Guides
Recharging Boveda packs will ruin your cigars
Recharging Boveda packs doesn't make you smart. It makes you the Julius from Everybody Hates Chris of cigar storage, risking hundreds in cigars to save pocket change.
Private Reserve
Cigar Clowns bought a brand to fight human trafficking, and the cigars back it up
Cigar Clowns acquired Chaffiot Collection, a brand that funnels 10% of profits into fighting human trafficking. The mission's real, the cigars are solid, and SmōkHaus is building a relationship with them.
Reviews
Cage Match: Liga Privada Unico Feral Flying Pig vs Foundation Tabernacle Havana Seed Goliath
The Liga Privada Unico edges out the Foundation Tabernacle, but barely. Both cigars are box-worthy. This is two heavyweights trading punches until one lands slightly harder.
News
PCA is turning into a trade show spectacle and that is not a problem
Retailers complaining about spectators at PCA are focused on the wrong problem. A crowded floor builds demand. Flavor bans and tariffs kill shops.
Reviews
Cage Match: Southern Draw Jacob's Ladder vs E.P. Carrillo The Pledge
Southern Draw Jacob's Ladder beats E.P. Carrillo The Pledge in a close fight. Both Connecticut Maduros hit hard, but only one finishes clean.
Reviews
Why the Padrón Dámaso is the only breakfast cigar worth smoking
Mild cigars get buried by bold coffee. The Dámaso matches it without clashing. Toasted almonds, cedar, clean pepper. This is what a breakfast cigar should be.
Guides
Wooden humidors are beautiful and bad at their job
Wooden humidors depend on your house staying stable and you remembering to add water. Miss either and your Padrón smokes like cardboard.
News
Tatuaje drops six new sizes for 2026, pulls five from rotation
Six new Tatuaje sizes hit shelves this summer. Five Broadleaf vitolas are gone. The moves streamline inventory and bet on 20th anniversary momentum.
Legislation
Why a tobacco exec at the CDC is good news for the cigar industry
A tobacco exec just joined the CDC. The public health establishment is losing it. For cigars, this could be the first good regulatory news in a decade.
Legislation
Delaware just tripled down on cigars and the math does not add up
Delaware's new tobacco tax hammers premium cigars at 40% while barely touching nicotine pouches. This isn't youth prevention. It's revenue generation.
Private Reserve
Gary Lōks Premium Cigars: Louisville's fastest-rising brand built on bourbon nights and culture
Gary Lōks built a cigar brand around culture, not chemistry. Five years in, it's working. One of the fastest-rising boutique names in the country, earned the old way.
News
Plasencia rebrand coming in 2026, plus a World Cup release nobody asked for
Plasencia announces a 2026 rebrand and a World Cup cigar. One matters, one doesn't. Guess which is which.
Guides
Nicaragua has four tobacco regions, and they taste nothing alike
Nicaragua has four tobacco regions. Jalapa is smooth. Estelí is bold. Condega bridges the gap. Ometepe is funky. Understanding the difference predicts what a blend will deliver.
Reviews
E.P. Carrillo Encore Black Bulwarks is the best cigar nobody's smoking
The E.P. Carrillo Encore Black Bulwarks delivers complexity that $20 cigars fumble, for $12-14. Nobody's talking about it because it doesn't play the hype game.
Roundups
Ten cigars that need to retire: the 2025 overrated list
Ten cigars that coast on hype and deliver disappointment. If you've been curious about any of these sticks, consider this your warning.