured below) that features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos for fillers, all rolled and produced in a classic box-press style. But, the Bowery is a Maduro cigar, so many guests started with either the Cooper or Astor cigars. Also on hand last night were a variety of wines and beers that guests brought to share.
The Bowery
Among other things, the crisp Fall night was made special by Velvet’s incredible hospitality. For the FTNYC event, Velvet dropped the $8 corking fee and offered four separate raffles. Three of the raffles were for two packs of Velvet cigars, and the grand finale raffle was for a slick, stainless steel double-guillotine cigar cutter.
Personally, I enjoyed the event most because of the new friends I was able to make. It was fun to meet one of the first guests, Dan from Davidoff uptown and hear his story of falling in love with cigars and moving to New York City. I also met a few customers who didn’t know about FineTobaccoNYC and was able to share a bit of my passion for cigars and helping to sustain the New York City cigar culture.
As the later hours of the night approached, guests began to say their farewells and head out the front door and into the chilly Lower East Side night. The event was a great success: new and old friends, cigars, and great conversation. This is what cigars are all about!
You can find the full slideshow of this event here (thanks to Christina Carter for gracing us with the use of her awesome camera!)
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If you are interested in attending a free FineTobaccoNYC event, click here for more information! Events are free, but you must sign up!
The image quality is low because we all managed to forget our cameras!
On Friday, September 17th, FineTobaccoNYC hosted its second Summer Cigar Night with Caballeros Cigars in Queens. Caballeros are very new to New York City – the lounge has only been around since may. The lounge is still under construction, and the walk in humidor is in the stocking process, but that won’t stop Caballeros from making a name for themselves in the New York City area in the years to come. In their first few months open, Caballeros has begun to develop a reputation among locals for incredibly friendly service, flexible hours, and a relaxed environment.
Tomas worked his magic again and again
Friday’s event started at 7:30pm and ran until about 1:00am. A range of cigar smokers from around the city were in attendance smoking all kinds of premium cigars – a few I remember were the Rocky Patel OWR, Camacho Triple Maduro, Quintero Maduro, and of course Caballeros wide ranging boutique blend. The event featured 25% off all cigar packages and accessories, live professional cigar rolling, and an 11:00pm raffle with $100 in cigars and a champagne toast. Caballeros also provided a variety of wines and other drinks including Merlot, Pinot Noir, Moscato, and a few beers. Everyone who showed up had a great time, lots to eat and drink, and plenty of good conversation.
Come to think of it, I’d have to say the quote of the night came from a good friend of mine who is living in Harlem. We were engaged in a conversation about our fine tobacco preferences, and I told him that to me a pipe just can’t compete with a cigar. To that he replied, “You know, to me a pipe is like a wife: constant, faithful, always by your side. A cigar is more like a passionate lover that completely overwhelms your senses.”
I thought it was an apt observation.
Group shot outside the lounge!
A few minutes later, the height of the night came at 11pm when Caballeros handed out pieces of paper for a raffle for more than $100 in Caballero boutique blend cigars. Needless to say, the winner (Andrew) was very happy – although it should be noted that Mike Lopez (our gracious host) encouraged him to share.
Overall, the event was a massive success – first because of the great guys who showed up, and second because of the tremendous generosity and hospitality of Caballeros!
Andrew Debter, the winner of 10 handrolled Cabarello cigars, was all smiles!
As always, if you are interested in RSVPing for free for a FineTobaccoNYC event, then shoot me an email at matthias.ftnyc@gmail.com, and you will be updated on social cigar events in the city! If you’re on twitter – so are we! You can follow us here.
The next event is coming up in just a few weeks, so shoot me an email and come smoke some quality tobacco, meet new people, and make new friends!
Launched in August of 2009 Berger & Argenti as a collaboration between Don Kiki Berger of Cuban Crafters and Albert and Michael Argenti of Cuban Imports, Inc. The Entubar is their flag ship cigar and it is rolled in the traditional method of entubar, which it gets it name from. According to Berger & Argenti this cigar is “a tribute to the time-honored Cuban cigar making technique.” The process is carried out by “creating delicate ‘scrolls’ of rich, flavorful tobacco” and bunching them within the binder and wrapper. On this cigar there is a 1/4″ roll of tobacco extending from the foot. This is all of the Ligero tobacco used in this cigar. There is also a footband that warns against not toasting the foot enough before you light it. Now, on to the cigar.
Berger & Argenti Entubar Robusto
Size: 5″ x 50
Wrapper: Deflorado Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican
Pre-Light: The Ecuadorian Connecticut Wrapper on this cigar is beautiful. It isn’t that oily and in fact has a slight dryness to the touch. When I smell the wrapper I didn’t pick up anything discernible. Obviously the most obvious feature while inspecting this cigar is the 1/4″ roll of tobacco that is protruding from the foot. When I smell the foot I pick up a little chocolate and not much else. The cigar seems well put together and it is just begging to be smoked.
Smoking Characteristics: After thoroughly toasting the foot at the advisory warning on the foot band instructed me to I took my first puffs two things came to mind: 1) The draw is impeccable and 2) the medium-bodied smoke that filled my mouth was very tasty.
Flavor: This cigar is like a three-act play, with definite distinctions and changes as the cigar progresses. The first “act” started out creamy and smooth with notes of roasted nuts and a little grassiness. About halfway through the cigar there was a distinct shift from the creamy and smooth to a little more spicy. The roasted nuts was still there but a cayenne pepper type spice began to appear. The smoke seemed to not be as creamy, instead it had a velvety quality to it that coated my palette. And finally with an inch and a half to go the Berger & Argenti Entubar became very full bodied and picked up the intensity another notch. The spiciness came to the forefront of the flavors and was very bold and in your face. This was a nice way for the cigar to finish. With only a little bit left to smoke you don’t have to put up with the bold spiciness for very long if you don’t want to.
Overall Impression: This is the second size of this cigar that I have tried and I have loved every second of both of them. You don’t come across a cigar very often that has extremely distinctive changes, but this one did. I am definitely going to be picking more of these up for my humidor very soon and I highly recommend them to anybody. They can be a little hard to find but if you can don’t waste any time in picking up at least one.
If you are reading this post, chances are you are aware of the new taxes that the New York state legislature have heaped onto already existing tobacco taxes in the state. And like previous legislation, the new taxes fail to discriminate between fine tobaccos usually enjoyed in moderation (pipes, cigars, etc.) and the common cigarette. But we really shouldn’t be surprised that state and city politicians seem intent to remain ignorant about basic distinctions between fine tobacco and common cigarettes. After all, it is in their interest to stay ignorant: ignorance allows politicians to to exploit the democratic process to target all smokers for funding.
At its most basic level, though, fine tobacco lovers should realize that new taxes are simply a more obvious manifestation of age old politics: group a (revenue hungry politicians) joining group b (well-meaning anti-tobacco groups) to unfairly, unreasonably, and punitively tax and coerce group c (those who enjoy tobacco) out of their money and their individually chosen lifestyles.
What is most interesting about New York City as a case-study for tobacco public policy is how tyrannical and simultaneously counterproductive it ultimately is. Recent decades have seen NYC develop a legal precedent for higher tobacco taxes and tighter smoking regulations. This public policy mix, however, has and will continue to have dramatically negative effects on individual liberties and the tax revenues that politicians today are so desperate to take from vulnerable groups of citizens. As the city bans smoking in more and more places, many fine tobacco lovers have had to move to lounges simply to have a place to smoke. This is a bearable scenario as long as cigars/fine tobacco stays reasonably priced. Unfortunately, tobacco tax increases push prices up, which effects customer purchase decisions – so less go to lounges. Lounges find themselves more and more burdened by taxes, regulation, and a dwindling market, and ultimately go out of business. Smokers of all types (even moderate cigar smokers) suddenly find themselves with overpriced products and no place to smoke. Anywhere.
The essential result is a government mandate by the coercive power of taxation and regulation to make you live your life a certain way.
The causal chain can be summarized as follows:
1. Government implements tobacco taxes.
2. Some people (on the margins) stop smoking.
3. Government bans smoking in public places.
4. Individuals must go to private locations (lounges or home) to smoke.
5. Government wants more money, and raises taxes the easily taxable: tobacco.
6. Taxes are passed on to consumers, and less can afford lounges/shops.
7. Tax burden and decreased market close lounges.
8. Smokers are left with almost no locations to smoke legally.
9. Some smokers break the law, many cannot afford to smoke/abide by the law.
10. Tax revenue from smoking drops off – politicians have overtaxed and exhausted tobacco users. They now turn to increasing taxes on the rich, businessman, other products, or the poor through inflation (on the federal level).
Result: Individuals for all intents and purposes lose the freedom to smoke. The government has coerced (ultimately at the barrel of a gun) a particular set of values and norms on a large group of individuals. The government destroys a source of revenue.
No one wins.
The most discouraging aspect of the current political trend, though, with respect to tobacco taxes and regulation is how obviously short sighted it is. State and city policy makers don’t understand the importance of basic incentives. As taxes rise, rational smokers will undoubtedly begin to wonder, “if tobacco is so expensive here, why not simply purchase it elsewhere where the taxes don’t apply?” Evasion of unreasonable taxes takes many forms: some may buy online, through unregistered dealers (aka the black market), or will simply drive across state lines. Thus as the state raises taxes in the hope of increasing tax receipts, they will ultimately begin pushing revenues to other states or organizations. No one benefits. State tobacco revenues will stagnate, some smokers will be forced to quit, and some will still smoke – but only after more hassle and frustration.
Does all of this sound extreme? I think so. But then again, take a look at the tax increases in the past ten years, and you will realize that imagining taxes perpetually increasing really isn’t that hard.
And so I am stuck wondering when politicians and those who hate any and every form of tobacco will realize that democratic theft and tyranny, aside from being morally reprehensible, actually won’t solve any problems in the long run. We’ve tried Prohibition before – why should anyone believe that half-assed Prohibition will work any better?
Unless you have been living under a rock for all of your cigar smoking life then the name José Garcia a.k.a. “Don Pepin” should ring bells. His cigar blends have reached cult status throughout the industry and throughout the world. That being said, this stick has been on my “get to” list for some time now I was eager to get my hands on some, especially in the Generoso(Toro) vitola.
