Anstead Tobacco & Gifts
320 N. McPherson Church Rd
Fayetteville, NC 28303
910-864-5705

Barclay Rex
75 Broad Street
New York, NY 10004
212962-3355

Barclay Rex
70 East 42^nd Street
New York, NY 10165
212-692-9680

Briar Shoppe
2412 Times Blvd
Houston, TX 77005
713-529-6347

Burns Tobacconist – Downtown
723 Cherry Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
423-267-7740

Burns Tobacconist – East
110 Jordan Drive
Chattnooga, TN 37421
423-855-5200

Cigar Box
829 Schuykill Mall
Frackville, PA 17931
570-874-4922

Cigar Chateau
3049 North Rock Road
Wichita, KS 67226
316-636-2433

Club Humidor
7074 San Pedro Ave
San Antonio, TX 78216
210-824-1209

Emerson Fine Cigar
5325 Cleveland Street
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
757-422-5447

Ed Leez Tobacco
Stuyvesant Plaza
Albany, NY 12203
518-489-6872

Havana Connections
11616 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23233
804-364-5711

Leaf & Bean
2200 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
724-942-6670

Liberty Tobacco
7341 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
858-292-1772

Metro Cigars
W182 N9606 Appleton Ave
Germantown, WI 53022
262-255-1996

Maxamar Ultimate Cigar
3744 E. Chapman Ave
Orange, CA 92869
714-633-3000

Racine & Laramie
2737 San Diego Ave
San Diego, CA 92100
619-291-7833

Rain City Cigar
5963 Corson Ave South
Seattle, WA 98108
206-767-3619

Rich’s Cigar Store
820 SW Alder Street
Portland, OR 97205
503-228-1700

Signature Cigars
4919 Cordell Ave
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-652-5660

Stogies on Grand
961 Grand Ave
St. Paul, MN 55105
651-222-8700

Tinder Box
188 E. Winchester Street
Murray, UT 84107
801-268-1321

The Cigar Bar
1502 Hendry Street
Fort Myers, FL 33913
239-337-4662

The Cigar Shoppe
4320 Heards Circle
Cumming, GA 30041
770-888-9396

The Tasting Room
6000 Monona Drive
Madison, WI 53716
608-223-1641

The Tobacco Shop
10 Chestnut Street
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
201-447-2204

Ye Old Pipe & Tobacco Shop
4525 N. 24^th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85016
602-955-7740

ZT Cigars
2726 West Britton Road
Oklahoma City, OK 73120
405-942-0070

Habanos Lounge
1438 Newport Ave
Pawtucket, RI 02861
401-729-5620

Havana Cigar Club
24 Quaker Ln
Warwick, RI 02886
(401) 287-4250

Mickey Blake’s
50 Spring St
Southington, CT 06489
(860) 426-9760

Town & Country Cigars
1301 W Glade Rd #180
Euless, TX 76039
(817) 358-8862

It is all about giving back! I’m a firm believer that we are here to help each other. In that goal, this upcoming weekend (March 22-24, 2013), Stogie Review has partnered with our friends at W.Curtis Draper, Civil Cigar Lounge and Miami Cigar & Company to do our part to keep the food shelves stocked for those who are in need. Our concept is simple, bring in three (3) non-perishable food items and receive a free cigar courtesy of Miami Cigar & Company. The food drive will benefit Mana Food Center. Mana Food Center is located in Montgomery County MD (where I live and WCD-Bethesda is located) and is the county’s primary food bank that serves 3,300 families a month. It is hard to believe that 1 out of 4 residents in my county needs assistance.

So if you are in the MD/DC/VA area this weekend (March 22-24), bring along at least three (3) non-perishable food items (handy list can be found here) when you visit either location of W.Curtis Draper or Civil Cigar Lounge and help us Smoke Out Hunger.

Not in my neck of the woods, maybe this is an idea you can share with your local shop and Smoke Out Hunger everywhere by having a food drive for your local area food bank.

“Despite the cigar industry constantly being under fire, we continue to support many causes our community takes on. Hunger is something that needs more focus from our elected figures instead of the constant attacks on a product enjoyed by consenting adults. We are honored to stand beside our friends at Drapers and Jerry Cruz in this cause that effects millions of Americans.”

- Nestor Miranda, Miami Cigar & Company

At night we partied at the newly opened Civil Cigar Lounge and went til the early morning hours before calling it a night and leaving the next morning for Manassas, where we start at Toboccology. In the evening we played Dominoes at Chesapeake Cigar hosted by Reverend Mike before resuming the debauchery at Civil Lounge.

Thanks to B & B Cigar Club for putting this together and the shops that hosted us. It was great seeing old friends and new friends. For now here are some pictures of the craziness.

With Eddie Ortega & Jerry Cruz

Drapers Bethesda, home of the Miami Cigar Lounge!

The party bus on our way to Manassas

Lady Cigar Smokers of Chattanooga, Kristy Lane (front) & Erin Park

With IPCPR at Tobaccology! Kyle on the left, Dawn on the right!

Mary enjoys a Nestor 70th!

Sexy Stephen Boyajian shows off some leg with his Irish Kilt.

@smokinbutterfly goes OG!

Patrick Semens stopped by for a smoke at Bailey’s, a sports bar that is smoker friendly.

Big Doug on the right made the drive from New Hampshire!

with @HumidorMuse (L) and @CigarWes (R)

Kyle who was on the tour to La Aurora is now in the industry for another company! Welcome to the dream my friend!

Playing Dominoes with George Rico where we dominated!

Back in Florida and warm weather!

I’ve adapted, I spent most of the weekend freezing my ***** off.

Got an early start with some Bloody Mary’s at The Capital Grille

He’s everywhere!

Congressman Bill Posey(R-FL-8th) Speaks Out for Premium Cigar Industry

“The premium cigar industry supports about 85,000 jobs – from manufacturers to small retailers – throughout the United States,” said Congressman Bill Posey.  “Washington bureaucrats should turn their attention to promoting private sector job growth and protecting our rights, not chipping away at our freedoms through bureaucratic overreach.”

We must remain vigilant, support IPCPR and CRA! buy kamagra online buy kamagra online

I put together two blends, one of which on paper is ULTRA strong, and the other which I hope will be loaded with flavor. For those who know me, yes I used Peruvian tobacco.The day did not end there as we headed over to Cigar Rings to meet with Albert and Maria to discuss the types of stock available for cigar bands, as well as address an issue with our boxes for Australia. We also watched a little Soccer, some champions league action featuring Real Madrid vs Manchester United which ended in a draw.

At night I would dine with Guillermo Leon and his wife, along with Gustavo Velayos from La Aurora. I don’t think I ever laughed that hard in my life. The men finished an entire bottle of La Aurora rum which will make its debut at Pro Cigar, and the food was exquisite. It was a bonding experience that capped off a perfect day in paradise

Production on the floor stopped so the rollers could observe Ash Wednesday with a mass.

La Aurora 107 Maduro is getting close to reality.

Perritos. Little Dog. Puro tobacco, to understand the nature of the leaf.

Tobacco that was selected for my blend.

La Aurora 107 Maduro and Presidente at lunch!

Raiding the aging room was a priority.

I wonder if I can get this through customs!

Eddy rolled us some perrito’s of binder, to smoke.

A motley crue for sure!

Soccer at Cigar Rings!

In the factory I smoked cigars at different stages of fermentation and I was surprised at how each level changes the composition of the tobacco. At the end of the day I began to smoke different types of leaf in a puro format to learn how they taste and tomorrow I will make my first blend as an employee of Miami Cigar Company.

I ended the day at Manuel Inoa’s house with Louis Falto from Falto Cigars. We finished a bottle of rum, and I had mofongo for the first time. All I can say is, MORE PLEASE!

It is because of that rum, this entry is short and the typos have been left in, to honor my friend Gary J. Arzt whose birthday just past. I wish he was still with us to take part in this journey, but I know he is looking down at me and wonder how the hell I got my position with Miami Cigar & Company.

Here are some pictures of the day…

Dusk falls over Santiago, Dominican Republic

A view down a row of tobacco. One acre has 12,000 plants.

Seedlings wait to be transplanted to the fields…

Tobacco as far as the eye can see!

This is the same farm, 3.5 weeks apart. The one on the left is today. The right is when I visited it in Mid-January!

Some Piloto Cubano, I was surprised at the strength. Things are changing at La Aurora!

Smoking some Puros before I make a blend!

Manuel Inoa, Louis Falto and myself finished this off before dinner.

I had Mofongo for the first time tonight, and I want more!

Guillermo Leon asked what I had hoped to accomplish this trip and the answer was simple. As much as I am proud of being a former blogger (and one can argue I still am with this entry), I wanted to shed the label some have attached to me. I want to be recognized as a tobacco man and part of the cigar manufacturing family. What I learned today was a step in that direction.

My guide for the day would be Leonicio Cruz whose knowledge would guide me along the way, We also met up with Angel from Hatuey who would help with the language barrier, but when it comes to tobacco I think I have most of the lingo down. Small world we live in as it turns out I knew Angel from Mamaroneck, NY.

This time of year, the fields are a sight to see, as there are lush leaves of green as far as the eye can see. The variety we inspected today included HVA which is used on the Guillermo Leon, and Criollo ’98 which is used as binder and.or filler in many of the La Aurora portfolio. Each variety of tobacco has a different shape to it, and I think I shocked my teacher when I pointed out that a field we were entering in was Criollo ’98.

Each leaf was inspected, and the Seco, Viso, and Ligero were broken down by their priming’s. I learned about the content of the soil, how it was measured, and how various chemical components of the soil effect the leaf from maturation, to fermentation and the overall taste of the finished product. Prior to today my knowledge has come from being inside the factory, but what I learned today has once again changed the way I view an industry I care so much about to a level that has gone above and beyond how I looked at it before.

Here are some pictures that I have taken so far…

My flight out of Miami was delayed when we needed to change planes due to a mechanical issue.

When tobacco is cured before it turns brown it becomes yellow.

This is HVA tobacco which is used in the Guillermo Leon Signature

My guide Leonicio Cruz (right) collects some seeds from the Criollo ’98

Once the curing is complete the tobacco has a gorgeous shade of brown!

The 3rd farm was growing Dominican Olar

I smoked some straight ligero at various stages of fermentation to understand the process.

Some Cameroon wrapper that will be used on a future Preferidos.

After a day at the fields I had to catch up on some work, and write this entry. This was my view. I could get use to working from here. I think every office needs a terrace with a view!

See you all tomorrow!

From Sunday, Feb 10th to the morning of Feb 15th I will be taken on a journey and become an industry insider. I will spend time at the factory blending, and walking the tobacco fields. I will learn about the process of aging tobacco and more. Hopefully, down the road this will lead to be being able to shed the moniker of a former blogger to someone who is truly involved in tobacco.

If my internet connection allows me, I will be writing about my day, and providing some insight on what I learned. So follow this site daily, and find out why it is not just cigars, it is a lifestyle!

More can be seen in our Facebook page and by following @MCCBarry on Twitter or Instagram