Puros Indios
One of the most notable events was the celebration of Rolando Reyes Sr.’s 80th birthday. A living legend in the cigar industry, Reyes Sr. was in attendance along with grandkids Alex and Carlos Diez who are very active in the company. This year Puros Indios is again showcasing the Cienfuegos line which translates into “1,000 Fires”.

General Cigar
General Cigar, maker’s of Macanudo, Partagas and Hoyo de Monterrey have released a number of exciting new lines, including the powerful, full-bodied Diablo, as well as some limited edition, one-and-done product extensions to some of their best blends. The Partagas Cifuentes “Winter Blend” is a new limited cigar available only this fall. Whether it will be released annually is unknown, but what we do know is that once it’s gone, if it is released again, it will be an entirely different blend.. Both La Gloria Cubana and Excalibur will be sporting new smokes for us to savor. Ernesto Perez-Carillo is offering in the LGC line a gorgeous display humidor filled with tasty, special edition, cedar-wrapped cigars in either Natural or Maduro. Also, a limited run of figurados have been added to the label, putting a new twist to Ernesto’s flagship cigar. Excalibur has knighted a new line titled Royal Sterling, a worthy new blend that’s full, flavorful, and worthy of the Excalibur title.

Victor Sinclair
Victor Sinclair has been extremely busy this year. The Serie 55 has been gifted another member to their exquisite family of fine cigars. The new Yellow Label, donning a gorgeous Cameroon leaf, takes this five country blend to yet another level. In addition to making the 55 even better, all 4 blends have been repackaged in attractive, brightly colored cedar chests of 20 instead of the old 29-ct boxes. Also, their new Primeros is sure to strengthen their already impressive resume while adding another tasty premium to your fine collection.

Troya
Troya is back, and it means business. A venerable old Cuban brand, it’s now available in 3 blends, a natural Connecticut shade for us mild-folk as well as two Nicaraguan blends - a fuller bodied Cameroon and Maduro leaf.

Indian Tabac
One of the busiest booths of the day was Indian Tabac. Rocky Patel is unleashing a wealth of new smokes this year, including a full-bodied Rocky Patel Sun-grown as well as the Edge, a moderately priced premium packaged in Cuban-style trays of 100. Choose between a Corojo or Maduro wrapper, but beware this smoke is not for the weak of heart - a rare Panamanian Ligero filler makes this cigar for experienced smokers only. But, the most talked about cigar in the booth was one that’s tentatively being called ‘Cocoa’. Collaborating with the folks at Drew Estate, this cigar is sure to stir the market up a bit.

Drew Estate
Speaking of Drew Estate, they too were quite productive since last years show. Did ya like Kahlua? Wait until you try Sauza, the new Tequila cigar. Natural has been beautifully repackaged in mahogany chests and sporting brand new bands. Drew Estate’s latest release, the Ming, combines Nicaraguan and Dominican filler with an African Cameroon wrapper to produce a full-flavored, 2-hour “transcendent smoking experience”…

After-hours
CAO’s Decadence in the Desert party capped off the evening with an outstanding outdoor party held at the Palms Resort and Casino. Complete with open bar, the “CAO Miss Italia” pageant and Dennis Rodman, CAO has set the standard for this year’s RTDA late night parties.

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Camacho
Jericho - a re-release from Camacho made in Nicaragua instead of Honduras, this one was originally made by Simon Camacho in 1972 in the Joya de Nicaragua factory. It's been relaunched with the same blend and identical boxes and packaging as the original. This baby is juicy, and smokes like a champ! Also, keep an eye out for Baccarat and Camacho cigarillos, available in convenient tins, allowing us to enjoy these superb smokes anytime!

Gurkha
Cigar Insider released a big ‘91’ rating on the K. Hansotia Symphony. In the meantime, Mr. Hansotia had some impressive new items to add to his exquisite lineup. Most interesting was a gorgeous, numbered, silver-plated mahogany chest with bone inlay featuring 30 cigars - a potpourri of the top Gurkha blends. This one is awesome. Also, the newest K. Hansotia Gold line is ready to please the palates of the world. Full bodied, extensively aged, and packaged in gorgeous upright mahogany canisters. A fine smoke, and definite collector’s item-to-be.

Torano
The Torano factory has been hard at work. Their most notable release was the beautiful new Tribute Maduro boxes. Same blend as the 2003 Tribute, the new 2004 offering has a stunning CT Broadleaf wrapper leaf that makes you want to eat it. Also, if you’ve ever been to a Torano rolling event you probably remember smoking a great mild bodied cigar, straight from the roller’s table. That cigar, named Casa Torano, is the Torano family’s personal (secret) blend, and now comes boxed and banded so we can have that same great taste, anytime. Last but not least, Torano has added a cigarillo size to their popular Reserva Selecta and Exodus 1959 lines.

Perdomo
A new addition to the Perdomo Reserve line – the Perdomo Reserve Champagne – has been released, rounding out the Cuban Cafe, Maduro, and Cameroon. Out of character for Perdomo, this one is super, super mild with a flawless CT shade wrapper and individually packaged in shiny gold cello – Bling Bling! Also, get ready for a new monster-sized Silvio. Nick and company added a gorgeous figurado to the line – she’s a beaut!

La Aurora
La Aurora showcased 2 great new blends, including the Don Lino Africa (true Cameroon wrappers, as well as African tobaccos in the filler blend) and a stunning new addition to the Preferidos line - the Sapphire. These utilize an ultra smooth, select CT shade wrapper leaf, and are encased in highly attractive caribbean blue tubos.

Cusano
The limited edition Cusano 10 should help cement Cusano as a top boutique maker. Beautiful boxes of 10 cigars, featuring one size only - a 5"x42 size. Each is numbered with a numbered, etched silver plate, limited to 5,000. This cigar screams winner!

Manuel Quesada/SAG
As a follow-up to the popular Joya de Nicaragua Antanos series is the release of the Joya de Nicaragua Celebracion, a much mellower blend, Nicaraguan puro.

CAO
The CAO Italia will be a hit. Containing Italian tobaccos, this one’s a touch mellower than the Brazilia, with some peppery-ness but also very full in flavor. Also, an addition to the Flavours line called the "KarmaSutraSplash" (say that 3 times fast) aka the 'orange one.' This is a mix of mango and mint chocolate ice cream. Lastly, the anticipated Anaconda size in the Brazilia is here - an 8.5"x58 figurado. Packaged 10 to a box, this is likely to be a one-time release.

Bucanero
The new Bucanero Treasure is a Costa Rican puro, super smooth, made in Don Douglas' Tambor factory.

After-hours
After all the days deals were made, it was time to head to Club Seven. Tonight, it was Drew Estate’s turn to keep Vegas rockin, and dammit, we’re ready to party like it’s 1999. Drinks, music, and of course plenty of fine cigars – today’s events couldn’t have ended better. Once again, Drew Estate hosted an incredible party.

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Also new for this year is the Flor de Oliva Corojo which promises a rich and complex flavor while maintaining a manageable strength in the medium-full bodied spectrum.

Alec Bradley
Alec Bradley introduced two new additions to from his company, the Occidental Reserve Double Maduro and the Pryme.

The Occidental Reserve Double Maduro’s blend is identical to that of the original but with a smooth marbled wrapper and Maduro binder which give this cigar an entirely new dimension of flavor. Alan Rubin was kind enough to give me two samples of the Robusto size which I had turned into ashes within 3 hours forcing me to go back and beg for more!

Not much is known about the Pryme by Alec Bradley due to the proprietary blend utilized in this perfectly constructed cigar. I was told that only 140 samples had been brought to the show and I was lucky enough to have scored one of them. With an extremely limited production run of just 1500 boxes each of 4 sizes, expect BIG things from this cigar which will come packaged in individually numbered, velvet lined boxes.

Pirate’s Gold
Back by popular demand and packaged in 25 count chests reminiscent of treasure chests (who’d have guessed?!?) these beauties are now in full production under the watchful eye of master blender Rolando Reyes, Jr. If you were a fan of the blend we did a blowout on a few months back, you’re gonna love this one!

Helix
This year UST has decided to “unfurrow” the brows of those who have questioned why the company would produce some sizes in Maduro but not in Natural and vice versa by adding the Super 8 Natural to their lineup as well as the XP (Torpedo) Natural making all sizes available in both wrappers. In addition, some tubo sizes have been added for enthusiasts who are always “on the go”.

Kiki Berger
One of our final stops at this year’s big dance was Kiki Berger’s booth. As many of you know, Kiki has been incredibly busy with his increasingly popular new blends including JL Salazar. But, the most interesting cigar of his in still on the drawing boards, and unfortunately couldn’t be featured this year. Keep a close eye out for an extension to 5 Vegas – a re-release of the highly acclaimed 5 Vegas Vintage. If it’s anything like the original, it’s gonna be an instant hit. We’re excited, and you should be, too!

Graycliff
Graycliff's exciting new Espresso line is sure to stir things up a bit. Featuring super dark wrappers, this is no beginner's cigar. Quoted as being 4 times stronger than the sun-grown Crystal (White Label), the Espresso will knock your socks off. Oh, an extremely limited number of these fine cigars will be beautifully packaged in rare, crocodile skin humidor boxes. Also, a new petite corona size, the Taco, has been added to the Original (Red Label) and Crystal blends. In addition to the Graycliff expansion, the new Bahiba line offers an exquisite smoke for a little less dollar. Keep your eyes peeled for this exciting new cigar!

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