Balmoral Serie Signaturas Dueto

This is the premium selection of their line. It is a smooth, medium'ish smoke with a rich flavor that starts with a touch of spiciness and evolves into a nice peppery finish. From Cigar.com -

Dueto features an eye-catching Nicaraguan leaf atop Brazilian and Nicaraguan long-fillers. Presenting a medium-bodied profile, this premium is off the charts with exemplary notes of rich earthiness, roasted nuts, and a slight sweetness.

This is a very tasty collaboration between Boris Wintermans and Ernesto Perez-Carrillo

Cigar Knowledge Poster

This graphic is a good depiction of some basic cigar information. One thing of note. The size of cigars is not standard throughout the industry. One cigar might be labeled as a Toro while a different, identical size, cigar might be a Corona Gordo.

Tobacconist University's new and improved Certified Consumer Tobacconist program

Tobacconist University has a program of certifications available, primarily for professionals in the industry. They do, however, have a program for what's known as a Certified Consumer Tobacconist (CCT).

This certification "exists to establish fundamental knowledge, credibility and develop personal satisfaction for the most passionate consumers." In other words, if you are a serious cigar/pipe enthusiast, you can become certified and gain the privilages accorded to a select group of consumers. Such privilages may include event invites, special product discounts, free goods, and/or access to private smoking lounges.

I would encourage anyone with a passion for cigars and/or pipes to look into this program.

Dias de Gloria by AJ Fernandez

Let's start with a recently released cigar: Dias de Gloria.
From the description on Cigar.com -

This medium-bodied cigar features a tawny Sun Grown wrapper around it's complex recipe of Nicaraguan long-fillers beneath. Full-flavored but smooth.

A Nicaraguan Puro, it has all the hallmarks of an AJ classic. It comes in four sizes; Gordo (6.0"x58), Robusto (Robusto Extra) (5.5"x52), Short Churchill (Lonsdale) (6.5"x48), & Toro BP (Double Toro) (6.0"x56). For me, this is about mid-style between his Ramon Allones and Enclave Broadleaf. Mild-to-medium spiciness on top of a full, earthy foundation. Makes a great afternoon/evening smoke.

Time to get things moving

It's been a difficult year or so, but things are now coming together. I will be posting information on new products, reviews, and basic Cigar 101 content.

Stay tuned.