I’ve been hearing a lot about Bocock Brothers Cigars lately, and between my buddy Kaplowitz raving about them (and I mean “raving” in a good way, not in the “raving lunatic” sense, which comes to mind when his name is mentioned. I kid, sorta). I had also received an email from Doug Bocock inviting me to meet up prior to the TPE, so I kept an eye on their busy corner of one of the pavilion spaces and caught an opening yesterday. I talked to Bryant Bocock for a few minutes, he handles the blending and manufacturing end, while Doug is more on the sales and marketing end. check out the video:
While I haven’t yet sampled their cigars, I have some and will smoke them when I get home and have a clean palate. I think I smoked seven or eight cigars yesterday, it was a little ridiculous. I’m very interested in trying them. I had my eye on them just for the chicken tie in!
n a big fan of their cigars for several years. Their Don Juan Calavera and Marchetti cigars have been some of my favorites over the past three years. I was honored when Susana Piñeda, the owner of the company, recognized me when I approached the booth. Today I sat down with her for a few minutes to chat. the video is unedited, as the WiFi her is abysmal.
Stay tuned for more TPE coverage in a timely manner, or over the coming weeks as resources a
tomorrow, here’s some news from Casa Cuevas, who I’ll visit at the TPE, about a new release. They make some great cigars, and have been for years. The Patrimonio was one of my favorites last year. I met Luis at the TPE in 2020 and he was a super-nice dude. Maybe he’ll remember me!
CASA CUEVAS CIGARS TO RE-RELEASE THE LIMITED EDITION FLACO BRAND AT THE 2022 TPE IN LAST VEGAS
Casa Cuevas Cigars announces the return of the Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flaco Maduro and Habano (both 7 X 43) at the 2022 Tobacco Plus Expo, taking place this January at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Originally released in December 2018, the brand was well received by the public and then tragedy struck as the Casa Cuevas Cigars’ distribution center in Miami was burglarized two months later. The entire Casa Cuevas inventory including all the individually numbered Flaco boxes were stolen. Because there was no record of which boxes had been sold and which had been stolen, Casa Cuevas decided not to pursue the project any further. However, after constant feedback and demand for the Flacos, the Cuevas family felt it was time to re-release the brand three years later. Thus it is that the Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flaco 2021 will make its return at the 2022 TPE.
The Lancero vitola is a favorite of the Cuevas family and a notoriously difficult vitola to roll consistently. In 2018 The Cuevas family felt confident that their factory could produce a premium brand available in only a lancero size. Master Blender Luis Cuevas Sr. settled on two blends and handpicked his best rollers to carry out his vision. The name “Flaco” translates to skinny from Spanish and is named after Alec Cuevas, Casa Cuevas’s Director of Operations. The Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flacos started to earn a cult following, especially after the burglary wiped out the majority of the inventory, which is a principal reason the Cuevas family decided to produce another limited run of these elegant cigars.
Luis Cuevas President of Casa Cuevas Cigars said, “The burglary was a low point for us, and so we decided to move forward with other projects but there was a constant stream of communication from retailers and consumers to bring back the Flaco brand. We are excited to showcase the Flacos at the TPE. Going forward the plan is to release a limited amount of the Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flacos every three years.”
Both blends are available in one size, a 7X43 Lancero and come in an elegant ten count box. Only 750 individually numbered boxes were made for each blend. Both blends are made at the Cuevas Family-owned Las Lavas Cigar Factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flaco Maduro features a Maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and filler with tobaccos from Colombia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and USA Pennsylvania.
Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flaco Habano features a Habano wrapper Nicaraguan binder, and filler with tobaccos from Colombia, Domin
Casa Cuevas Cigars was established in 2016 but has decades old history behind it. Cuban born Master Blender Luis Cuevas Sr. has been blending cigars from his factory in the Dominican Republic for many popular ci
gar brands. Now, together with son Luis Cuevas Jr., the Casa Cuevas Cigar brands were created to honor their four-generation cigar heritage. Currently the Casa Cuevas Cigars line of brands include the Casa Cuevas core line, the Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flaco, the Cuevas Reserva Natural (91 rated by Cigar Aficionado), Cuevas Reserva Maduro (Ranked as the No. 2 cigar of the year by Cigars and Leisure Magazine) and La Mandarria (ranked no. 16 boutique cigar of 2020 by Cigar & Spirits Magazine)
As I’m preparing to head out to the TPE this week, I was rummaging around for something new to smoke and coming up with nuthin. sure I have a couple things I haven’t smoked before that are about
two years old, but they hardly qualify as new. I have a lot of cigars I love to smoke, a lot of cigars that I’m just kinda holding on to for my retirement stash, but I need to sprinkle in some new stuff to write about, right? So I stopped by Son’s again, because they are close by, have a great selection of the newest releases, and take great care of me. A few weeks ago Mickey Pegg mentioned to me someplace that he had to get me his new Saint Francis Colorado, so I picked up a few of those in the toro size to sample. Of course, the original Saint Francis placed high on my pseudo-list of 2021, if I were to put a number to it it would be a solid number two. That doesn’t sound right, but I’m going with it, it’s something we all aspire to. The All Saints Saint Francis Colorado toro is a 6½” x 52, which isn’t uncommon for Toros made at Rocky Patel’s factory. This cigar has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, obviously not fermented to an oscuro like the original, and the Nicaraguan fillers were tweaked, so it’s a slightly different blend that the former. I thought it had a sweet cream flavor, and it was very good. Maybe milder than the Oscuro, which packs a punch, and perhaps better suited for earlier in the day, which is when I smoked it. While my palate prefers the Oscuro, it was
still an excellent cigar which I would go to over a great many other cigars. I suppose I’ll see Mickey at the TPE and tell him what I think!
A couple weeks back I posted the press release about the Black Works Studio Intergalactic, so I picked up a couple of those in the Corona Larga size. I love a Sumatra wrapper, and I enjoy the Black Works cigars generally. Seemed like a safe bet. To recap, this has a Dark Sumatra wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers, and comes in the Corona Larga and Robusto sizes. I picked the Corona Larga on a whim, it looked good. This cigar had a great burn and draw. The flavors included some spice, sweetness and earth, all very nice. Another really good cigar from Black Works Studio. I don’t see BLTC on the exhibitor list for the TPE, they were there in 2020. I guess I won’t visit them there!
Here’s some news from the folks at J.C. Newman, who I hope to catch up with at TPE. Im told Bobby Newman will be there. I also read that they are working with a Ybor City chicken rescue, which, as a chicken owner myself, is something I can appreciate. Our eight chickens haven’t produced an egg in two weeks, bunch of freeloaders…
Tampa has two-century-old traditions: Since 1885, Tampa has been known as “Cigar City.” Since 1904, pirates have been invading Tampa and throwing a large festival called Gasparilla. Today, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. brings both traditions together by introducing José Gaspar cigars. Handcrafted by J.C. Newman, a 126-year-old, four-generation family business, José Gaspar cigars pack a punch perfect for any pirate.
“José Gaspar was one of most feared pirates in the Americas,” said Drew Newman, fourth-generation owner. “Sailing from his base near Tampa Bay in the late 1700s, he terrorized the Gulf of Mexico and amassed a great fortune. Gaspar celebrated victories with a bold and flavorful cigar. This cigar honors his legacy and the tradition of Gasparilla.”
This year, J.C. Newman is releasing 10,000 José Gaspar cigars. The 2022 release of José Gaspar is a 7’ x 50 cigar wrapped with a hearty, sun-grown, Ecuadorian Havana-seed wrapper. The 2022 José Gaspar cigars are sold in packs of 5 cigars with an MSRP of $40. José Gaspar cigars are only available at the following locations in the Cigar City of Tampa, Florida.
• Casa de Montecristo
• Cigar Castle
• Cigar City Brewery
• Davidoff of Geneva Since 1911
• Edwards Pipe and Tobacco
• Grand Cathedral
• Hotel Haya
• J.C. Newman Cigar Museum and Factory Store
• JR Cigars
• King Corona Cigars
• Tobacco Depot
• Vincent & Tampa Cigar Co.
“When pirates invade Tampa and parade down Bayshore Boulevard on January 29, they will be enjoying José Gaspar cigars,” said Newman. “Just like the pirates of Gasparilla, however, José Gaspar cigars will sail out of Tampa Bay at the end of January and will not be available again until next year.”
Shortly after J.C. Newman Cigar Co. relocated to Tampa in 1954, leading cigar makers invited the late Stanford J. Newman to become a pirate and join the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the organization that hosts the annual Gasparilla celebration. This invitation was a symbol that J.C. Newman had been welcomed and accepted into the cigar community in Tampa, which was then widely recognized as the fine cigar capital of the world.
About J.C. Newman Cigar Co.
Founded in 1895 by Julius Caeser Newman, J.C. Newman Cigar Company is the oldest family-owned premium cigar maker in America. J.C. Newman rolls its El Reloj, Factory Throwouts, and Trader Jacks cigars by hand-operated, vintage cigar machines at its historic cigar factory in Tampa, Florida. It also hand rolls its Brick House, Perla del Mar, El Baton, and Quorum cigars at the J.C. Newman PENSA cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. J.C. Newman’s Diamond Crown, MAXIMUS, Julius Caeser, and Black Diamond cigars are handmade by Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic. With its longtime partners the Fuente family, the Newmans founded the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which supports low-income families in the Dominican Republic with education, health care, vocational training, and clean water.
