M.A.’s Smoke House is offering a new collection of hand-selected boutique cigars.
“Boutique cigars are created by small companies that produce high quality, limited-run sticks in small batches,” says Buddy Williams, manager. “These small manufacturers use proprietary types of tobacco and raise the bar by creating unique flavors.”
Buddy and his team sampled a number of boutique cigar brands to assemble a collection of their favorite boutique sticks in the business.
“As they say, ‘It was a tough job, but someone had to do it,’” says Buddy. “We like the flavor profiles of these brands and think our customers will enjoy them too.”
If the boutique brands ‘stick’, then M.A.’s will offer them as part of their regular cigar collection.
Here’s a list of the boutique brands that have just arrived at M.A.’s as well as brief descriptions about the companies who make them:
Tatuaje: Based in Los Angeles, this boutique brand’s marketing tagline is, ‘Old World for a New Generation’. Owner Pete Johnson teamed with master blender Don ‘Pepin’ Garcia to create this line of cigars created from Nicaraguan Cuban-seed tobaccos and featuring either Ecuador Habano wrapper or Connecticut broadleaf wrappers.
Crown Heads: This Nashville-based company describes its JD Howard Reserve boutique blend as “Bold yet refined; with a flavor profile that is simple and yet complex. It meets your palate with a spicy pepper rush and leaves it with subtly sweet cocoa notes …. medium in body and full in taste.”
La Palina: Created in 1896, the La Palina cigar was retired when founder Samuel Paley closed his cigar company, ‘Congress Cigars’ in 1926. His grandson, William S. Paley, has revived the brand which is described as, “Smooth and well-rounded cigars of elegance and finesse. The draw is easy, the burn is even, and the construction is flawless.”
MBombay: This company was founded by a former IT professional whose passion for cigars led him to open a cigar store and create his own brand. MBombay’s focus is “To emulate the fabled cigar culture of Cuba.” They do that by using prime tobaccos, which are hand rolled in Costa Rica and wrapped in artfully designed bands.
HVC: Reinier Lorenzo founded the HVC Premium Cigar Company as a tribute to his hometown of Havana City. The company’s goal is “To keep the Cuban tradition of handmade cigars alive and well” – even though these cigars are U.S.-made. M.A.’s is carrying the ‘HVC Cerro’ which features Nicaraguan tobacco aged for three years; and the ‘HVC Edition Especial 2015’, featuring leaves from two specific Nicaraguan farms over a San Andres Maduro wrapper.
Leaf by Oscar: This unique-looking cigar was initially developed as a house cigar for a Pittsburg retailer named, ‘Island Jim’. After selling out of the first batch of 5,000 within a month of receiving them, the popularity of this stick led to other retailers calling Island Jim and placing orders. Thus, a star was born.
Our advice: hurry to your closest M.A.’s Smoke House location in Shreveport or Bossier City and pick a variety of these boutique cigars to sample. And let us know what you think about them. We hope to continue to carry the most popular sticks!