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Review: Tatuaje Bombazo

In 2006, the relatively new Tatuaje Cigars Inc. released three different cigars, all exclusive to different stores. One of the three was the Bombazo (bomb blast in Spanish), a 4 x 46 Petit Robusto that was sold exclusively to Illusione’s Dion Giolito’s shop, FUMARE in Reno, Nev. Only 50 boxes of 25 were released making it [...]

Icons of Cigars™ — Dion Giolito

Dion Giolito has always been an enigma to me. Physically large (quite tall), seemingly socially aloof—something he seems to wear with honor—and immensely talented when it comes to anything having to do with tobacco. While I was in Nicaragua earlier in the year, I found out that Giolito was in Estelí and on a lark, [...]

Review: Illusione *R* Rothchildes (Prerelease)

In late 2012, murmurs started that Dion Giolito would have a new Illusione, the Illusione *R* Rothchildes. It was supposed to be a completely separate project from the La Grand Classe release, which at the time had just shipped. But there were a lot of similarities from the initial details: Nicaraguan filler and Mexican San [...]

Redux: Illusione ~eccj~

Sold exclusively through New Havana Cigars back in 2008, the Illusione ~eccj~ was released to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the European Cigar Cult Journal magazine, now known simply as Cigar Journal. Only 300 boxes of 15  were sold of a special 5 5/8 x 46 Corona Gorda with tobacco all from Nicaragua. Here is [...]

News: Illusione’s New Rothchildes Near Release

Illusione’s newest cigar should be appearing soon according to Dion Giolito. Earlier this year, a post by Giolito indicated the 4 1/2 x 50 Illusione Rothchildes would be available in “the Ides of March,” but a new post today hinted they might be available “sooner than you had planned.” News of the cigar first appeared late [...]

Review: La Grand Classe

There wasn’t a ton of fanfare for the release of Dion Giolito’s latest cigar, La Grand Classe, when it came out in late November. A Tweet from FUMARE was sent out the morning it became available, and as of this writing it has yet to be mentioned on the Illusione Twitter account since being released on November 27. The [...]

News: FUMARE Releases La Grande Classe

Dion Giolito of Illusione Cigars has released La Grande Classe, an exclusive for Fumare in Reno, the store that he also owns. Fumare’s home page was changed recently to indicate that the cigars are now on sale, though little is known about their specifics. Fumare is selling them only by the box, which contains 25 [...]

News: La Grande Clase Set for November Release

According to Dion Giolito, La Grande Clase, the small batch project for the Illusione founder’s Reno, Nev. retail store, is set to arrive at FUMARE either this week or next week. When reached by phone, Giolito refused to comment on any of the details regarding the release, which has been publicly listed on the FUMARE [...]

Review: Tatuaje Bombazo Capa Especial

In 2006, Havana Cellars released some of the first of what would eventually become dozens of single store releases. Each release consisted of a unique cigar, either in blend and size, and were available at a different store from a different part of the country. They were: Tatuaje La Maravilla (5 5/8 x 46) — [...]

News: Illusione to Add Epernay L’Excellence

Dion Giolito is adding the tenth size to the Illusione Epernay line, L’Excellence—a Churchill that he claims is his favorite size in the line. As first reported by Gregory Mottola, Epernay L’Excellence will debut in November with a retail price of $9.50. The news comes after an IPCPR show where Giolito introduced nothing new, despite [...]