Cigar Coop

The #1 2023 Cigar of the Year is the My Father Le Bijou 1922 100 Años Limited Edition Corona Extra. In 2008, Jaime Garcia created the first My Father Cigar to honor his father, Don José “Pepin” Garcia. A year later, Pepin paid homage to his own father, José Garcia Alayón, releasing a cigar known as the My Father Le Bijou 1922. Le Bijou is French for “The Jewel.” He called it 1922 because that was the year that Pepin’s father was born. Since the year 2022 marked 100 years since the birth of José Garcia Alayón, the Garcia family decided to create a special limited edition cigar offering to mark the centennial of the elder Garcia’s birthday and called it the My Father Le Bijou 1922 100 Años Limited Edition. The 100 Años was released in two sizes, but it was the Corona Extra that put this cigar over the top for 2023. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rit

In 2010, one of the historic single store releases was released by Tatuaje known as the Tatuaje Anarchy. It not only remains one of the most popular single store releases, but to this day it is the gold standard for how to do a single store release. Last year, it was announced that Smoke Inn would be teaming up with Tatuaje to re-release the Tatuaje as a part of a very special NFT offering. Along the way, partners Coles of London/S.T. Dupont and Quality Importers have come on-board with the project. Tonight we will dive into the Tatuaje Anarchy and what this NFT project is all about. We will have Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars, Abe Dababneh of Smoke Inn, and Les Mann of Coles of London/S.T. Dupont to talk about the behind the scenes on this project. Plus, we will have our Cattle Baron Steak Question of the Night, Tabacalera USA Ties That Bind, Alec Bradley Live True, Espinosa Today in Sports History, and the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Deliberation segments.

Matt Booth's Room101 Cigars would commemorate its 13th anniversary at the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. Of course there is a 13th anniversary cigar to mark the occasion. However there were some other themes going on at Room101's booth. First up, the company would go "Nicaragua" releasing three Nicaraguan puros made in Nicaragua. The other story would be that this was Matt Booth's first Trade Show where he was no longer a brand owner. Just prior to the Trade Show, Booth would sell his cigar brand to Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG). Booth's Room101 brand would become a part of STG's Forged Cigar Company and Booth would join STG as a Creative Director. Booth had already been working with STG, and there were a couple of STG projects he already put his footprint on - namely the relaunch of Sancho Panza and Los Statos Deluxe. Although no orders were taken from Sancho Panza and Los Statos Deluxe, the products were showcased at the Trade Show. Meanwhile there were several members of the STG team at the Room101 booth - essentially giving STG a Trojan horse into the show. The important thing - whether it was Camacho, Davidoff, Caldwell, La Palina or STG, Booth remained true to his roots and continues to show a genuine love of the cigar industry. PCA 2022 Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-nri

A brief video showing the 2023 Procigar Charity Auction. A total of $440,000.00 was raised benefiting Voluntariado Jesús con los Niños (a non-profit organization for ill children), Sociedad San Vicente de Paúl (senior retirement home for low-income elders), Procigar’s charitable initiative “A Home for My Family” (housing program for disadvantaged yet deserving employees of the members companies), among others nonprofit organizations.

The #5 2023 Cigar of the Year is the La Flor Dominicana Solis. Many cigar companies are family operations, and that applies to La Flor Dominicana and the Gomez family. La Flor Dominicana is known for the blends created by Litto Gomez. Litto’s wife Ines and his son Tony have also been involved with the company for many years. In 2022, another member of the family, Litto Gomez Jr, would get a chance to spearhead his first project. Dubbed “Solis,” the cigar had its debut at the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rgN

This video was recorded about 18 minutes prior to the opening of the Fuente Friday Seminar on July 8th at the 2022 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show. It shows the massive line to get into the event

The #4 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Black Label Trading Co Deliverance Porcelain Robusto. Black Label Trading Company and its sister brand Black Works Studio are two brands created by James Brown of Oveja Negra Cigars. James Brown has been known for his dark and full-bodied maduro offerings. In 2018 that would change as Brown would introduce a pair of Connecticut Shade offerings: Black Works Studio Killer Bee Connecticut and Black Label Trading Co Deliverance Porcelain. Both cigars would be hits and would both make their way into becoming regular production offerings: Porcelain would join the regular production lineup of Black Label Trading Co in 2019, and Killer Bee Connecticut would become regular production in 2022. Porcelain was originally released in a Corona Gorda size, but a Robusto was added in 2021 and it's the cigar that lands at #4. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rhs

The #3 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Meerapfel Richard Double Robusto. The Meerapfel family has over 150 years of experience in various aspects of the tobacco business. Today the family is best known for being tobacco brokers and, in particular, for brokering tobacco out of Cameroon, Africa. In 2021, Jeremiah Meerapfel announced he was creating a new ultra-premium cigar brand with the Meerapfel name. In this case, it wasn’t just an ultra-premium brand, but it was one he calls UberLuxury. UberLuxury involves using the highest quality of materials with the highest level of craftsmanship. In the case of this new Meerapfel UberLuxury line, the cigars pay homage to past generations of the Meerapfel family. Specifically, the Meerapfel Richard pays homage to Jeremiah's father, Richard Meerapfel. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rhM

For Prime Time Jukebox Episode 80, we break down Prince and the Revolution's landmark 1984 album, Purple Rain. To help us do that we are also joined by Minnesota's own Matt Tye of How Bout That Cigar. Much like an archaeologist digs and hunts for gems, on Album Archaeology we dig into thePurple Rain album. We go deep into each of the tracks of this album looking at the music, lyrics, and stories behind this album. Plus we reflect on the life and career of Coolio and Loretta Lynn. On this show, Matt smokes ADVentura Sociedad Secreta, Dave smokes theAsylum 13 Candela, and Coop smokes theCAO BX3. As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlists: Full Episode 80 Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5hiXMTW3l3AOIzcqEwUP4m?si=c9450f958a5b4498 References Coolio Dead at 59: https://cigarjukebox.com/2022/10/01/coolio-dead-at-59/ Country Music Legend Loretta Lynn Dead at 90: https://cigarjukebox.com/2022/10/05/country-music-legend-loretta-lynn-dead-at-90/ Bruce Springsteen to Release Soul Music Covers Album: https://cigarjukebox.com/2022/10/01/bruce-springsteen-to-release-soul-music-covers-album/ Drew Estate Collaborates with Metallica for Blackened: https://cigarjukebox.com/2022/09/29/cigar-news-drew-estate-collaborates-with-metallica-for-blackened/ What Is The Minneapolis Sound? Good Question - CBS Minnesota: https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/what-is-the-minneapolis-sound-good-question/ Purple Rain 1983, Prince and The Revolution - The recording of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frbVVDAyJ1w&ab_channel=KennethDamm Marco Parisi plays Prince's "Purple Rain" on the Seaboard RISE at NAMM 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fQbtp2BgY4&ab_channel=ROLI Cory Henry Performs Purple Rain W/ Metropole Orchestra Live at North Sea Jazz Festival 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8j7XJxew7s&ab_channel=CoryHenry Jennifer Hudson Tribute to Prince Singing Purple Rain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xWrMHG2xVk&ab_channel=ZaequanPrailow Foy Vance covers Prince - Purple Rain | Buzzsession: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw3aQtfvUx0&ab_channel=TheWildHoneyPie NOFX: Punk in Drublic: https://open.spotify.com/album/6Z8BYH27wINoUk4QMUx7gh?si=VrNrloPhTzO2txzXcvruhg

The #21 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Blackened M81 Toro by Drew Estate. Blackened M81 is a three-way collaboration project between Metallica’s James Hetfield, Distiller Rob Dietrich of Sweet Amber Distilling, and Drew Estate's own Jonathan Drew. Blackened is the name of a whiskey collaboration of Metallica and Dietrich. Dietrich and Drew have been friends for a while. It was Dietrich who introduced Metallica lead singer James Hetfield to Drew. Soon enough, the idea of creating a cigar brand was floated. From there, the wheels were put in motion to create a cigar that shared the vision of the Blackened Brand. After iterating through many test blends during the COVID-19 pandemic, they settled on the flavor profile, the Blackened M81. As for the name M81, it stands for Metallica 1981 – the year Metallica was formed. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r7F

Our Cuba/Habanos Contributor Nick Syris attended the Cohiba 55th Anniversary Celebration in Havana Cuba the week of September 6th. Nick participated in a media briefing with Leopoldo Cintra González, Commercial Vice-President, and José María López Inchaurbe. In this interview, Nick asks about the controversial price increases that took place, supply chain, and quality control. In addition the launch of the Cohiba 55 Aniversario is covered, and Mr Cintra and Mr Lopez provide some insights on Habanos' new global launch program. Special thanks and media credits go to Nick Syris. Nick will be on Prime Time Special Edition 128 on October 4, 2022 to give a full recap of the Cohiba 55th Anniversary celebration.

The #2 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Alfonso Extra Añejo No. 2 by Selected Tobacco. In 2022, Selected Tobacco launched a fourth brand in the Alfonso portfolio. Alfonso gets its name from Nelson Alfonso, who is the owner of Selected Tobacco. For the past decade, Selected Tobacco has been known for its three other brands: Atabey, Bryon, and Bandolero – all of which are distributed in the U.S. market by United Cigars. Alfonso is an ultra-premium brand that revolves around exquisite packaging and extra aging. The first line to be released under the Alfonso brand was the Alfonso Extra Añejo. The name Añejo is appropriate because it means “aged.” It’s the No. 2 size that lands at the #2 spot. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rim

The #10 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Plasencia Alma Fuerte Colorado Claro Eduardo I. In 2021, Plasencia Cigars launched an offshoot of its Alma Fuerte brand known as the Plasencia Alma Fuerte Colorado Claro. When Plasencia decided to bring its own brand to market in 2017, one of the first blends it introduced was the Plasencia Alma Fuerte. This cigar went on to become a very successful line. The Alma Fuerte was known for its dark Nicaraguan wrapper. As the name indicates, the Colorado Claro has a lighter shade with a slight reddish tint. The blend to the Alma Fuerte was tweaked, and thus the Plasencia Alma Fuerte Colorado Claro was born. Today we take a look at the second vitola released in the Plasencia Alma Fuerte Colorado Claro, the Eduardo I. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rdO Note: The photography used for these two thumbnails has made this cigar wrapper look darker and the cigar bands less green. We apologize for this, but we want to reassure you that this was the Colorado Claro Eduardo I that was used for his assessment.

La Zona Palooza 2023 is coming up the first weekend in November, and tonight we will preview the upcoming event with Hector Alfonso and Jack Toraño of Espinosa Cigars. In addition, we will catch up on the happenings of Espinosa. Plus, we have our Vintage Rock-A-Feller Cigar Group U.S. History segment, Tabacalera USA Great Things are Happening Here, and Espinosa This Day in Sports History segments. References 19 Wildcats Set to Bring Back Scottish Highland Species – They’re Thriving in a Reintroduction Program: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/the-19-wildcats-set-to-bring-back-scottish-highland-species-are-thriving-in-reintroduction-program/ Here are the Top 10 most popular Halloween candies, according to Instacart - CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/favorite-halloween-candy-by-state/

The #13 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Micallef Black Toro. If there is one cigar company that has made the best use of its Ambassador group, it would have to be Micallef Cigars. The Micallef Ambassadors group is an integral part of providing input to its products. One piece of feedback that Micallef heard frequently from its Ambassadors group is that it needed a cigar that was fuller in terms of strength and body compared to most of the medium strength and body cigars that existed in the portfolio. For the Micallef Black, Micallef incorporated this feedback and developed a blend to on the fuller side. Micallef Black had a soft launch just prior to the 2023 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show and had a full launch at the Trade Show itself. It's the Toro size of the Micallef Black that landed a spot on this year's countdown. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rbP

The Smoking Syndicate Roundtable reconvenes tonight as we smoke ADVentura’s La Llorona! La Llorona is a cigar that was launched at the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show that was offered up to ADVentura’s “elite” tier of retailers. La Llorona will initially come in one size – a 52 x 5 Robusto with another size planned in the future. It is presented in ten-count boxes. The blend features an Ecuadorian wrapper over a Dominican binder and a combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan filers. Find out what the Roundtable thinks of this release

The #11 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Mi Querida Black SakaKhan by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. At the 2022 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust would launch its third line under its Mi Querida brand, the Mi Querida Black. The cigar was initially released in one size called SakaKhan, which was a nickname given to Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust founder Steve Saka during his days in the Navy. The Mi Querida Black SakaKhan wasn’t exactly a new cigar. It had been released at the end of 2021 as a part of JR Cigar’s 50th-anniversary series when it was simply called the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Limited Edition EM Maduro. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rdg

The #9 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocú Blue No. 1. The Verocú Blue is a regular production line that made its debut at the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. Verocú Blue is described as an offshoot of the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocú line, which is, in turn, an offshoot of the Tatuaje Havana VI (aka Red Label) line. While there may be some DNA connections among these lines, the difference with Verocú Blue is the Shade-grown Corojo wrapper grown by the Garcia family in Nicaragua. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-reb

Coming in at #30 is the Room101 Snake Shake. This is a cigar that Room101 released for Luxury Cigar Club. Normally a cigar that is a club exclusive would not be eligible for the Countdown, but this is a cigar that Luxury Cigar Club has distributed to retailers, thus it is eligible. The Room101 Snake Shake was produced at the AJ Fernandez factory. It’s a factory that brand founder Matt Booth has found success with in the past. Previously, Booth has teamed up with Caldwell and AJ Fernandez to produce The T, a cigar that landed on the 2018 Countdown. As for the Snake Shake, the blend features 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos and is was made available in one size – a 6 x 50 Toro. The Room101 Snake Shake delivered notes of wood, cocoa, cedar, pepper, and dried fruit. For the most part, this cigar delivered medium strength and medium-bodied flavors, but toward the end, it crept into medium to full territory. This is most likely Room101’s third and final appearance on the Cigar Coop Countdown. Subsequent to the release of the Snake Shake, Matt Booth sold the brand to Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) and future Room101 cigars that have been released post-acquisition will now be credited under STG. For details of how the 2022 Cigar of the Year Countdown works, see our 2022 criteria. Full Report: https://cigar-coop.com/2022/12/2022-cigar-of-the-year-countdown-coops-list-30-room101-snake-shake.html

The #18 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Knuckle Sandwich Maduro Toro H. One of the big stories of 2022 was the announcement that celebrity restauranteur Guy Fieri would be teaming up with Espinosa Cigars to launch the Knuckle Sandwich brand of cigars. Knuckle Sandwich Cigars is a brand produced and distributed by Espinosa Cigars. The brand has proliferated and now has three regular production lines and three limited edition lines. The Knuckle Sandwich Maduro is a regular production line and is one of the two original blends released when Knuckle Sandwich launched. It's the Maduro that has earned a spot on the Countdown. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r99

In 2022, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) resurrected a brand it had the trademarks to called Los Statos Deluxe. The brand traces its roots back to Cuba in 1940, where it was termed “Los Statos De Luxe.” STG decided to add the brand to the Forged Cigar Portfolio. To resurrect the brand, the team of Justin Andrews and Matt Booth set out to reimagine the brand from both a tobacco and branding standpoint. Last year, the revamped and resurrected Los Statos Deluxe made its debut. The cigar actually made a surprise appearance at Matt Booth’s Room101 booth at PCA 2022 (shortly after the Room101 brand) acquisition. That cigar featured an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. This year, Forged Cigar Company had a new addition to the Los Statos Deluxe featuring a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper called Los Statos Deluxe Maduro. Full PCA Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-q13

The #14 2023 Cigar of the Year is the HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Poderosos. Back in 2022, HVC Cigars released a Maduro offering known as the HVC Selección No. 1 Maduro. While HVC Cigars has been a company in business for over a decade, the No. 1 is significant. This is because, in 2022, HVC Cigars moved into its own factory, Fabrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. Before that, many of HVC Cigars’ blends had been coming out of the Aganorsa factory. The Selección No. 1 gets its name because it was the first cigar from that factory. In 2023, HVC Cigars added another blend under the HVC Selección No. 1 line known as the HVC Selección No. 1 Natural. It's the Natural offering that lands on this year's Countdown. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rb9

The #8 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Kristoff Guardrail Robusto. The story behind the Kristoff Guardrail is like no other. Kristoff Guardrail debuted in 2022, but the story’s roots go back a couple of years before that. Kristoff owner Glen Case was in Oklahoma and had rented a motorcycle. He was on the road when his back tire gave way and caused him to crash into a guardrail. The accident was severe enough to land Case in the hospital for weeks, followed by many months of rehabilitation – including spending time in a wheelchair. When Kristoff Guardrail was released a couple of years later, Case was fully recovered. Those around him kept the accident quiet, so many were shocked to hear of the accident. Case felt he was given a second chance at life, and this was the inspiration for the Kristoff Guardrail. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-reD

The #6 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll Churchill 2022 edition. Over the past few years, several Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) brands have been collaborating with various spirits companies, some involving utilizing barrel-aged tobacco. In 2022, Macanudo became one of the STG brands that would collaborate with barrel-aged tobacco. For its project, Macanudo would engage with Napa Valley-based winery Flint Knoll. What was different about this project compared to the other STG barrel-aged collaborations is that Macanudo would be working with a winery as opposed to a distillery – and that the barrels used for aging tobacco would be French Oak barrels that were previously used to age Flint Knoll’s single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rfX

The #15 2023 Cigar of the Year is the E.P. Carrillo INCH Nicaragua No. 60.In 2012, E.P. Carrillo launched a line focused on large ring gauge cigars known as the INCH Series. Large ring gauge cigars are nothing new to Ernesto Perez-Carrillo as he was considered a pioneer in this area while he was with La Gloria Cubana. Released in a Maduro and a Natural (Sumatra), it quickly became one of E.P. Carrillo’s most successful lines. In 2022, a new regular production addition to the INCH line, the INCH Nicaragua, was added. As the name indicates, INCH Nicaragua is not only a 100% Nicaraguan cigar, but it's a cigar that's made in Nicaragua - and it's made at the Plasencia factory in Nicaragua. This marked the first time E.P. Carrillo worked in a factory outside its Tabacalera La Alianza facility. Since then, E.P. Carrillo has done the Allegiance at the Oliva factory (which landed on the Countdown at #22) and Short Run 2023 out of Oscar Valladares' factory. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-raO