Well, we just wrapped up day two of the IPCPR Trade Show and what a day it was. Although we only met with four vendors, they were four very important ones.

We got started a little later on Monday morning, as our first meeting with J.C. Newman wasn’t until 10am. It’s a good thing that we had that extra hour because it was a late night for us; we spent much of the evening mingling and talking with all of our industry friends. I told someone last night that if a bomb had gone off at the Circle Bar in the Palazzo last night, the cigar industry here in the United States would have been in big trouble. There were so many cigar makers, cigar distributers and cigar sellers packed into that place it was impossible to look anywhere and not see a familiar face.

Sitting down with our partners and friends, the Newmans, was the perfect way to start the day. We shared some coffee, cigars and great sales numbers from the previous year. Look for a few new items from these guys really soon. While visiting with the Newmans I enjoyed a wonderful Fuente cigar and walked away with an Opus X for the road.

Our second stop was just a few feet away at the Padron booth. The thing that amazes me more about these folks, even more than their great cigars and subsequent cult following, is the fact that almost every employee at their company is a Padron. We have a lot of parallels between the two of us, considering that we are both family owned and operated companies. As we met and decided on some new Padron items, they graciously supplied us with a delicious Padron 1926 Maduro. If you have never smoked one of these and love full-bodied maduros, then you have to give this one a try. I can’t think of anyone that makes a better maduro than Padron in the industry. Expect a few new offerings from Padron in the near future.

Our third stop was to the cigar giant General Cigar. It is here where we picked up some great new lines. Of course, we grabbed this years’ version of the La Gloria Trunk Show and also grabbed a double wrapper stick from them as well. My friend and La Gloria Master Blender Yuri Guillen gave me his customary bear hug as I approached his booth yesterday. We also picked up some really unique items from Foundry’s Michael Giannini. I don’t know how he comes up with some of his blend and box design ideas, but I’m glad the industry has folks like him. Winning the unique tobacco award for new items has to be Rick Rodriguez at CAO. Rick has blended a cigar using tobacco from an Amazon Rain Forest in Brazil. The tobacco is so limited that they purchased it all to make this very limited run of cigars. This tobacco is so scarce that it takes them three years to produce enough to make these few boxes. Needless to say, it won’t be around long, so snatch em up while you can.

Our fourth and final visit was with the very colorful Jonathan Drew and his Drew Estate Cigars. I love these guys because they broke out some great bourbon and Scotch for our sales meeting. I am proud to announce that we finally will be carrying a Joya de Nicaragua cigar along with a few others from their Acid line. We also may have another surprise edition but I will have to keep that a secret for the time being. The only thing I can say at this point is that it is a very popular cigar and very hard to find.

Sometimes making buying decisions can be difficult. At Drew Estate, they have a unique way of loosening things up a bit.

We concluded our Monday with a dinner at Del Frisco Steak House with Bobby Newman, Dawson Newman and Harry Preston of JC Newman cigars. The food and cigars were outstanding, but both were overshadowed by the great time we had talking and “joking” about the business and various other topics.

Make sure to check in tomorrow when I bring you all the action from day three.

Long Ashes,

Chris Gwaltney, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits North Florida regional manager, Certified Tobacconist and Cicerone Beer Server

Follow me on Twitter @abccigarchris.