This month's cigar manufacturer profile is Pinar Del Rio. Most of you know these great cigars as superb bang-for-the-buck sticks, but we're betting you know very little about the factory or their history. So let's see if we can give you some more info on this great brand. The two "main guys" in Pinar Del Rio (PDR) are Abraham Flores and Juan … [Read more...]

This month's cigar manufacturer profile is none other than Tabacalera Fuente y Cia, manufacturer of Fuente, Ashton, Opus X, Hemmingway, Montesino, and many other brands of premium cigars. This world class cigar brand was started in 1912 in Tampa, Florida by a then quite young 24 year old Cuban emigrant Arturo Fuente. Arturo had emigrated to the … [Read more...]

There's a pretty amazing story behind Drew Estates cigars and it starts, of all places, in Brooklyn, New York. Friends Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel were fraternity brothers in college, Jonathan working for Senator Al D'Amato while attending law school, and Marvin getting involved in finance. Both Jonathan and Marvin were enjoying cigars at the … [Read more...]

This month's manufacturer is E. P. Carrillo who most of you know is Ernesto Carrillo of La Gloria Cubana fame. Ernesto has been a friend of mine for well over 20 years and was originally located in Little Havana in Miami, Florida. I first met Ernesto when one of my business partners, Jose Valle from Lima, Peru met me for lunch at a Cuban … [Read more...]