A measure that would ban flavored cigarette wrappers passed the legislature this spring. It would make selling the wrappers a crime punishable by a fine of up to one thousand dollars. Various legislators say the wrappers appeal to kids and facilitate drug use. But at least one of the companies that makes them say the legislation was an effort from other firms to get rid of competition.
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“Then James opened Fogue & Bates, and I’ve been a regular ever since,” said Clark, a former owner of the Lincoln Plaza property on Cherry Street. “James set the mark here years ago.”
James George opened Fogue & Bates, which featured a well-appointed smoking lounge and an enormous selection of cigars, in 1996. Ream more »
Two federal bills aimed at stopping the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from regulating premium cigars like cigarettes are gaining support in Congress.
H.R. 1639 in the U.S. House of Representatives now has 190 co-sponsors — closing in on the 218 needed for a majority — and S. 1461 in the U.S. Ream more »
La Flor Dominicana is best known for ball-busting, full-bodied smokes like the Double Ligero, Airbender, and The Digger. Still, many of La Flor’s cigars don’t fit the big and bold type-casting, inlcluding the Premium line (La Flor’s first line) and the Cameroon Cabinet, the subject of this review. Ream more »
Bartow’s historic cigar factory cleared another hurdle toward restoration this week when the City Commission approved it for a brownfield designation.
The site at 235 N. Third Ave. qualifies as a result of environmental contamination inside the vacant factory by animals and pigeons, making it eligible for funding to mitigate that contamination.
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The building that used to house downtown nightclub 807 Fire and Ice will soon be a Cuban cigar bar.
Mandi Kaye, job coordinator with general contractors for the project Scenic City Enterprises, said Monday that the new business should be open within the next couple of months.
“We are gutting it out,” Kaye said. “[We will] make it all brick interior, make it look real nice, and then we’re going to start the Cuban cigar bar.” Ream more »
A new cigar bar and lounge is on its way to downtown Ferndale.
Ferndale City Council approved a liquor license on Monday night for Secret Bar and Bistro, which will open at 315-319 W. Nine Mile Road – including the former location of Le Soups.
Council members unanimously approved the license following a discussion about possible noise and second-hand smoke concerns. Ream more »
The moment that Mark Hazelwood walked through Augusta National Golf Club’s gates, he reached into his pocket and lit up a Fuente Opus X Lost City cigar – but felt a little out of place.
“Golf and cigars, they just blend,” said Hazelwood, a cigar aficionado of 30 years from Knoxville, Tenn. “It’s in the outside, the open air … but you don’t see as many of them anymore.” Ream more »
This week, the “Cheers, Westchase!” crew headed down Countryway Boulevard to check out C & G Cigar Lounge & Espresso Bar located in the Country Chase Plaza.
Given the location when selecting our pick of the week, there seemed to be no other choice — we went with Cigar City Brewery’s Maduro Brown Ale, an English-style brown ale, 5.5% alcohol by volume. Ream more »
It’s a quintessentially Cuban experience: capping off a meal with a snifter of rum and an aromatic cigar.
This Caribbean nation is renowned around the world for its pungent Cohibas, Montecristos and Romeo y Julietas, but on the island, stogie-lovers are increasingly being told to take it outside. A number of state-owned restaurants in Havana’s picturesque colonial quarter have quietly gone smoke-free indoors in recent weeks as authorities enforce a 2005 measure that has been almost universally flouted across the country. Ream more »