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Ireland’s first Habanos Regional Edition arrives in the UK January 15, 2026 - Press Release James J. Fox is proud and delighted to introduce Ireland’s first Habanos Regional Edition, the Punch Néctares No.50, to the United Kingdom. An event to celebrate the launch will be held at our 19 St James’s Street store on 5th February, when guests will be among the first people in the country to sample this unique cigar. The cigar will then be exclusively available from James J. Fox venues (19 St James’s Street, Harrods and Selfridges) for a week before being dispatched to Havana Cigar Specialists across the country by Hunters & Frankau, the UK’s exclusive Habanos importer. The Punch Néctares holds a distinguished place in Irish cigar history. Until being discontinued in the 1980s, the Néctares were a línea of cigars within the Punch brand, made exclusively for James J. Fox in Dublin and London. Their popularity was such that, even years after production had ceased, they remained one of the most coveted and sought after cigars in Ireland. As an Irish Regional Edition, the Punch Néctares No.50 officially debuted in Dublin on June 22, 2025, at a party hosted by Ampersand (Ireland’s Habanos distributor) and Hunters & Frankau. At the launch, Rob Fox, Managing Director of Ampersand and Director of James J. Fox said: “Finally bringing Ireland its first Habanos Regional Edition is a moment of immense pride. The Punch Néctares No.50 is a phenomenal cigar and, in reuniting the Punch brand with its legacy Néctares line, it represents our enduring commitment to cigar culture in Ireland.” The Néctares No.50 has been blended to the classic medium bodied Punch taste and is a Magnum 50 size (6 ¼”, 160mm x 50 ring gauge). They are dressed with two bands, a specially commissioned Punch band stating the name of the vitola and, for the first time, a Regional Edition band with the legend “Exclusivo Irlanda”. Just 1,400 Cabinet boxes (SLB’s) of 50 have been made (70,000 cigars in total). Punch is created with a blend of filler and binder tobaccos from the Vuelta Abajo zone in the Pinar del Rio region of Cuba. All Punch cigars are made ‘tripa larga, totalmente a mano’ – long filler, totally by hand. Source: https://www.cigarjournal.com/irelands-first-habanos-regional-edition-arrives-in-the-uk/

Thanks for the great info! We are staying at Santa Catalina for the week. Glad to hear they are cigar friendly. Wife is pregnant, so it's good news that I can smoke on site while she’s at the spa.

Five Questions With Tim Ozgener The owner of OZ Family Cigars talks about his time in the cigar industry and his return to the business. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1ClhBcJjMo

Casa Carrillo Creates Social Media Exclusive Collector’s Box January 15, 2026 - Patrick Lagreid Casa Carrillo is upping the ante for consumers who engage with the company via its social media channels, announcing a new three-cigar collectors’ box that will be awarded to those who earn access through the contests and sweepstakes hosted via the brand’s social media. The three cigars in the pack are described as representing “the most exclusive expressions within the Casa Carrillo portfolio,” with each cigar having its own blend. Unlike previous promotions where the company enlisted the help of consumers to select a cigar to get a larger release, the company says that none of the three cigars will be part of a “normal release,” as they were created specifically for this project. Blend 1 uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, a Connecticut broadleaf binder, and a filler of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobacco. Blend 2 uses a Mexican wrapper, Ecuadorian habano binder, and a Nicaraguan and Dominican filler. Blend 3 flips that wrapper and binder, using an Ecuadorian habano leaf as the wrapper and a Mexican-grown leaf as the binder. It also uses a filler of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobacco. “Each blend reflects a distinct dimension of Casa Carrillo’s blending philosophy—from bold and structured to refined and layered,” the company wrote in a press release. “Crafted from hand-selected, top-tier tobaccos and rolled in true small-batch form, these cigars are not part of the regular portfolio and will never enter standard production. They exist solely for this collector’s release.” All three cigars are offered in a 6 x 52 vitola, with Blend 2 getting a pointed piramide head, while the other two cigars are traditional toros. The collector’s box will officially launch during a live digital event on Jan. 26 at 5:30 p.m. EST on the Casa Carrillo YouTube channel. The event will unveil the project, share the stories behind each blend, and mark the next chapter in Casa Carrillo’s digital evolution. Casa Carrillo says that throughout the year, the collector’s box will anchor a series of engagement-driven digital activations across Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, each designed to spotlight Casa Carrillo’s craftsmanship and storytelling while offering participants opportunities to secure this exclusive release. As the campaign progresses, additional insights into each blend will be revealed, which the company says will enhance both the narrative and the overall collector experience. Images courtesy of Casa Carrillo. Source: https://halfwheel.com/casa-carrillo-creates-social-media-exclusive-collectors-box/460367/

CAA Publishes September 2025 Import/Export Reports January 15, 2026 - Press Release The Cigar Association of America (CAA) has released the September 2025 Import and Export Reports, which summarize U.S. cigar import and export activity through the first nine months of the year. Large Cigars: U.S. total large cigar imports totaled 4.40 billion units, down 10.0% year over year. Declines remain concentrated in lower-priced and mid-tier HTS categories, while higher-value segments continue to show relative stability. Premium Large Cigars (Estimated): Estimated premium large cigar imports increased 4.5% year over year to approximately318 million cigars, reinforcing the segment’s resilience despite broader volume softness. Little Cigars: Little cigar imports rose 26.0% year to date, with growth led by the Dominican Republic, followed by Honduras and Spain. While a smaller segment by scale, little cigars continue to stand out as one of the strongest-performing categories by volume in 2025. Source: https://www.cigarjournal.com/caa-publishes-september-2025-import-export-reports/

I think what you’ll see across industries is more of what you see in the cigar community - pockets of micro/nano “influencers” versus large mega influencers. Think Lounge Lizards. Consumers will be looking for more thought leadership and expertise. The brainless influencer just peddling products for a fee is going to die out (thankfully). So I think influence will remain, but as part of a more sophisticated ecosystem that values meaningful engagement, measurable outcomes, and specialist voices over pure attention chasing.

I must say they're quite nice after some long-term aging (like 10 years or so). I now feel like re-visiting my OLM Oct 2014 box again!

Haha, it's a fine line between despair and relief/elation, isn't it? I read somewhere this weekend that the Bears are 3 and 3 (so 50%) when behind by 10 points or more with 5 minutes to go this season. The rest of the NFL is 3 and 158 (so basically around 2%).

A run at the community indoor track, a couple sauna sessions, visit with my parents and today making bone broth from the fall's moose and smoking some bones for dog chews when the snow melts outside, a quiet and relaxing weekend.

Interesting, I think that may slow shiny new cigar sales to some degree. New trends: it feels like Honduran and Dominican cigars seem to have a renewed interest as maybe tastes in the USA are leaning to more refined/balanced character. That is just a gut feeling, no actual data to support that.

Sig III. Delicious. Thanks @griller

🐖🐖🐖 I’m in… 🐖🐖🐖

Bond Roberts 109 Linea D No. 1. First time tasting, smooth as silk.

Damn, I was going to launch “Cigars With Scotty From the Cigarden” this summer as my retirement gig. 2 hours daily of me smoking, listening to tunes, and random yelling at Tilly to “drop that!” A day late and a dollar short as usual. 🤣

Taken LCDH Tijuana January 2023

Thank you, all, for the tips. Much appreciated.

One week to go! Eat up 1. Register in the week Monday 26th of January and Friday the 30th of January on this thread

Tonight a bottle killer

Is the "Cigar Influencer" train running out of steam? To be fair, I am talking about the influencer "genre" in general. What happens when you have taken all the short vids possible of yourself lighting/cutting/puffing a cigar? You start to insta/you tube short vids of you and other cigar influencers lighting/cutting/puffing a cigar together It reminds me very much of what is happening to the podcast world right now. There are so many podcasters and podcasters devoid of interesting content, that shows are taken up by podcasters interviewing other podcasters. They literally do a podcaster circuit. It is certain death So what is the next "trend/s" in the cigar world? Topic of discussion in this weeks FOH Video Room Session Tuesday night NY 8PM. Still, kick it off here so we can continue to kick it around there

This Duke of Parma wind up cigar cutter originating from the late 19th century. The cigar cuter shows a nickel finished cast iron construction with brass gears and a steel spring. The top of the piece is marked "Duke of Parma Cigar - Hart, & Murphy Makers St. Paul." with a hole with a pressure trigger for the cutting blade. The base of the piece shows engraved floral pattern across the bottom. The interior bottom is marked "Erie Specialty Co. Erie PA." and Pat. Feb. 19' 1889".

Old School Cool

Ambar - GES NOV 23

N5 Queen Corona. Glimpse of my future? I left my bandana at home, or this pic would’ve been better. Maybe next time.

Smoked just my second one ever couple days ago and might be a honey box (2016) but these are just next level for me. Just wish they were 50-52rg.

‘23 Esmerelda - these are so damn good fresh. They will be spectacular somewhere down the line. 10-15 years? Rich brioche French toast. Heavenly sweet baking spice retro. 1:45