Weekly news week 27 2020. The week where we launched our series on Cigar Charities. Every first Sunday of the month, a new cigar-related charity will get the spotlight. The cigar industry faces dark times with all the legislation. We, as an industry but also as cigar enthusiasts, need to shed light on the positive things that come from cigars. Pronica is such a positive initiative that deserves praise.

Reviews 

As usual, two reviews were published. We reviewed The Circus Lancero on Monday. And Friday we published a review of a unicorn. The Danial Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII Anniversary cigar. Very rare, but very good.

The sad news

This week had some sad news for cigar aficionados. The craziness of the plain packaging has reached Singapore. Even though all studies prove plain packaging ineffective, governments still implement it. For Singaporean cigar enthusiasts, it’s even worse. Where other countries with plain packaging rules allow shipments for personal consumption, Singapore won’t. Every cigar that enters the country has to be plain packaged. More sad news is that the iconic old Partagas Factory in Havana partially collapsed. The building is in bad shape and now abandoned. The La Casa del Habano located in the building is closed indefinitely.

The dates for two of the largest trade shows are known. Both PCA and Intertabac will take place in 2021, and both organizations decided not to make any changes. That means that PCA takes place in July, and Intertabac in September. We feel it’s a missed opportunity for both to move the trade show to the spring. That’s something most manufacturers would welcome. The birthday calendar for July was also published. As always, if you miss anybody on the list, let us know. Illusione and Cavalier Geneve are now working together for the distribution of Cavalier Geneve.

New cigars

This week brought a lot of new releases. Fratello is releasing the Arlequin in two sizes. This blend is currently only available in the space pack but gets a worldwide release soon. Mombacho released the Cosecha 2015, a very limited-edition cigar. Former NFL player Ken Hamlin and La Aurora team up for The Arrival. Gurkha releases a Nicaraguan version of the value line Castle Hall. The annual Gran Reserva from VegaFina saw its debut. And finally, Perdomo Cigars released a box-pressed Maduro and Sun Grown version of the popular Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary series. The Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne is one of the top-sellers for Perdomo. It was about time that the Sun-Grown and Maduro versions were released.

European news

A few things happened in Europe too. Rainer Göhner retires from Arnold Andre after more than thirty years with the company. Another German brand, Cigarkings expands to Sweden. The Nicaraguan made cigars are available via the distributor Kind Cigars. Last but not least, French cigar aficionados can finally enjoy the full line of the Partagas Linea Maduro. Even though the cigars were released in 2018, they were not available in France until recently.