Hiram & Solomon Cigars has announced their latest European distribution partnership. The company has aligned with Casagranda Cigars GmbH in Germany to carry the Brand full production lines.

Founded by Werner Casagranda, who was lucky enough that in 2012 he turned this passion into his profession, Casagranda Cigars cooperates with large producers and boutique manufacturers and has a small but fine range of inventory that is constantly being expanded. The handpicked boutique cigars come from factories in Nicaragua and Costa Rica that comply with high quality standards, thus making the art of creating tasteful cigars come alive at the highest level.

Diesel proudly presents its first TAA-exclusive cigar called Disciple.

Blended by AJ Fernandez, handcrafted at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez in Estelí, Nicaragua and developed in collaboration between AJ and General Cigar’s Justin Andrews, Diesel Disciple is a robust and balanced cigar, blended in AJ’s signature style.

The blend is made with a Mexican San Andrean wrapper, an Ecuadoran Sumatra binder and its filler is exclusively comprised of Nicaraguan Habano from Esteli.

An unexpected layer of sweetness lends balance to Disciple’s bold and peppery smoking experience.

CAO is launching a new series called “Arcana” which will highlight the secrets and traditions of old-world tobacco processing methods, passed down from generation to generation to bring out the best in native tobaccos from across the globe.

The first release in the CAO Arcana series is called “Mortal Coil,” a single cigar that resurrects “Andullo,” the oldest tobacco fermentation method of the Dominican Republic.

Macanudo Inspirado announced that the brand is partnering with Barstool Sports, the maverick sports lifestyle platform, and has been named the official cigar of the Barstool Classic Golf Tournament kicking off today at the Innisbrook Island Course in Palm Harbor, FL.

This year, the Barstool Classic is executing 20 stops with 26 events in 19 states, plus a four-day Championship at Pinehurst Resort. Through its sponsorship of the Barstool Classic, Macanudo will deliver brand experiences at all 26 qualifying tournaments and the four-day Championship. A national online sweepstakes and in-store events will expand the program’s reach throughout the country.

Barstool Sports is a next-generation media company that combines sports with pop culture to engage fans through innovative programming that spans digital and experiential activations.

Protocol Pool Party Year 2 Cigar.

Protocol Cigars announces a special limited edition release cigar called the Protocol Pool Party Year 2. It is a follow up to last year’s release. The cigars were produced at Erik Espinosa’s La Zona Factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. The Protocol Pool Party Year 2 is going to be a special cigar. It will be the company’s first ever barber pole cigar. The PPPY2 as the company is calling it for short, will be a 6x52 round barber pole with a rabito on the head. The two wrappers will be one Mexican San Andreas Maduro leaf and a Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade leaf. Juan Cancel, owner and founder said the following: “We are always looking to do interesting things with our limited releases. We were always curious about doing a barber pole but didn’t want to do anything too gimmicky when it came to the actual cigar. However for a cigar that will be given to those attending our Year 2 Pool Party a barber pole cigar seems perfect! What’s even more exciting is the fact we are using the wrappers of the Themis and Probable Cause to make a really cool and unique cigar only available to those attending this special event!!!”

The Macanudo Inspirado White line is expanding with two new sizes created in response to demand from retailers and cigar lovers.

Steve Abbot, senior brand manager of Macanudo said, “The Macanudo Inspirado White portfolio had consisted of six popular sizes, yet our retailers and cigar smokers wanted more. We responded by creating a Corona and Cigarillo and are confident that the new sizes will become fast-selling additions to this highly successful brand.”

Introduced in 2017, Macanudo Inspirado White is counted among the top-sellers in the Macanudo portfolio. The blend spent several years in development and features tobaccos that have been refined and aged to perfection. This creamy, alluring smoke is known for its complexity and mellow, smooth-smoking qualities.

Macanudo Inspirado White is made with a proprietary Ecuadoran Connecticut wrapper developed by General Cigar’s agronomists to deliver an aesthetic quality like no other.  Aged for six years and refined to a creamy shade of gold, the wrapper crowns an Indonesian binder. The blend features Nicaraguan Condega and Mexican San Andres leaves, each aged for four years and Nicaraguan Jalapa aged for two years. All told, the blend delivers a layered smoking experience with subtle notes of earth and spice.

Both new formats have begun shipping to retailers. The Corona is handcrafted at HATSA in Danli, Honduras and the Cigarillo is made at General Cigar Dominicana in Santiago, D.R.

Macanudo Inspirado White Corona (5.5” x 42) – SRP per cigar $5.49; 20 cigars per box

Macanudo Inspirado White Cigarillo (4 3/16” x 32) – SRP per 10-cigar tin $15.99.

Punch will kick off The Year of The Ox with the launch of a limited-edition smoke called Punch Kung Pow!, the third release in the brand’s highly successful Chinese New Year Series. Kung Pow! is a follow up to 2020’s Punch Chop Suey and 2019’s Punch Egg Roll.

Ed Lahmann, senior brand manager of Punch and the creator of Kung Pow! said, “The Chinese New Year Series for Punch has become a new tradition and for the 2021 release, we took a page from the Szechuan cookbooks. The medium-to-full-bodied blend is vaguely sweet with an undercurrent of spice, just like the popular Chinese food dish of the differently-spelled name. We put a new spin on the takeout container for this year’s release, and we’ve once again hit the post-holiday sweet spot for cigar lovers with a per-cigar price of just $5.99. My advice: get your hands on this one fast because it’s coming in hot!”

Hiram & Solomon Cigars Announces the CURAMUS.

Hiram & Solomon Cigars has announced their latest addition to the company’s core line of Freemasons branded cigars. The CURAMUS is a cigar that was specially crafted for MW Robert V. Monacelli, Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Freemasons for the State of New Jersey.

The Freemasons are the largest and oldest fraternal organization with a mission to:

“Promote a way of life that binds like-minded men with the principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth in order to serve God, Family, Country, Neighbor and self.”

Hiram & Solomon Cigars has donated, through their cigar sales, 10’s of thousands of dollars to Masonic charities including the Shriners Children’s Hospital and also to non-Masonic community events.

Owner Fouad Kashouty noted: Our latest addition to the company’s portfolio is named CURAMUS a Latin word which translates to “We Care “, a simple, yet important mantra for Freemasons. Like those that preceded them, CURAMUS will follow in the tradition of giving as noted in a letter from the MW Grand Master, which states a portion of the proceeds will go to:

• White Flower Society

• Almoner’s Fund for the Scottish Rite of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction

THE FORGED CIGAR COMPANY LAUNCHES EL REY DEL MUNDO

National Distribution Network Premieres Top-Selling Internet/Catalog Brand at Retail

Richmond, VA (January 22, 2021) – The Forged Cigar Company, an independent national cigar distribution network that launched on January 13, 2021, announced today that the company will begin selling the legendary Honduran brand El Rey del Mundo to brick and mortar locations across the U.S. starting in February, 2021.

El Rey Del Mundo was previously available exclusively through JR Cigars and Santa Clara Wholesale and rose to become a top-selling, top-rated brand for more than 20 years. The brand has been handcrafted at Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s HATSA factory in Honduras since. Under The Forged Cigar Company, El Rey Del Mundo will debut at retail as a full-time line featuring six frontmarks.

“El Rey Del Mundo is exactly the type of brand that will flourish under The Forged Cigar Company. By introducing this established brand to brick and mortar retailers nationwide and supporting it with customized programming to drive interest among cigar lovers, my team and I will take a brand with great potential to the next level. We look forward to generating a lot noise at retail for El Rey Del Mundo, our first brand to debut under Forged,” said Sean Hardiman, national sales manager of The Forged Cigar Company.

La Gloria Cubana Presents Spirit of the Lady

Limited Edition Release Celebrates the Artisans of the Original Boutique Brand

La Gloria Cubana, the original boutique brand, has created a special five-country blend that celebrates the masterful artisans of the El Credito Cigar Factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Called “Spirit of the Lady,” the limited edition collection will be available exclusively at U.S. cigar shops beginning on March 2 and includes two box-pressed vitolas made from the finest aged tobaccos.

La Gloria Cubana and its Spirit of the Lady collection are distributed by The Forged Cigar Company.

Last night, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) released the Final Substantial Equivalence (SE) and Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) Rules to address deemed products. While the rules apply regulations to a wide variety of products, FDA stopped short of applying the new regulations to "premium cigars" acknowledging that the agency is evaluating industry comments and its own research on the category.

“... at this time, FDA is not finalizing the proposed SE rule with respect to “premium” cigars. Rather, FDA will take appropriate action once it has further considered the comments submitted to the deeming rule docket that suggested FDA create a streamlined SE process for “premium” cigars...”

(Miami, Florida) March 1, 2021—Amendola Family Cigar Co. announces that they have reached a distribution deal with Illusione Cigars. Illusione Cigars casts a wide net of retailer relationships across the US and internationally which will further expose Amendola’s premium cigars to smokers.

Jeffrey Amendola, a proud New York native, launched Amendola Family Cigar Co. in 2017, but his tobacco journey began in 2010. In his previous profession as a police officer, Jeffrey became immersed in what started as a cigar hobby. His passion for cigars grew and traveled to Ybor Cigar in 2012. There he learned to blend and roll premium cigars under the direction of Odelma Matos. In 2011, his blending and rolling education led to opening a small factory and tobacconist shop in Durham, N.C. In his mind the next logical step was to create his own brand, named in honor of what he cherishes most, family.

Jeffrey Amendola said: “I am grateful every day to my grandparents who arrived in the United States from Italy, penniless, and created a better life for us. Amendola cigars was created in honor of them and my Italian heritage. Together with my business partner and best friend, Christopher Monaco, we look forward to working closely with the Illusione Cigars team to further expose our story and Amendola Cigars to the smoking public.”

After much anticipation and preparation Hiram & Solomon Cigars have announced that they have signed a new distribution deal for the UK market with Bright Leaf Distribution Ltd .

Bright Leaf Distribution Ltd are an established cigar and cigar accessories importer and distributor, suppling all main retail and on-line specialist tobacconist and cigar merchants throughout the UK. Phil Matthews, Sales and Operations Manager, has 30+ years’ experience within the tobacco industry.

With this agreement, Hiram & Solomon Cigars will join the ranks of premium and boutique cigar brands that the Company imports, such as Rocky Patel, Ashton, EP Carrillo, La Galera, Oscar, Te-Amo and Juliany.

We believe that our partnership in the UK market, with all the history and Values that it represents, will bring many mutual benefits for both companies alike.

Fouad Kashouty

Owner and co-founder