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.

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.