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.

1502 Cigars Earns Recognition

There is little more satisfying than seeing someone rewarded for their hard work. What's even more gratifying is to see someone who works in the cigar industry recognized and rewarded by a publication from outside the industry.

On our return from our recent trip to Nicaragua Dora and I were stranded in Miami for a few days while we waited for Hurricane Sandy to clear out of the northeastern U.S. This was no problem for us, since we have many dear friends in the area, and it gave us an opportunity to visit with them.

On our second night we had the pleasure of attending an awards ceremony with our friend Enrique Sanchez of 1502 Cigars and his beautiful wife Soleana. The ceremony was sponsored by Hispanic Target Magazine, and the honorees were presented with awards for their outstanding entrepreneurial spirit. As you can see, Enrique was the recipient of one of those awards.

From the first moment I met Enrique I was struck by his enthusiasm, honesty, and dedication to his family, our industry, and the people of his native country - Nicaragua. The flame of his passion for all he does burns as brightly as mine, and together we've formed business connections and a bond of friendship and respect that will have an enduring impact on both of us.

1502 Cigars have been widely praised in the blogging community, and justifiably so. The careful craftsmanship that goes into their making is evident from the moment you place torch to foot.

I offer my sincere congratulations to this remarkable young man on having received this well-deserved recognition, and look forward to continuing to grow our brands together, while giving back to the people of Nicaragua with the establishment of the La Musa School of Art in Esteli, which Enrique has pledged to support.

Retailers interested in carrying 1502 Cigars should contact their Emilio Cigars sales representative.

The McIntyre Effect

What do you get when you combine youth, passion, and creative genius? The McIntyre Effect.

A bit over a year ago I was standing in my hotel room at IPCPR in New Orleans, staring out at the Mississippi river, and talking to a young man on the telephone about our cigars. He made it clear that his dream in life was to be involved in the cigar industry. I brought him on as an independent sales rep without ever meeting him in person. That young man was Nathan McIntyre, a resident of Spring Hill, Tennessee.

He immediately established himself as a major presence in his market, opening and servicing the accounts of retailers in a way that drew constant praise not only from the retailers themselves, but from long-established members of the industry who recognized his talents, and admired his determination.

A few months later, as Emilio Cigars grew I appointed Nathan to the position of National Director of Sales, a position that afforded him no additional compensation from our fledgling enterprise, but imposed huge additional burdens on him. He undertook the task without hesitation, and always expressed his faith that I would honor the commitment I made to him at that time - someday he would become our first full-time member of staff. He never questioned my judgement when circumstances forced me to delay honoring that promise. He always believed.

Today, at long last, Nathan joins us full time in that same capacity, supervising a now nationwide sales staff, and taking responsibility for a cigar brand that has grown almost five fold in size just in the months since he first joined us.

The coming months will be exciting for all of us as Nathan begins traveling the country, assisting and training our sales representatives, and educating retailers not only about the Emilio brand, but the portfolio of small and promising other cigar brands we now distribute, including Rodrigo, Herederos de Robaina, Guayacan, and 1502 Cigars.

Watch for the McIntyre Effect to take hold across the country. Watch what we are about to do. Wish him well. Let's get it done in a bigger way than any of us ever imagined in the beginning it could be. See that determined young man in the picture? He is my right hand, my brother, and a man I now trust with everything I've worked so hard for. Together at last. Let's get this done.