Skip to content

Cigar Journal

Knowledge, news, pairings and reflections from the world of cigars.

Stories · Cigar Houses

Arturo Fuente: A Century of Fire, Patience and Dominican Tobacco

From a West Tampa workshop in 1912 to the OpusX. How the Fuente family survived fires, revolutions and a hurricane to become one of the most beloved houses in cigars.

October 20, 2026

Stories

Cigar Houses

Cigar Knowledge

Guides to begin with

Cigar Knowledge

Guides

How to Use ChatGPT or Any AI as an Assistant to Learn About Cigars

Your palate first. The reference after. My method for using ChatGPT, Claude or any AI as an assistant to learn about cigars, without letting it tell you what you should taste.
Vitolas

Cigar Vitolas Explained, from Petit Corona to Gordo

What a vitola is, how length and ring gauge are measured, and the classic shapes every cigar smoker meets sooner or later, with well-known examples.
Storage

Humidors and Humidity. How to Keep Cigars at Their Best

The humidity and temperature cigars like, how to season a new humidor, which humidification to use, and the warning signs of a cigar that is too dry or too wet.
Cutting & Lighting

How to Cut a Cigar, and Which Cut to Choose

Straight cut, V-cut or punch? What each cut does to the draw and the flavor, which cigars suit each one, and how to cut cleanly without damaging the wrapper.

Cigar News

New Releases

J.C. Newman Brings Back an Aged Brick House Ciento Por Ciento for the TAA

The all-Nicaraguan 6 1/4 x 54 from the 2019 and 2023 TAA releases returns with five years of age, under J.C. Newman's Beginnings name.

October 25, 2026
New Releases

Loaisiga Cigars Turns the Legend of El Cadejo Into Two Cigars

A White Cadejo and a Black Cadejo, both Nicaraguan puros in four sizes, start in Florida stores in November.

October 25, 2026
New Releases

Patina y Viso Bring Back Verdigris as ReVerdigris

The same 5 x 52 robusto from earlier this year returns on Oct. 26 after nine months of aging, in a smaller run of 200 bundles.

October 25, 2026
New Releases

Casa Carrillo Joins the TAA Exclusives with a Four-Country Blend

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo's company made a 5 1/2 x 58 with filler from four countries for TAA stores, limited to 1,000 boxes and coming next week.

October 24, 2026
New Releases

Joya de Nicaragua Brings Back the Cuatro Cinco Edición Americana

The TAA-only belicoso returns for a third time after a two-year break, limited again to 500 boxes and now priced at $16.50 per cigar.

October 24, 2026
New Releases

Rocky Patel Announces the Matrix for the TAA

A 6 x 50 toro with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and Honduran filler, made for the retailers of the Tobacconists' Association of America and limited to 750 boxes.

October 24, 2026
New Releases

Arturo Fuente's Black Pink Heads to Stores Nationwide

After a small TAA-only shipment in March, the four-perfecto Black Pink line from the Hemingway family starts shipping across the U.S. next week.

October 23, 2026
New Releases

Cohiba Talismán Becomes the First Cohiba Limited Edition to Go Regular

Habanos S.A. has moved the 2017 Edición Limitada Talismán into Cohiba's Línea Clásica, with a new foot band and NFC packaging.

October 23, 2026
New Releases

Davidoff Launches a City Edition for Las Vegas and New York

Two robusto extras, one for each city, will be sold only at Davidoff's own stores in Las Vegas and New York starting November 2.

October 23, 2026
New Releases

Crowned Heads Brings Back Belgian Blue for a Third Year

The strong limited edition returns with the same ligero-heavy blend in a new, smaller box-pressed robusto extra, shipping next week.

October 22, 2026
New Releases

Espinosa Announces a La Bomba Warhead for the TAA

A 6 x 55 box-pressed toro made for the retailers of the Tobacconists' Association of America is due in November, limited to 12,500 cigars.

October 22, 2026
New Releases

Perez-Carrillo Battleborn Returns with a New Blend

The second Battleborn, a limited edition that honors veterans and first responders, changes blend, size and box, and ships before Veterans Day.

October 22, 2026
Industry

League of Fat Bastards Is Up for Sale

Founder Adam Levine has put the 2024 cigar brand, created to raise awareness of men's mental health, up for sale after a turbulent few months.

October 21, 2026
New Releases

Perdomo Legacy Adds Three New Vitolas in Holiday Samplers

A Short Robusto, a Belicoso Fino and a Gran Corona join the Perdomo Legacy line, at first only inside new 11-cigar samplers shipping in early November.

October 21, 2026
Industry

Plasencia Cigars Promotes Javier Carranza to U.S. VP of Sales

Javier Carranza, who joined Plasencia in 2016 as it began building its own brands in the U.S., now leads the company's American sales team.

October 21, 2026
New Releases

Rocky Patel America 250 Heads to Stores

Rocky Patel's limited toro marking America's 250th anniversary ships this week, a little later than the September date first announced.

October 20, 2026
Industry

Tabacalera USA Reorganizes Its Leadership

The parent company of Altadis U.S.A., Casa de Montecristo, JR Cigar and Santa Clara moves three division chiefs into company-wide roles.

October 20, 2026
New Releases

Tatuaje Ships Skinny Krueger and Skinny Michael

Two Monster Series blends that never had a Skinny version now arrive as 6 x 38 petite lanceros, alongside a limited coffin-shaped ashtray.

October 20, 2026