First Post of Spring!

Hello Cigar Box patrons! In my January post I touched on the lawsuit being filed against the FDA in the interest of cigar retailers, manufacturers and consumers. On March 22, both sides of the suit filed a joint motion to push the court date back 30 days. Originally scheduled for July 28th, 2017 the new date is set for August 30th, 2017. The FDA originally requested a 60-day delay citing the change in leadership staff due to the new presidential administration. The plaintiffs rejected the initial request before coming to an agreement on a 30-day delay. The Cigar Association of America (CAA), Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and the International Premium Cigar & Pipes Retailers Association (IPCPR) have stated they will not consent to any further extensions of the litigation deadlines without a day-for-day extension of compliance deadlines under the Final Rule. I will keep you up to date as this case develops.

Some of you may have attended our launch of Cornelius and Anthony on March 9th. For those of you not in attendance I am proud to announce the newest addition to our humidor! In 1866 the Bailey family began growing Virginia Flue Cured and Burley pipe tobaccos. In 1994 the Baileys ventured into cigarettes, growing their business substantially. In 2016 the family made its first venture into the premium cigar business and their 150 years experience in tobacco shines through! Cornelius and Anthony currently boast 4 lines: Cornelius, Daddy Mac, Venganza and Meridian. Today I am smoking a Cornelius Toro. The Cornelius is the brand’s debut cigar and it is a tribute to Cornelius Bailey, the first of 5 generations to run the Bailey family tobacco company. This cigar is hand rolled in the El Titan de Bronze factory in Miami. Its wrapper and binder are Ecuadorian tobaccos while the filler consists of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos. The Cornelius is very well constructed, light brown in color with a triple cap and many visible veins. Upon lighting you will notice the above average smoke output. Flavors are rich cedar and a sweet earthiness. Sweet and spice with a smooth finish are this sticks wheelhouse. If you enjoy a smooth medium bodied cigar, I can’t recommend Cornelius high enough.

We have expanded our pipe and pipe tobacco selection again this month. We recently brought in two new blends of tobacco, Amaretto Amore and Just Plain Nuts. Both being Virginian aromatics the Amaretto Amore will subdue your sweet tooth while Just Plain Nuts has a more rich and savory flavor. We also added a new line of starter pipes with four different finishes all in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Each pipe is priced at an affordable $35 making them perfect for the novice pipe smoker or someone looking to add to their collection.

That’s all I have for you this time around. We have many events coming up in the next few months so be sure to check our Facebook and Events pages periodically for updates. As always thank you for reading!

See you at the box

Lee