15th Festival del Habanos: Habano Heaven

(Smoke Magazine) Increased global demand for Cuban cigars last year ensured that the throngs of visitors who attended the 15th Annual International Habanos Cigar Festival, held from February 26 to March 2 throughout Havana, were in an upbeat mood even before they arrived. The 1,500 participants in what is widely acknowledged to be the largest international gathering of cigar enthusiasts in the world joined in paying tribute to Cuba's Montecrísto and Partagás brands, and enjoyed an panoply of programs that included factory tours, a trade fair, educational seminars, tastings, competitions, master classes, and social events. Most importantly, they came because of their shared passion for what is the world's most recognized e symbol of Cuban culture and tradition. Continued

General Adds New Sizes to Partagas 1845

 

(Cigar Aficionado) General Cigar Co. has added two new sizes to its Partagas 1845 brand-the Toro Grande and the Crystal. These two cigars mark the first extension to the line since it was released last year.
Now at six sizes, the Partagas 1845 line is made in the Dominican Republic at the General Cigar Dominicana factory. Continued

Photographer's project explores the lives of tobacco farmers

 

(roanoke.com) For more than two years, Roanoker Sarah Hazlegrove has been globe-hopping, landing in Brazil, Malawi and Indonesia so she could visit each country’s tobacco farms with her camera and bring back images that would show what life was like for these farmers.
“I’ve never won anything in my life, but I feel like with this project, I’ve been so lucky,” Hazlegrove said.
The project is “Tobacco People,” a documentary photo book that will be published online and is sponsored by Philip Morris International and Universal Leaf Tobacco Co.
A lifelong artist, Hazlegrove, 54, comes from a family of artists and farmers. Continued

Big Bolivar Regional Edition Cigar Coming To Europe

 

(Cigar Aficionado) A large figurado bearing the Bolivar name will go on sale at the end of the year as a Regional Edition Cuban cigar for Belgium and Luxembourg.
The Bolivar will be a vitola known as a Rodolfo, which is a longer, fatter version of a Cuban pirámides. Rodolfos measure just over 7 inches long with a ring gauge of 54. Pirámides measure 6 1/8 by 52. Continued

St. Bruno Flake Tobacco Reviewed

 

(At the back of the hill) ... The only possible response to all this drama -- raging dyspepsia, rowdy stuffed animals, and thoughts of British food -- is, naturally, a bowlful of St. Bruno Flake. That being a tobacco I once described as the antidote for eggs.
Yes, I can still understand why generations of married Englishmen fell for this stuff. It's the perfect answer to their wives' cooking. If you're going to open tins, might as well include one with good stuff inside. The top-dressing would mask the mildew funk of the house pretty well, and would not be amiss in a pub either. Continued

La Palina debuts an addition to its La Palina Collection: Mr. Sam

 

(NTA) Samuel Paley founded La Palina cigars in 1896, and Mr. Sam was the moniker bestowed upon him by the workers in his factory. As a Tribute to Samuel Paley, the La Palina Collection will unveil the Mr. Sam at the 2013 IPCPR Show in Las Vegas. The La Palina Collection Mr. Sam is a limited production of 850 boxes of 10. Continued

Tobacco company sparked renewal of Black Patch violence

(gleaner) The Black Patch War a century ago was giving Henderson County a black eye.
And local folks were none too happy about it because it affected what was then the region’s economic lifeblood.
I wrote about the Black Patch War back at the end of March, explaining how it was one of the country’s worst outbreaks of civic unrest since the Civil War. It essentially was an attempt by farmers to break the monopolies held by the American Tobacco Co, which dominated the U.S. market, and the Imperial Tobacco Co., which dominated the British market. At its peak in 1906-08 it saw armed men invading cities such as Hopkinsville and Princeton, burning tobacco warehouses and other facilities in attempts to break the stranglehold of the trusts. Continued

Tobacco crops across the US are wilting from too much rain

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Jason Elliott had one of his best stands of burley tobacco growing until the rains started. Five days and seven inches of precipitation later, about a quarter of his crop was ruined, trimming thousands of dollars from his payday when he hauls his leaf to market in a few months.
Fields all over tobacco country have been soaked, and without a good stretch of dry weather in coming weeks, Elliott's predicament could play out many times over.
In Kentucky alone, the nation's second-leading producer, the toll could hit as much as $100 million if the crop doesn't rebound. More than half of top grower North Carolina's crop is in jeopardy. Continued

Tobacco farmers say rain is ruining their crops

 

STANFORD, Ky. (WKYT) With tobacco, green is good, yellow is bad.
“It is disheartening really, you put all this work into it, then you come down here and you have nothing,” said farmer Mack Hulett.
Hulett, a full time farmer, planted several thousand acres of tobacco.
"I'm going to say there's probably an 80% loss there anyway,” he said, pointing to his crop planted north of Stanford. Continued

Basking in Broadleaf

 

(David Savona) Do you like broadleaf tobacco? I cut my teeth on the stuff back in the day, puffing away on homely but tasty Muniemaker Breva 100s when I was in college. The cigars, then and now, were machine-made, but contained only tobacco. And they were wrapped with dark, rugged leaves of Connecticut broadleaf. Continued

Oh Capstan, my Capstan!

 

(Dutch Pipe Smoker) These days there is a lot of news surrounding Capstan. This because after an absence of 18 years the legendary brand returns to the USA. Not only as the well-known flake, but also as the lesser-known ready rubbed. Also the manufacturer is no longer Orlik / STG, but another Danish company, MacBaren. Of course under license of Imperial Tobacco. Luckily we in Europe were able to enjoy Capstan all this time. It actually is one of the few tobaccos that is available in The Netherlands that I like very, very much. Continued