Up In Smoke

Exclusive Cigar Releases at Christmas Party

Michael J. Gibbs — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:38:32 GMT

We'll be releasing some new cigars at the Spark of Love Toy Drive / Tobacco Barn Christmas party. James is here to break it all down to you:

That's right, we'll be making available these great LIMITED AVAILABILITY cigars only at the Christmas Party this Thursday, December 17th. You'll be able to choose from:

Padron Family Reserve No. 45 (Natural & Maduro). This Nicaraguan puro is made from tobaccos that have been aged at least a decade. The box-pressed "Little Hammer" is a strong cigar with the smoothness you associate with Padron cigars.
Benji Menendez Limited Edition Partagas (also known as the Benji Menendez Partagas master Series majestuoso). The production run on this fine cigar is limited to 5,000 boxes and we've got our hands on some. This bold blend is a reflection of his 57 years in the industry.
Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Edicion de Anniversario. This very rare cigar has been aged for 2 years under the supervision of the masters at Arturo Fuente. Using the same wrapper you'd find on an OpusX cigar and a fantastic blend of Dominican fillers it is no wonder that some of the initial releases of this cigar sold for $1000 for a sampler box of 30.
OpusX Lost City. The Barn is proud to announce the availability of this rare OpusX cigar which is a full-bodied smoke with lots of complexity. The tobaccos used in this cigar were planted during the off-season specifically for the Movie "The Lost City" starring Andy Garcia.
Arturo Fuente Anejo. This cigar is often called one of the rarest cigars in production today. With a dark maduro wrapper that has been aged in cognac barrels wrapped around Dominican binder and filler to create a most unique and pleasant taste.

Don't miss out on the party of the year, or worse yet, your chance at snapping up these great, limited edition cigars because when they are gone, we may never see their like again! So join us, December 17th at our Spark of Love Toy Drive for all the fun! And don't forget to bring a new, wrapped present worth $20 or more (or a $20 donation) for admittance to this great event.

Countdown to Spark of Love Toy Drive at Tobacco Barn

Michael J. Gibbs — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:22:15 GMT

If you haven't head about our Spark of Love Toy Drive/Christmas Party, I'll let Richard and Adam tell you a little bit about it.

Isn't that great? In addition to helping out those less fortunate during this holiday season, we'll be giving you in return a Rocky Patel cigar, hot dog (or chili dog) and a beer (or Mike's Hard Apple Cider or soda or coffee) when you attend the event.

But keep your eyes peeled on your inbox because every day between now and the party, we'll be announcing a special promotion that is only available to our faithful customers who watch these videos. We won't be advertising these specials anywhere else so please watch the video to learn how to save big on some great products from the Tobacco Barn.

If you have any comments about this event, please feel free to leave a comment below and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday, December 17th, 2009!

Stop The Insanity New York!

Michael J. Gibbs — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:06:42 GMT

From the No More Tobacco Taxes blog comes another rail against the hypocrisy and rampant smokerism that is being espoused by the New York City Council. And people say California is bad!

Stop The Insanity New York!

From the city that brought you the smoking ban in parks and other public places under the guise of protecting children from SEEING people smoking comes a new low in their erstwhile condemnation of the LEGAL smoking public.

In late October, the NYC City Council voted to ban sale of ALL flavored tobacco products (except of course menthol cigarettes). This ban would include flavored chewing tobacco and cigars! Mayor Bloomberg, who kicked off the city's crackdown on smoking in 2002, is expected to sign this bill into law soon.

The argument is that the FDA's recent legislation that prohibits the sale of flavored cigarettes (except menthol of course) doesn't go far enough to stop kids from being tempted to smoke. They are claiming that little cigars, cigars, snus and chewing tobacco are all "gateway drugs" that Big Tobacco is using to drive kids to smoke more cigarettes. Of course this is in direct contradiction to the fact that Big Tobacco doesn't produce any flavored smokes BESIDES menthol cigarettes and hasn't for years. Not coincidentally, this legislation purposefully excludes products flavored with "menthol, mint or clove tastes or aromas" from the ban; precisely the only flavored smoking products that Big Tobacco DOES produce.

Brooklyn Councilman Lewis Fidler is the sole voice of reason on this board. His nay vote was cast rightfully because the sale of tobacco products to minors is already illegal and these new laws will do NOTHING to stop that.

Amazingly enough, in this day and age when municipalities are cutting back on critical services like law enforcement, medical and educational services they have chosen a course of action that not only does NOTHING to stop kids from starting to smoke, it does so an estimated cost of $2 million per year in tax revenues that will be lost. How many cops can you add to the beat for $2 million per year?

Why not try increasing the tax on this class of product to price it out of the hands of teenagers? That is the stance that Councilman Fidler espouses as being a more attractive alternative.

More importantly, if you REALLY want to do something about keeping kids from starting smoking via flavored products, why not stop the hypocrisy initiated by the FDA legislation and ban the sale of menthol cigarettes instead of high end luxury products (like fine flavored cigars) enjoyed by consenting adults that are already priced out of the reach of most children?

STOP THE INSANITY NYC! Stop making the useless gestures that make for great sound bites ("It's for the kids") that in reality only go to further stigmatize and criminalize legal consumers of tobacco-based products. Shame on you!

Great Beers Announced for A Night Out 3!

Michael J. Gibbs — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:40:55 GMT

Tickets to "A Night Out 3" event are on sale now but availability to this special event is limited so get your tickets NOW before they are all gone.
This event will be held on the patio at Boosters Sports Grill in Mission Viejo, CA from 7pm until 10pm. For the minimal ticket price, not only will you get to mingle with other like-minded individuals, you'll get the following great items:

2 Don Pepin Cigars (chose from the Series JJ, Series JJ Maduro and the highly rated Blue Label)
Mad Mike Sausage or Burger, grilled to order
Live Music
1 Specialty Beer, wine or bottomless soda
The specialty beers to choose from include:
Wychwood Hobgoblin Ale - including free Hobgoblin glass
Fuller's Vintage Ale
or any of 9 other beers on tap at Boosters!

You can d/l a copy of this event in .ICS format for import into your calendars:

You can get directions to this event from Google or here is an interactive map for you driving pleasure:

View Larger Map

Fonseca Cigar Event Thursday October 15th

Michael J. Gibbs — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:48:43 GMT

Join us to Celebrate Fonseca Cigars Thursday, October 15th!

From 3 until 7 Thursday, October 15th we'll be exploring the joys of Fonseca cigars with all of our customers. All Fonseca cigars are hand-made under the strict supervision of master cigar blender Manuel Quesada to ensure superior quality in every cigar, and are blended from the choicest tobaccos grown in the Cibao valley. Fonseca cigars are available in an outstanding Connecticut shade or a Connecticut Maduro wrapper, and in different sizes to ensure a perfect smoke for every occassion.
We will be featuring a comprehensive lineup of cigars from Fonseca including:

Fonseca Maduros
Fonseca Naturals -
Fonseca Series F - The Fonseca Serie F is somewhat stronger than the regular Fonseca line. According to Manuel Quesada the 'F' stands for 'fuerte' which means 'strong' in Spanish. The majority of the flavor comes from the Dominican and Nicaraguan ligero, aged 'en tercio' (in palm bark). We offer the Fonseca Serie F in Robusto and Toro shapes.
Casa Magna - The Casa Magna line of cigars is the apotheosis of two of the greatest minds in the cigar industry. Manuel Quesada and Nestor Plascencia have created this cigar and the Robusto even got Cigar of the Year for 2008 from Cigar Aficionado. The Casa Magna Robusto was rated a 92 in Cigar Insider and Cigar Aficionado. This Nicaraguan puro is a medium-full bodied joy to smoke. Casa Magna is rolled in Nestor Plascencia's Segovia factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. The oily Colorado wrapper finishes off the Nicaraguan binder and filler exquisitely. Hints of cocoa, coffee, and sweet cedar are presented by this very smooth smoke. Available in Belicoso, Gran Toro, Robusto, and Torito sizes the Casa Magna is a must try cigar.
Cubano Limitado - The Fonseca Cubano Limitado is full flavored with blended Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos in the filler, and with a Honduran wrapper that is oily and a darker natural color than most are used to. We have the Fonseca Cubano Limitado in five sizes.

Join us for these great offers:

Buy 3 get 1 free
End of the evening raffle including cigars, Djeep Lighters and Fonseca goodies.

So don't be late as the cigar giveaways are while they last but plan on staying late to see if you can take home some cool stuff in our drawing!

Mark this event on your calendar and we'll see you then!

Cigar League Week 2 Brings Changes

Michael J. Gibbs — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:52:01 GMT

The Tobacco Barn Cigar League rolls into it’s second night tonight with some changes to the rules and an even bigger pot!

Since no one won the final-score prize last week, the prizes from last week have rolled over to this week. So, if you win tonight, you will win twice what you would have last week. And you have even more chances to win. How is that you ask?

Well, that is as the result of some rule changes we’ve made to the league. We are now offering a prize package based on the half-time score.

Another change we’ve made is in relation to when you can get your pick in. Previously, if you didn’t make it to the store by kickoff, you couldn’t play along on that night. Due to popular demand, we are now allowing latecomers to participate in the fun. If you show up and get your cigars purchased by half-time, you’ll be eligible for the final-score prize (but not the half-time)

So, stop by the Barn tonight (or any Monday night this season) between 4pm and game time (or now half-time) to play. We look forward to seeing you there!

Punch Cigar Event this Thursday

Michael J. Gibbs — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:53:15 GMT

Come join us on September 17th, from 3:00pm to 7:00pm, and enjoy some Punch cigars.

The original Punch cigar was created in 1840 by a Cuban cigar manufacturer named Manuel Lopez. Produced in Honduras for Villazon Company under the direction of a great Cuban cigar master, Frank Llaneza, Punch has been a leading premium brand ever since it was first imported from Honduras in 1969.

General Cigar Company is the largest manufacturer and marketer of premium, imported, hand-made or hand-rolled cigars. Their name goes hand in hand with names like Bolivar, Cohiba, Excalibur, Hoyo De Monterrey, La Gloria Cubana, Macanudo and Partagas.

Come join us for these great offers:

Buy 3 get 2 free (Punch Gran Puro Rancho and Punch Magnum)
Buy a box and get a pack of Punch cigars

So don't be late as the cigar giveaways are while they last but plan on staying late to see if you can take home some cool stuff in our drawing!

Mark this event on your calendar and we'll see you then!

Jobs Go Up In Smoke – Thanks SCHIPs

Michael J. Gibbs — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:47:48 GMT

CNN ran a nice article about the demise of Hav-A-Tampa cigar company that was killed as a result of SCHIPs and moved off-shore to Puerto Rico.

Ironically, children of the worker profiled in this story are now eligible for insurance under the program that put their father out of work in the first place.

You can read the full story here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/08/26/mainstreet.tampa.cigars.jobs/index.html#cnnSTCText

And if you know of any jobs to offer to these folks, you can check out the website at havatampaneedsjobs.com.

** Note that the embedded video has been removed since it was causing problems with page display. Please use the link at top to view this video. **

Note: Cross-posted to No More Tobacco Taxes blog.

Rocky Patel Event Pics

Michael J. Gibbs — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:03:41 GMT

As usual, the Rocky Patel event was a highlight of the cigar circuit this year. Great Friends, great cigars and more!

Join our member’s only club next time you are in the store so you too can learn about these great monthly events…

New York Smoker’s Stand Strong

Michael J. Gibbs — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:24:08 GMT

We recently received a copy of the following letter that NATO (National Association of Tobacco Outlets) has sent to New York City Council members about a proposed ban on flavored tobaccos. This is just another example of government trying to stamp out our fully-legal passion for the leaf under the guise of it being “for the children.” Don’t get me started on this justification… Anyway, please read this and pass along to any New Yorkers you know and have them speak up and stop the insanity!

July 24, 2009
Proposed Flavored Cigarette Ban Superceded by New FDA Law;
Extrapolations of Studies and State Laws Do Not Support Flavored Tobacco Ban
New York City Council Members
New York City Council
City Hall, Room 5
New York, NY 10007
Dear Council Member:
The National Association of Tobacco Outlets (“NATO”) strongly opposes Proposed Introduction No. 433A that seeks to ban the sale of flavored cigarettes, flavored cigars, flavored chewing tobacco and other flavored tobacco products. While you may already have an opinion about tobacco products, I urge you to read this letter to fully understand how studies and other state statutes have been extrapolated in an illogical manner in a vain attempt to support adoption of this ban on flavored tobacco products.
As a national trade association representing tobacco retailers throughout the country, NATO’s opposition to the proposed regulations is based on the recently enacted federal law banning the sale of flavored cigarettes and the overreaching extrapolations in a Report of the Human Services Division issued on May 21, 2009 by the Committee on Health. As a note of caution, please understand that if the New York City Council proceeds next week to approve Proposed Introduction No. 433-A, the objections cited below will set the stage for a justifiable legal challenge to the flavored tobacco product sales ban.
New FDA Regulations Banning Flavored Cigarettes Supersede New York City Proposal
On June 22, 2009, a bill was signed into law by President Obama authorizing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the manufacture, distribution and sale of tobacco products. Specifically, the new law bans the sale of flavored cigarettes nationwide (except menthol cigarettes) as of September 22, 2009 (see Section 907(a)(1) of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act enacted on June 22, 2009).
That is, the proposed ban on the sale of flavored cigarettes in the City of New York is already moot since the federal law will supercede any city or state regulation. In fact, the federal ban on flavored cigarettes is more stringent than the proposed ban for New York City making the need for a city regulation unnecessary.
Lack of Rational Basis for Flavored Ban on Other Tobacco Products May Compel Litigation
The recent Report of the Human Services Division issued by the Committee on Health purports to support passage of Proposed Introduction 433-A (copies of the applicable pages of the report accompany this letter). However, the report fails to establish a rational basis for prohibiting the sale of flavored cigars and other flavored tobacco products. In fact, the report undermines the truth by inaccurately citing studies and other state statutes to assert an unfounded claim that banning flavored cigars and other flavored tobacco products is necessary to prevent or reduce tobacco use by underage youth.
The report first cites an American Lung Association study from 2006 which claims that “teenagers ages 17 to 19 were more than three times more likely to smoke flavored cigarettes than smokers over the age of 25.” Then, in the next sentence, the report extrapolates the findings of this study to assert that “Thus, flavored tobacco is a serious public health issue because of its appeal to youth.” To claim that a study regarding flavored cigarette smoking rates results in all flavored tobacco being a serious health issue is an illogical and unsubstantiated extrapolation of the study’s findings and cannot support the underlying intent of the proposed regulation.
Next, the report refers to an investigation by Attorneys General from forty states that the marketing of flavored cigarettes may have been contrary to the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. Again, this investigation dealt with flavored cigarettes and does not lend any credence to the proposed New York City regulation to ban the sale of flavored cigars and other flavored tobacco products.
Regarding state laws, the report notes that Maine restricts the sale of flavored cigarettes and flavored cigars. What the report does not indicate is that the Maine statute allows the state attorney general to approve the continued sale of flavored cigarettes and flavored cigars if the products were on the market prior to January 1, 1985 and the flavors are not “likely to appeal to youth” (Maine Statutes, Chapter 262-A[5]). That is, Maine’s law should not be relied upon as a precedent to adopt a complete ban on flavored tobacco products.
Finally, the report states that “New Jersey bans the sale of certain flavored tobacco products with a characterizing flavor….” Here again, the author of the report confuses the issue by the use of the general phrase “certain flavored tobacco products” when in fact the New Jersey law only bans flavored cigarettes and components of a cigarette. (New Jersey Statutes, Chapter 91, C.2A:170-51.6).
In short, the report issued by the Committee on Health cannot and should not be relied upon from a legal or factual standpoint to support the passage of Proposed Introduction No. 433-A. All of the studies cited in the report are from anti-tobacco organizations or government health agencies that by any definition are not impartial or unbiased. To exacerbate this lack of scientific impartiality, the report takes far too many liberties with the factual basis of these studies and state laws to have any legal credibility. This lack of integrity found within the report will lay the groundwork for possible legal action to enjoin the administration and enforcement of the proposed regulation if it is passed into law.
For the New York City Council to adopt Proposed Introduction No. 433-A based in whole or in part on the extrapolations and inaccuracies in the Committee on Health report is an example of inappropriate public policymaking. While NATO and its members have always supported the goal of preventing underage youth tobacco use, the extraneous nature of the Committee on Health report calls into serious question whether the regulation is even necessary.
With the new FDA tobacco regulations banning flavored cigarettes across the country and the lack of credible empirical support for a ban on all other flavored tobacco products, I urge you to not proceed with a final vote on Proposed Introduction No. 433-A.
Sincerely yours,
Thomas A. Briant
Thomas A. Briant
NATO Executive Director and Legal Counsel
Copy To: Stephen Louis (New York City Council Legal Counsel)
Michael Cardozo (Corporate Counsel)