Cigar Coop Prime Time Show

The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Bull comes in at #15 on the 2024 Cigar Coop Cigar of the Year Countdown. The Eye of the Bull debuted at the 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, but if you looked closely at the Fuente booth at the 2022 PCA Show, you might have seen it tucked away. The Eye of the Bull has two distinguishing characteristics. First, it is a short but plump cigar, measuring only 3 1/2 x 55. Second, the cap has something resembling a bullseye on it – which is just a small, dark, circular Maduro. The cigar was a project spearheaded by Arturo Fuente International Executive President Ciro Cascella. It is the second “Eye” in the Don Carlos brand as the more famous “Eye” is the Don Carlos Eye of the Shark. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-uvX

Coming in at #16 on the 2024 Cigar Coop Cigar of the Year Countdown is the E.P. Carrillo Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of Allegiance is the first limited-edition installment of E.P. Carrillo's Perez-Carrillo series. The name is derived from the third and fourth installments of the Perez-Carrilo line, the Pledge and Allegiance, respectively. The idea for the name came from EPC Chief Operating Officer Selim Hanono. While the name is a mashup of the Pledge and Allegiance names, the blend is completely different as it emphasizes incorporating U.S. Grown American Tobaccos. Given the name of the cigar and the use of the American Tobaccos, the Pledge of Allegiance was targeted to be an annual release just in time for the 4th of July. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-uuv

Coming in at #17 on the 2024 Cigar Coop Cigar of the Year Countdown is the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante Toro by Altadis U.S.A. In 2020, Rafael Nodal and Altadis U.S.A. teamed up with AJ Fernandez to release a cigar commemorating 85 years of the Montecristo brand, the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua. The cigar proved to be both critically acclaimed and commercially successful for Altadis U.S.A., including landing #12 on the 2021 Countdown. Another blend was under consideration during the development of the original Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua. At that time, Nodal believed this blend had potential, but he felt the tobaccos required more aging. As a result, that blend was not used initially. Fast forward a little over three years, and that blend has transformed into the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Edición Diamante. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-uts

Coming in at #18 on the 2024 Cigar Coop Cigar of the Year Countdown is the Liga Privada 10 Aniversario by Drew Estate. In 2018, Drew Estate celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Liga Privada brand by introducing two cigars: The 10 Aniversario and the H99 Connecticut Corojo. These two releases were groundbreaking because they incorporated uncommon wrappers from the State of Connecticut. The Liga Privada 10 Aniversario uses a Connecticut-grown Criollo wrapper, while the H99 uses a hybrid Connecticut-grown Corojo wrapper. While the cigars were unveiled in 2018, these remained extremely limited releases for nearly four years due to low yields of the wrapper. In 2023, that would change, and the 10 Aniversario and H99 Connecticut would begin to reach the market. Initially released in a Toro, Drew Estate has now expanded production of the Liga Privada 10 Aniversario to include a Robusto, which lands on this year's countdown. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-urR  

Coming in at #19 on the 2024 Cigar Coop Cigar of the Year Countdown is the Arturo Fuente Rare Pink Vintage 1960’s in the Sophisticated Hooker size. Pink is a color associated with breast cancer awareness. With the Rare Pink Vintage 1960s, Fuente is raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research by donating a portion of the sales to support these initiatives. Company Chairman Carlos “Carlito” Fuente got the inspiration to support this cause from his daughter Liana, who lost both her grandmother and aunt to breast cancer. The boxes of these cigars are pink, and the bands have pink accents. The bands also have a retro vibe reminiscent of the 1960s, when Carlito was growing up. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-uoR  

Coming in at #20 on the 2024 Cigar Coop Cigar of the Year Countdown is the Aramas A55 from Oz Family Cigars. The “Oz” stands for Ozgener and its the company founded by Tim Ozgener. If the name sounds familiar, the Ozgeners are the same family that owned CAO Cigars. It was at CAO where Tim worked alongside his father, the late Cano Ozgener. Eventually, the Ozgeners sold CAO to the Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG). Once CAO was assimilated into the STG portfolio in 2010, Tim departed the cigar industry. He stayed away 12 years until 2022 when it was announced he was forming his own company, Ozgener Family Cigars. This past year, Ozgener Family Cigars became Oz Family Cigars. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-unz

The #21 Cigar of the Year for 2024 is the Black Works Studio S&R (2023) Corona Larga from Oveja Negra Brands. S&R made its debut in 2018 as a limited edition small batch line under the Black Works Studio brand. At the time, it was a significant release for owner and blender James Brown because it marked his first release with a Sumatra wrapper and his first release with Dominican tobacco. There were additional small batch releases in 2019 and 2020 of S&R. Last year, James Brown decided to revamp the blend with the big change being incorporating a barber-pole wrapper. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-ulS

The #22 Cigar of the Year for 2024 is the Perdomo 30th Anniversary Sun Grown Epicure. As the name indicates, the cigar commemorates 30 years of Perdomo Cigars. The Sun Grown is one of three blends that make up the Perdomo 30th Anniversary line. The cigar was unveiled at the 2023 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show. For the final packaging, Perdomo’s Arthur Kemper and Nicholas Perdomo III kept the design under wraps from CEO Nick Perdomo until the night before the trade show. The packaging was shown to Nick and he was quite pleased with it. The next day, the world got to see the 30th. A few months later, Perdomo shipped its 30th-anniversary line to retailers. As mentioned, the Perdomo 30th Anniversary line includes three blends. Each is denoted by a different wrapper: Connecticut, Sun Grown, and Maduro. It's the Sun Grown that lands on this spot on the Countdown. Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-ulo