In just a matter of hours, another IPCPR Convention & Trade Show will come to a close. The floor was open from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., and when that final announcement is made that the show floor is closed, the forklifts start rolling in, the boxes get packed, the carpet comes up and people start heading for the airport. One of the most common questions that I get asked on the floor revolves around what I’m hearing buzz about, and all too often my response has been lacking. The simple answer is that nothing has really captured my attention. Sure, there are some projects I find incredibly interesting; the return of Steve Saka and Nicholas Melillo, Pete Johnson’s collaboration with Altadis on the Henry Clay Tattoo, the Padrón Dámaso, and a handful more. But I haven’t had the opportunity to smoke a number of the new releases, which leaves me searching for a response. As I rack my brain for cigars to recommend—and this is after three days of criss-crossing the show floor–there’s one thing that really disappoints me about a number of new releases, and that it has become that much more apparent that the 6 x 52 (or ...
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