This past Friday I had a chance to do something I had never done before: I went to a cigar and pipe trade show, the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association. When I signed up for the event a few months ago, I thought I was going to a cigar seminar. I wanted to be more knowledgeable talking to people about cigars. What I signed up for turned out to be the largest cigar and pipe smoke-out, held at the enormous Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

 
 So I and a dozen other ABC personnel spent the day walking around a few hundred thousand square feet of smoke filled convention center. We had an opportunity to speak to some of the top cigar producing companies and most influential men and women in the business. One of those people is Jack Torano of the Torano Family Cigar Company, whose fine cigars we are fortunate to sell. Three generations of the Torano family has been producing some of the finest Cuban seed, Dominican Republic cigars in the world.

What I also found out is that ABC Fine Wine & Spirits is one of the largest premium cigar retailers in the country. As we walked up and down the aisles of this huge building, time after time we were approached and courted by manufacturers of everything from lighters, cigar cutters, matches, humidors and just about anything you can think of that has to do with the cigar business. It was really a great educational experience that has certainly expanded my knowledge of the cigar trade. I look forward to sharing this newfound knowledge with some of our cigar customers.

Ken Amendola, North Florida Wine Supervisor

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