halfwheel

Editorial: Ten Questions for 2012

Last year, I published an article entitled Ten Questions for 2011. The concept was simple, what were a few of the topics to watch for in the upcoming year. With the notable exception of E.P. Carrillo’s crazy year, I’d like to think that we covered most of the major topics of 2011. With another year [...]

Editorial: The Business of A.J.

I preface this with: I actually think the Oval is a decent cigar and this is by no means the first time this has happened; Jason Wood. Unfortunately, A.J. Fernandez has sort of fallen into my lap in terms of being the target topic of the next editorial. At stake are two issues: the “A.J. [...]

Editorial: re: I make gimmicky cigars cool

I think we get it… Exclusivo Jar/Black Label Corona Gorda; TNT/Firecracker; Skull & Bones/T110… but seriously, of all the ones to get upset about, the WLP Candela? Dion might have made Candela cool, but I don’t think that justifies an embargo for the rest of the industry on a capa. After all, in the same [...]

Editorial: In Response to the Gurkha Raja

Kaizad Hansotia, founder of Gurkha, and a man who I have a lot of respect for when it comes to reinventing cigar packaging, gave an interview with Rich Perelman. In it he said a few interesting things… first: The national manufacturers used to have 70-80% of the shelf space in most smokeshops because the boutique [...]

Editorial: Minneapolis Smoking Ban

Minnesota passed the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act in 1975. Fast forward pretty much thirty years. In 2005, St. Paul’s City Councilman Dave Thune proposed a smoking ban and two years later it passed. In the time in between, Minneapolis and a host of other cities passed smoking bans. This led state lawmakers to pass the Freedom to Breathe Act in 2007 amending the 1975 legislation by placing much more restrictions on the consumption and sales of tobacco products. There are two main contentions of the act being debated, the use of “sampling” and where smoking is allowed. The Freedom to Breathe Act does not limit smoking in the following areas:

Editorial: A Thank You

Before you read this next post, you should understand I try my best. I try my best to find flavor nuances, I try my best to take pictures, I try my best to research, I try my best to describe cigars. In some ways it’s rather idiotic – as it’s all subjective. My palate is [...]

Editorial: Why Do Manufacturers Intentionally Mislabel Cigar Vitolas?

There has a been a disturbing trend in cigar advertising lately, where newer releases are being mislabeled as specific “classic” vitolas, despite the fact that the cigars in question are nowhere CLOSE to the sizes they supposedly represent… For your reading pleasure, here is a list of the “Classic” cigar vitolas, some of which are [...]

Editorial: The Future of the IPCPR Show & A Lot of Other People

A couple of disclaimers: This was my first IPCPR. I’ve been immersed in the “industry” for only a couple of months, but it’s been a heavy immersion. My background is a decent amount of time in the tech world and so my views come primarily from there although trying to adapt them to a vastly [...]

Editorial: The Congressional Cigar Association

The ever-popular liberal-leaning Huffington Post (“HuffPo”) published a story a week ago titled “Congressional Cigar Association is Front for Lobbyists.” It was rather long, and for those that don’t read the HuffPo, Politico or The National Review, or don’t know what those publications are, it wasn’t the easiest of reads.  In addition, there have been [...]

Editorial: Why All the Hate?

There has been a disturbing trend lately, a trend that started a few years ago, but has seemed to increase in ferocity recently… I am talking, of course, about Haters. Specifically, I am talking about cigar smokers who hate specific brands of cigars, for doing nothing more than (GASP!) marketing their products. The hatred seems [...]