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What a year. 🥳 Danli Hamlet and I started in a new Danli Factory January 2025. Hammy was all for it. I was 50/50 knowing deep down that I was now responsible for 35 new people and their families. First cigars rolled off the production table in May and all fears were set aside. We had worked with Factory managers Nahun and Sergio previously. We know their quality and the standards upon which they would build their team around. December 2025, 4 new cigar releases completed, full inventory in stock and a complete 2026 rollout plan (5 cigars) in place. Proud of the entire team. FOH Strength to strength. FOH holds a special place in the cigar world. It isn't Insta/YouTube/Influencer led. FOH launched in 2004 and has transitioned over the years from 100% Habanos to probably 50/50 in terms of the daily cigar appetite of members. It has weathered cigar shortages, cigarmageddon, Habanos shenanigans. FOH has grown up, doesn't take itself too seriously, supports each other, has enough "dodgy" in it that it's members enjoy taking the mickey out of each other. It also is a place of civil discourse. Not an easy thing to achieve in today's world! It is home to many of us. It is our global neighbourhood cigar lounge. Habanos What a shocker of a year. Cigar shortages, Prison rollers, Chen Zhi, Pig Butchering scams and global sanctions. You couldn't really write a worse script to finish off 2025. I will always give Habanos SA one thing. They know how to launch new product. I think it is at times forgotten that Habanos is a marketing and distribution machine. That is their sole role. It is the muppets at Tabacuba that are in charge of production/quality control and all the other "essentials". Habanos SA has some brilliant distributors in H&F/Phoenicia/PCC/ etc let alone a cohort of magnificent retailer ambassador stores around the world. Still I can't help but feel that those distributors and retailers are being let down woefully by Habanos. Get your shit together HSA. Clean up the mess and clean it up quickly. Lean on your best assets which are your distributors, retailers and loyal zealots whom you have ignored for far too long. Cuba Cuba right now is the weak link in the cigar chain...and Jesus, some of those other links are fragile. If you want to picture how the world of Cuban cigars falls apart in short order then look at the potential full or partial collapse of the Cuban state over the next 12 months. There is no good news coming out of Cuba today. Anyone looking for green shoots can stop now. If you were to ask me what are the chances that the Cuban cigar scene in December 2026 will look like December 2025, I will say less than 30% chance. Hold on to your hats people. Top CC cigars 2025 I won't do a top 25/20/15/10. There are some cracking cigars coming out of Cuba. World leading cigars. Cuba has the best tobacco in the world. No argument. Behike/Cohiba Esplendidos/V/VI...brilliant. I don't put them in my list because they are out of reach for 80% of members. My finest for the year, was the Quai d'Orsay Imperiales Travel Humidor. They are simply great. I personally haven't smoked one less than a 94 point utility. Affordable (ish) Regular production you can't go wrong with Partagas D4/Ramon Allones Specially Select/H Upmanns 54/46/50/2/ Hoyo de Monterrey San Juan/Rio Seco/Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill/Bolivar Royal Corona/Petit Corona/Sancho Panza Belicoso/Vegas Robaina Unicos/Punch Punch/Trinidad Topes/Esmeralda. There are plenty of others. QC has been on a steady path since 2022 which is "OK" to good. It isn't "great" and anyone who says it is...well...is playing with themselves. If you have to reach for a "drawpoker" on a $25 cigar...bugger me...a $6 cigar...then it is a FAIL. We made some half a million cigars in Danli this year and my team screws up. They screw up less than I do...but don't tell them. Our fail rate is around 2%. My team are not machines and that is an acceptable rate in my eyes. We retrain/refund/replace/apologise and put systems in place to get better. We pay well, we listen, we train and we support. How on earth can Cuba continue, at today's prices, to have a "good box" still arrive with 3-4 dodgy sticks. FOH Mods. You guys are immense and I haven't thanked or engaged with you enough this year. That will change in 2026. It has been a year of transition for me and you have worked together to allow me the freedom to pursue what needed to be done. Thank you. Legends one and all. Your canvas of work is reflected in the beautiful, informative and inclusive nature of this forum. Kudos. Members 27500 members and only 5 members banned this this year! And none of them were named Ken ! Members of FOH are our family. You are the front door to our house. You are all welcome to lunch/dinner dine/cigar with Dee and myself anytime. Through your friendships you have enriched our lives no end. God we love you good people. Thank you. My Team Steve, Ben, Alex Groom, Alex Retamal, Haley, Katrina. Immense each and every one of you. You call me out, you shorten me up, you believe in the mission where people and ethics come before profit. Not much below...but a smidgeon. You remind me of personal shortcomings (endlessly), you celebrate our wins, you polish our near misses so that they become "wins" or are ditched quickly to the oblivion. I couldn't do it without you. To Diana and Lisa. Combined 50 years with me. We built this together. Love you both. For members I have something special coming in 2026. We will be releasing a line of cigars celebrating these two wonderful cigar community women's 50 years in the cigar world. We have blended 4 cigars along the lines of the Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo Series. Depute/Du Prince/Dauphin/Dieux. The blends are very much along the lines of our Ninfa. Honey, elegant, edgy. They will be boxes (SLB) 25's. 1. Sorellina 110 mm × 38 RG — The Little Sister 2. Bella Sorella 130 mm × 40 RG — The Beautiful Sister 3. Sorella di Notte 155 mm × 42 RG — The Sister of the Night 4. Sorella Reale 152 mm × 38 RG — The Royal Sister Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. To each and every one of you and your families, a heartfelt Merry Christmas and a Magnificent New 2026 Year. As things wind down over the coming days, perhaps take the time to reach out to those family and members who you haven't touched base with for a while. It may make a huge difference to their lives. Huge hug good people. Merry Christmas! Rob

03' Cohiba Robustos Vanilla cream, Citrus, Mocha

Had an amazing Christmas dinner at the Cheval Blanc hotel. My son and I went to the smoking lounge. This time it is a tent instead of a cabin.

Punch Mantua just gets better and better. Hard to keep out of them but I think these will be legendary in a few more years, so I’ll try to go slow on them

15' Ramon Allones Phoenicio 35 Edicion Regional Libano Raisin, stewed fruit, Baking Spice 70' Montecristo No.4 Cocoa, Cinnamon, Marshmallow 70' Petit Punch de Luxe Cherry candy, Clove, Cocoa

Cohiba Siglo II - LTB Feb 2013 ...

Company Christmas Dinner got rowdy. Sun coming up as half the team stumbled out of the final bar... MERRY CHRISTMAS FOH!

Esplendidos - TMO MAR 07

PSP from a box purchase in 2016

Montecristo Especiales No.2 - REG Abr 2018...

Cohiba Robusto. ECA MAY01.

Staring time with my faithful companion🐶

Connie 1

GEM ENE 20. These are delicious and prime for me to crush this cab. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

COHIBA SIGLO DE ORO Actually it tasted quite good (aside of the price). Less intense than a Siglo VI but quite similar flavours.

02' Saint Luis Rey Churchills (50 Cab) Apple pie, Cocoa, Shortbread Cookies

La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull. Better than the ligero but still a bit too herbal for my taste. Montecristo Media Corona 2016. Sublime. PSD4 Montecristo N4 2023. Lovely smoke.

The manager of the Geneva store told me that these were made exclusively for the store. They weren’t messing around either. Hands down the best non-Cuban Davidoff I have ever smoked.

Siglo VI. Sweet and 'biscuit-y'.

CoRo - EBM NOV 17

'24 Reyes. Finally able to smoke after a week with the flu! Silver lining is a reset for my palate.

Monte 4

REG DIC 17 Merry Christmas FoH Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Merry Christmas gang. D4 with some Brugal Extra Viejo Rum neat. Now in a food coma.😅

My first Juan Lopez Seleccion No.2 Merry Christmas

@JohnS Montecristo Especiales No.2 Great minds…

Esmeralda

Rafael González Panetelas Extra - circa 2024 (thanks @Luca) ...

Quick SS between snowboarding and ice skating. Merry Christmas from warm and sunny Colorado. Snow is on the way. 🤙🏻

Merry Christmas 😎🌴

Siglo IV EBO JUL 2020

Some from the past few days

JL2

Siglo VI - ROM OCT 15

Wonderful Monday afternoon cigar. I had to rush because the parrots wanted to eat! SCDLH La Fuerza, RAT DIC 19

C&C time.. From our gracious host.

Juan Lopez No. 2 ESU ABR 23 Super Solid 92-93 point cigar! Lovely citrus notes with heavy notes of cream, leather and cocoa. Also small hints of Chocolate. Draw and burn were great. If I could, I would smoke these everyday.

Last day in Courchevel

Por Larrañaga Picadores 2023. Amazing unit. Linear but sweet and fruity.

NC

Crusty RyJ from 2000

'19 RASS. Hitting the spot.

Partagas Eminentes 1970's Licorice, Dried Fruit, Cinnamon 1/2

Been a long time since I lit up one of these. Unknown age or box code but been in my humidor at least 4 years. Perfect construction & smooth medium body.