Emilio Cigars Releases Los Regalos

Press Release

December 28, 2012

Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars announced this morning that the first blend of the Los Regalos series, "Quetzal", made in Esteli, Nicaragua will begin shipping immediately.

"These cigars are being produced in a new factory for Emilio Cigars, and we are excited to have formed this new partnership," he said.

There will be a total of 4 blends in the series, as well as a limited edition cigar made entirely from 2006 harvest tobaccos.

"The Robusto, Toro, and Torpedo sizes are available at this time," said Griffith, "and the Corona and Sixty will be released on January 11 at Riverside Cigars in Jeffersonville, IN. Those two sizes will ship to other retailers subsequent to that event."

This will be Emilio Cigars final new release of 2012, capping off an extremely productive year in which several new Emilio blends became available, and in which numerous distribution agreements were negotiated.

From our family to yours

First and foremost I want to wish all our wonderful friends in this little family of ours, including our staff, our manufacturing and distribution partners, and most importantly our consumers, a joyous holiday season.

Emilio Cigars has grown in ways over the last 12 months that have exceeded all my hopes and expectations. We've gained new partners, dear friends, and I've somehow managed to fit in finding the love of my life.

I wish all of you the best in the coming year, thank you all for your support and encouragement, and hope that 2013 holds more promise for each of you than you might imagine.

Live your dreams. Stay true to your purpose and beliefs. Live. Love. Laugh. The future is in your hands.

God bless you all. Merry Christmas.

Gary

Emilio Cigars Releases La Musa Melete

We are pleased to announce that La Musa Melete by Emilio Cigars has arrived at our warehouse and will begin shipping later this week.
This cigar has already been favorably reviewed in pre-release, and will now be available to  consumers through our retailers. It is available in 25 count cabinet style boxes. These are available immediately in three sizes; Robusto, Toro, and Torpedo.  Coronas and a limted run of Lanceros will be made available at a later date.

Emilio Cigars and Epicurean Cigars enter distribution agreement

Press Release

December 14, 2012

Steven Ysidron, President of Epicurean Cigars, and Gary Griffith, owner of Emilio Cigars announced today that they have entered into a joint distribution agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement Epicurean Cigars will now be shipped from the Emilio Cigars facility in Vineland, NJ and added to the portfolio of products of the Emilio Cigars sales staff.

Ysidron, formerly with Savinelli, USA, has had a long career in the industry, and is now producing his own line, Epicurean Cigars. "We are very excited to be a part of what Emilio Cigars are doing. They represent the integrity and commitment to quality boutique cigars that has long been a passion for me and my family," said Ysidron.

Griffith reiterated: "We welcome Steve to the family, and look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership. I am fully dedicated to the mission of bringing an array of quality boutique cigars to a broader market, whether under the Emilio Cigars mark, or the mark of other equally dedicated and passionate manufacturers."

This agreement will free Ysidron to stay focused on new product development and production oversight and allow him to expand his distribution into new markets.

Distribution will shift to the Emilio Cigars facility during the first week of January, 2013.

The right thing to do

This is a short story about a little cigar company that could, and will continue to, because we do the right thing.

It began with the Grimalkin, a name that bore no resemblance to anything else on the market. There came a time when it was pointed out to me that the theme on the cigar might play a bit too closely to that of another cigar maker who works in the same factory. Simple solution for me. Realize that it might mistakenly be construed that way and change it to La Musa. Simple and effective solution.

When I first named the larger size of the Emilio AF1 I called it a BMF. I later learned that another manufacturer had a cigar with a similar suite of letters. I respect that manufacturer... alot. Easy fix. It's now called the Toro Grande. No harm. No foul.

At IPCPR I was approached by a cigar maker about the use of the name Suave, as in our Emilio AF Suave. He was considering naming a cigar Suave, and expressed concern that my prior use might affect that release. Know what my response was? "It's a Spanish word dude. Use it. You're not calling yours Emilio, right?" What the heck do I care if there's no deliberate attempt to play of the Emilio brand?

Then last week I received a call that the word "Quetzal" on our Los Regalos had a prior usage. A dear friend made a few calls and voila! The answer was "let them sell the first production and then not use it again." No hostility. No offense taken because none was intended. A gracious and gentlemanly response. I appreciated it.

Know what? We have enough enemies attacking us from the outside. We shouldn't spend so much time, money, and energy attacking each other over trivial crap and honest oversights. Divide and conquer will play into the hands of the anti tobacco folks. We need to be far more united.

All these things were handled just as they should have been. Quietly, without a fuss, and at little to no expense.

My sincere appreciation to those in this brotherhood that get it. And a cautionary tale for those who don't. How about we not let our egos and pride divide us so that we become even more vulnerable to outside attack?

La Musa Cigars Arrive in Retailers

The long wait is over, as the La Musa Mousa cigars from the House of Emilio have begun to arrive in retailers across the country. Formerly known as "Grimalkin" the Mousa is the same delicious Habano Rosado wrapped cigar that won critical acclaim in 2011. Despite the name change the blend remains the same.

Halfwheel ranked the Grimalkin #3 on their Top 25 Cigars Consensus List last year, a true honor for a small cigar company. Bill Berris of Cigar Snapshot also ranked these cigars in the Top 10 of 2011, using a similar composite scoring method.

Craig Vanderslice included the Grimalkin, along with both the Emilio AF1 and AF2 in his list of Top Cigars .

Jerry Cruz of Stogie Review included them in his Top 10 Cigars of 2011 and they were runner up for Cigar of the Year on Tiki Bar Online.

As if that were not enough the cigars were included on numerous other Top Cigar lists in 2011, including both Ben Lee and Shawn Pratt of Nice Tight Ash, General  Griff of Mike's Stogies , Cigar Coop's Top 10 , number 4 on Seth's Humidor Top 25 of 2011, Cigar Explorer's Best 5 of 2011 , and Cigar Inspector's Top 10 Cigars of 2011.

All that having been said, we are pleased to bring these cigars back into retailers, and thank both our retailers and consumers for their wonderful support.

Emilio Cigars November Recap

To say it has been an exciting month here at Emilio Cigars would be an understatement. As our portfolio of products has grown we have begun to garner much attention and praise in the marketplace. Our retailer family continues to grow, with Emilio Cigars available at the following new retailers: Fumatore di Sigaro in Cape Girardeau, MO, Centro Cigars in Lawrence, KS, Sunrise Coast Tobacco in Flint, MI, Highland Cigars in Atlanta, GA, The Cigar Shop in Athens, GA, Twins Smoke Shop in Londonderry, NH, Timothy's Fine Cigars in Bay City, MI, The Cigar Exchange in Wilmington, NC, Old Dominion Cigar Co. in Petersburg, VA, Cigar Werks in St. Charles, IL, A G Cigars at Eagle's Landing in Stockbridge, GA

Los Regalos Quetzal by Emilio Cigars

We had hoped that the Los Regalos Quetzal would have been released shortly after the IPCPR trade show in August, but delays in box production forced us to adjust our schedule. This new blend features a Habano wrapper, and is produced in Esteli, Nicaragua. On my return from Nicaragua in late October I brought a few of these back with me and sent them out as pre-release samples. Several people have reviewed them, and we are happy to say they've received universal praise. Here are a few:

"The Los Regalos Quetzal is not only a home run, but I feel could be some of the finest work to date by Emilio Cigars." - Cigar Coop

Other recent reviews of the blend have been posted by Cigar Poet , Covering Your Ash , Keeping Your Man Card

The good news? Los Regalos Quetzal has shipped from Esteli, and will begin arriving in retailers over the next few weeks. However, the Quetzal will be produced only once in this packaging, and will then receive a make over. We'll release details at a later time.

La Musa Mousa and La Musa Melete

In 2011 our Grimalkin cigars received rave reviews from many. Earlier this year I made the decision, for various reasons, to rebrand them as "La Musa". Ultimately there will be four blends in the series. The Grimalkin is now know an La Musa Mousa, and released to retailers within the last few days. Our second blend in the series is known as La Musa Melete. Again, the feedback we've received from pre release samples has been positive.

Charlie Greenbacker of Stogie Review posted a video which gives a very complete description of the La Musa Melete. Other reviews of this new blend have appeared on Keeping Your Man Card

La Musa Mousa is now arriving in retailers, and we're hoping to release the Melete blend around the end of the year.

Other recent Emilio Cigars reviews: Serie H Maduro by Stogie Guys , Emilio AF1 by Tom's Cigars The Daily Tobacconist, Draig K by The Smoking Greek . Tiny Tim's Cigar Blog reviewed the AF Suave, Serie H Maduro, and AF2

1502 Cigars Reviews

November has been good for our partners at 1502 Cigars.The 1502 Ruby has been reviewed by Cigar Poet , Mike's Stogies , Nice Tight Ash  . The 1502 Emerald was reviewed by Cigar Coop , Cigar Poet , Mike's Stogies , The Cigarmy . The 1502 Black Gold, strongest of the three blends saw favorable reviews by Cigar Craig and Keeping Your Man Card
The 1502 Ruby also received a 91 rating in the latest issue of Cigar Journal:

We welcomed the following new retailers to the 1502 Cigars family: Cigars Plus in Wyomissing, PA, Total Tobacco in Newtown Square, PA, Red Arrow Cigars and Lounge in Kalamazoo, MI

Rodrigo Cigars

New retail partners in November include Highland Cigar in Atlanta, GA , Cigar Plus in Wyomissing, PA, The Cigar Shop in Athens, GA, Tobaccology in Manassas, VA, Total Tobacco in Newtown Square, PA, Golden Leaf Pipe and Tobacco in Westminster, CO, and The Smoking Dog in Maple Shade, NJ

Guayacan Cigars by Noel Rojas

Recent reviews of Guayacan Cigars can be found at GC Puffs

We also welcomed the following new Guayacan Cigars retailers; Truly Cigars in Marietta, GA
 The Cigar Shop in Athens, GA, Cigars Plus in Wyomissing, PA, Timothy's Fine Cigars in Bay City, MI, Total Tobacco in Newtown Square, PA

And last but not least, a new family member

Finally, Emilio Cigars has reached an agreement to distribute another terrific boutique cigar brand - Ezra Zion Cigars. Full details can be found in an earlier edition of this blog. We are delighted to welcome these three wonderful men to the family, along with their incredibly well made cigars.