The cigar and wine industry has exploded with rumors and theories as reports that James Suckling has “retired” from both Wine Spectator and Cigar Aficionado magazine. News of these events shocked the public from what appears to be an impromptu press release from both organizations.

Wine Spectator Statements
Cigar Aficionado Statements

“James Suckling was a key contributor to the success of Cigar Aficionado,” said editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken. “He will be missed, but we are fortunate to have a capable and knowledgeable staff regarding all aspects of the world of Cuban cigars.”

To further indicate that the departure of Suckling was not planned all assignments from both publications will simply be reassigned to already contributing editors.

“We are very fortunate to have significant depth in our editorial team. In fact, moving these tastings to New York, where we have a larger staff and better logistical control, will allow us to strengthen our coverage of these important wine regions.”

Cigar Aficionado simply stated “His assignments will be shared by the magazine’s senior staff…“.

No official word has been released by the man who has put in decades of hard work for Shanken and his publications. However he did indicate that his retirement is just a stepping stone into other projects via Twitter: “The reports of my retirement have been greatly exaggerated. Stay tuned for exciting things to come.”

While the departure may have been unplanned we must wish Mr. Suckling the best of luck on all of his future endeavors.  We expect a man of his reputation, status, following, knowledge and passion to reemerge on top of the world with his  next projects.

The details of the situation may never be fully revealed but we have to ask, and this is directly to you Mr. James Suckling – Did Marv at least give you the gold departure watch that you so deserved after years of dedication?

Pictures for this article were obtained from the public Twitter profile of James Suckling (http://twitter.com/jamessuckling).

Using long fillers and staying true to the Corojo #5 blend the El Gigante is intended to be smoked. A device has been designed and implemented that will attach to the end of the cap allowing for up to 200 people to smoke the El Gigante at one time. A full sized band will finish off the cigar making the appearance identical to the other sizes in the line. Everything will be shipped in self-contained wooden tube mimicking the design of the Corojo #5 boxes.

A special team of personnel has been dedicated to making this special cigar for anyone who places an order.  All orders must be placed through Gran Habano directly and the suggested MSRP is set at $200,000.  Anyone who places an order will be flown to the factory to oversee and take part in the El Gigante experience.

The Corojo #5 El Gigante will make its debut appearance June 25^th at the Famous Smoke Shop Cigar Expo in Easton, PA. It will also journey around the country making appearances at official Gran Habano AZTECA events and at the annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) convention.

About Gran Habano Cigars
Gran Habano Cigars was founded in 1995 by Guillermo Rico and his son George Rico. Using only the best raw materials on earth, Gran Habano begins the growing process with Habano and Corojo seeds which are grown on company-owned farms in Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The process comes to fruition at our boutique factory, which focuses on quality control and high-end productivity making it one of the top cigar companies in the world. http://GHCigars.com

This is the official press release from Gran Habano Cigars.

It started with Jose Blanco, the affable head of sales for La Aurora, discoursing on the state of the cigar tax in the industry.  At first I scratched my head and thought “what does the cigar tax have to do with immigration?” but soon all would be revealed.  When the rumoring of a ten dollar cigar tax started floating about the industry, a study of the cigar industry was quickly executed by Dr. Alejandro Martinez Cuenca of Joya De Nicaragua and Jose Blanco of La Aurora.

In the study they found that close to a quarter of a million individuals who worked in the factories would be affected by the increase in taxes.  As Jose Blanco posited it,  if those factory workers all belong to typical family units, then up to a million individuals throughout the Central and South American regions would be adversely affected and most likely be in search of new economic opportunities.  In short , this would be where immigration comes into play.

Displaced workers would work their way towards the US borders in droves, in hopes of better economic opportunities.  Meanwhile, the small brick and mortar tobacconists in the states would be shutting down due to their overtaxed establishments.  These economic and immigration woes would all be a result of the overtaxation of the cigar industry.

As Jose stated, immigration should be done through the proper channels, and those who go about it the right way should be rewarded, but an increase in taxes will continue to pummel an industry that is a major supporter of the economies of the Americas.  Point in case, La Aurora pays about ten percent of their countries national budget.  To put that in further focus, they are about 2.8% of their countries Gross Domestic Product!  Numbers like that illustrate quite handily the scope and size of these cigar producers.  If one takes away the industry by overtaxation, then many individuals will be displaced.

George Washington, one of our founding fathers, once said “If you can’t send money, send tobacco.”  Our proud country was founded on the major economic movement of tobacco, to take away this cultural heritage through continual taxing invites illegal immigration to increase, and the job market of the cigar industry in the states to diminish.  Jose Blanco and Guillermo Leon, the president of La Aurora had a vision for inviting the blogging  community down to their factory in the Dominican Republic, and that was to help create a community of informed writers.  Their heart is for the industry and their message is clear an informed reader is the best cigar buyer.  Being informed about the evils of cigar taxes is an important first step for our industry.  Thomas Jefferson in one of his treatises about government and religion stated that the day people gave up on caring and being informed, is the day that our government will fall apart and collapse into a corrupt machine.  So if you want to limit illegal immigration, keep small businesses in the USA, then take up the local and national fight against the cigar taxes in areas near you!

STK (Black Label) has long been in development and will initially be available to 50 retailers and limited to no more than 100. In this program the lucky retailers will have the opportunity to carry many of the limited production, never released cigars that were mainly created for personal use by the Rico family. Another great benefit of this STK program is that the special cigars will all be very “price conscious” and make it affordable for everyone to enjoy. George wanted to make extra emphasis that the STK (Black Label) cigars will not be sold online.

We can find more information on this Gran Habano Black Label program via an email that was sent out directly from the company:

“In addition to the Azteca cigar Gran Habano is preparing to launch the STK (Black Label) accounts for a limited number of retailers. This program was intended to further support the brick and mortar stores of which you have spent a great deal of time and effort to grow. Our STK (Black Label) program will allow retailers to receive many of our unreleased and very limited production cigars that we have kept in our aging room over the years.  A new release will be sent out once every six (6) months with a unique presentation that will be a departure from our standard packaging.

Our first release in the STK (Black Label) line can best be described as a variant to the ever so popular #5 cigar.  It will receive a very special wrapper, of which the details will not be revealed, and a tweak to the blend to compliment the major change. This specific cigar was created only for the Rico family (a personal family blend) to enjoy while working on the farm or in the factory. It has never been imported or shared with anyone outside of Gran Habano company. “

George Rico says that his program will launch very soon and he hopes it’s just one of many things he can do to support the local B&M. For anyone who was wondering what “STK” stands for – you will have to continue to wait. Mr. Rico said that it was something close and personal to him, much like the retailers who support the industry, and he would like to keep the meaning of “STK” to himself.

“Effective May 10th, 2010, all EO Brands (E.g., 601, Cubao, Murcielago, etc.) will only be available via the Rocky Patel Premium Cigars distribution system. That is, directly and or through our approved sales representatives. All marketing for EO Brands will also be handled by Rocky Patel Premium Cigars.”

Major changes are taking place but the EO Brands cigars are still being produced by Don Pepin Garcia at the My Father factory in Nicaragua. Ortega has also mentioned that this distribution move will enable them to lower the cost of cigars anywhere from $2 to $3 a stick.

Could this be a bad move for the EO Brands Cigars?
It’s very understandable why a cigar company, who might have felt shunned by Miami Cigar Co. (the previous distributor), had to find another outlet to operate. However Rocky Patel is primarily known for making sub-par cigars that are perhaps palatable and easy on the wallet.  Will this type of outlook now be carried over to the EO Brands?

Hopefully Rocky Patel will take a hands-off approach to the managing of the brand to allow the current portfolio, and any future releases, to remain boutique (something that Rocky Patel has long lost). Otherwise we might just be seeing the 601, Cubao, and Murcielago sold for pennies in every online website and mail order catalog (aka – “Rocky Patel Premium Cigars distribution system”) that will shun B&M retailers from supporting the brand.

Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, had argued her bill would help combat the “threat of wildfires and second-hand smoke” in all state parks. However the cigar smoking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation this past Monday (May 3, 2010). In a letter to the Members of the California State Senate Schwarzenegger states:

“First, I believe this bill is an improper intrusion of government into people’s lives. I have supported laws in the past that tackle the problem of smoking indoors and smoking in cars with children. But, by mandating in state law that people may not smoke outdoors in certain areas, this bill crosses an important threshold between state power and command and local decision-making. There is something inherently uncomfortable about the idea of the state encroaching in such a broad manner on the people of California.

Current law already allows discretion by local governments and the Department of Parks and Recreation (Department) to ban smoking in parks and beaches under certain circumstances. The Department has exercised its authority throughout the state and has already banned smoking in several areas where fire hazards exist. Additionally, cities and counties throughout the state have appropriately exercised their authority and banned smoking in many parks under their jurisdiction. I think this is a discretionary decision that is best left with the Department and local government.

With respect to marine debris, I understand the challenge cigarette butts cause to our beaches and marine life. But, this bill applies the ban solely to those beaches and parks owned and operated by the state of California. When considering the contiguous nature of state-owned and locally-owned beaches, the purpose of the bill is undermined if the difference between legal activity and illegal activity is literally a line in the sand. As we have seen, marine debris and litter know no boundaries. I believe a more appropriate response is to increase the fines and penalties already in law for littering in our parks and on our beaches.

For these reasons I am unable to sign this bill.”

Read the letter in full here.

At this current time it appears that there is not enough votes to override Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger veto leaving the bill dead in the water. Had the Bill passed California would have been the first state to ban all smoking in all of the state park system.

Alejandro Robaina, a 91-year-old legend who was the only Cuban to have a cigar brand named after him, died Saturday from cancer after doctors discovered inoperable tumors on his lungs and kidney, his grandson Hirochi Robaina said.

Wreaths of flowers filled his modest, ramshackle home and engulfed much of the surrounding porch. Four generations of family and neighbors choked back tears while greeting friends, communist officials and business associates who made the two-and-half hour drive from Havana west to San Luis in Vuelta Abajo, the region where Cuba’s finest tobacco is grown.

“You see everyone here, but also the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. There are people all over the world who are sad,” his grandson said. Photographers and television crew were prohibited from shooting at the funeral, in accordance with Robaina’s wishes.

The 34-year-old Hirochi is one of Robaina’s 10 grandchildren and has been groomed for 14 years to take over the family’s tobacco farm. Robaina is also survived by four children and 12 great-grandchildren.

In a 2002 interview, when Robaina was still 83, he told The Associated Press, “I’m going to trust in my grandchildren and my children to continue the cultivation of tobacco, but I’m not retiring.”

“I would never retire,” he said then.

On Sunday, Hirochi sat in a leather chair in a special cigar room at the farm, the “Alejandro Robaina Smoker’s Club,” and said his grandfather never did.

“You are always learning more about tobacco every day, even he was. Grandfather never stopped learning,” he said.

The room is lined with photos of the late Robaina examining dark-green tobacco leaves ready for harvest, walking his fields, smiling with a golden-brown cigar between his fingers and, of course, dragging on a stogie amid a thick, white smoke.

Robaina’s family began planting tobacco in San Luis in 1845, after immigrating from Spain, and he took up cigars when he began working the family fields at age 10 — eventually smoking for 81 years.

For decades, cigar aficionados have visited San Luis to see Robaina. Even though the dirt road to his farm has no name and there are no street numbers, everyone in town knows the way.

Strutting roosters, stray dogs and goats wander the road and the only indication that you’ve found the farm’s collection of weather-beaten wooden barns is the large, red-and-green lettering attached to one roof reading: “Plantation El Pinar Alejandro Robaina.”

Until his last days, Robaina could often be found sitting on his porch, puffing on a cigar.

Even though Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution nationalized many large farms, Robaina was allowed to keep his land, but began producing tobacco for the state. In 1997, the Cuban tobacco monopoly Habanos SA unveiled a brand named in his honor, Vegas Robaina.

His grinning, heavily wrinkled face appears on the boxes. Today, a box of 25 of the brand’s finest cigars can go for between $300 and nearly $500.

Hirochi Robaina said his grandfather always said the most important element in growing top tobacco is not the seed or the climate, but the soil.

“The land is everything,” he said.

The story is titled Hundreds bid Cuban cigar legend Robaina farewell and was written By WILL WEISSERT (AP).

Councilman Jack Evans proposed an exception for the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and another organization, Fight for Children, that hosts an annual boxing fundraiser.

Evans was able to convince the council to pass a one-year waiver and is now hoping to make the exception permanent. Evans says the emergency measure is for two nights a year and workers can opt out of working the events.

Angela Bradbery, co-founder of Smokefree DC, urged the mayor to veto the bill she says would force workers to choose between their health and a paycheck.

As of current date the D’crossier cigar company produces four blends; the Premium Blend, Diplomacy Series Golden Blend, Diplomacy Series Limited Edition, and the Imperium Class Vintage. Assembly and manufacturing takes place at their facilities in Costa Rica. However all of the cigars feature three types of tobaccos from Ecuador, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic in different configurations and sizes. Each is then packaged in the most detailed and elegant boxes that just oozes with pride and sophistication.

“We humbly recommend you try these fine blends and taste the result of a family passion for premium aged handcrafted cigars. Allow us to fulfill your expectations of a pleasurable cigar smoking experience and you will not be disappointed.”

Isaias Santana Diaz, the president of the company, was born in Cuba and migrated to the U.S. in 1995 from Sweden. H e considers himself “lucky to be a citizen of the U.S” and is grateful for the opportunity to contribute back to his beloved cigar community. As you speak to Santana you will quickly feel genuine passion and love for his cigars that he hopes brings you nothing but pure enjoyment.

The Story Behind the Cigars:
“Taste in cigars, as in all things, is largely a matter of personal preference; quality, on the other hand, can be held to measurable standards. The D’crossier brand embodies excellence, crafted using a time-honoured family recipe that dates back to the nineteenth century. From the minute you inhale one of our fine cigars, you will savor the legacy of Francis Navarro Crossier, my great grandfather and inspiration.

Back in the eighteen hundreds, Great Grandfather Crossier found himself on a journey to North America, searching for seeds to renew his vineyards in France. As with many great adventures, the law of unintended consequences dictated that he should arrive on the beautiful island of Cuba. Confronted with the varied and delightful flavors of that island, he wrote in his diary (which our family still retains) about the “fine Cuban Leaf of Tobacco” used in his smoking pipe, and “the Pinar Del Rio Valley (which) is a giant humidor all by itself”.

He quickly learned the Spanish way of life and language. He got used to the gentle Caribbean weather patterns and used them to his advantage to harvest fine Cuban tobacco. Although he intended to return to France to expand his domain with the combination of wine & cigars, love touched his heart and he remained in Cuba. There he prospered, investing in sugar cane and local real estate. Wine, Brandy and cigars were a passion he indulged after every meal and late into the night.

I heard all these stories at family reunions, but when I discovered his diary and read it, my heart and soul were touched and I was transformed. In 1990, I tried to roll my very first cigar and smoke it. I was only 17 years old, and when I lit this imperfect creation, inhaled and immediately coughed it out I vowed to complete my great grandfather’s legacy by crafting a truly great cigar.

With luck, timing and the grace of God, Great-Grandfather’s heritage now lives on within our family. I am proud to share with you the embodiment of our family’s vision, our dream, which I am blessed to have recreated in my lifetime.”

You can find more information about the D’crossier cigar company by visiting their website: http://www.decrossier.com.

In Willy Wonka fashion there will be no way to tell if the box of cigars is “naked” or filled with the regular blimp looking cigars unless it is fully opened. Be aware of fakes that might be rolling onto the market as many retailers might simply remove the foil casing in hopes of representing this prized limited edition release. You can verify the true “naked” cigars by making sure they are still cleanly wrapped in the butcher style paper the bundles are secured in.

Cigar aficionados should immediately be aware that this could DRAMATICALLY change the flavor profile of the beloved MJ12. Time will only tell if the MJ12 absorbs the wood flavor from the box or how it can now marry more properly with other cigars in your humidor. Will this cigar fall under the current ratings achieved by the “standard” MJ12 or should it receive its own?

Followers of the Illusione brand are also aware that the names and packaging all have meanings (http://illusionecigars.com for more information on that). What does the “naked” cigar represent in the story of the lineup? Is this possible a symbol that represents that all good stories have alternatives? Or perhaps its Dion’s way of telling people to keep their eyes open for something greater to come in the line of Illusione? Or maybe this is a second part to the mysterious MJ12 saga?

Or maybe this is just a story of the manufacturer running out of the foil when producing the MJ12 cigar. And instead of Mr. Giolito holding up production/shipping for two additional weeks he gave it the go-ahead nod. After all, once you purchase the cigar you have to remove the foil to smoke it anyways.