60
TOBACCO BUSINESS
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013
know that this legislation will protect their
small business, the jobs it provides, and the
premium cigar industry in their state.
Another important IPCPR issue is to help
establish state associations and councils—
currently there are 34, but the goal is for
all 50 states to be individually represented
by a premium tobacco/cigar group. Again,
membership attendees at the show were
encouraged to “join or help start one”and “take
the bull by the horns in keeping our industry
safe from over-regulation and extinction.”
A fun show session,whichwas limited to the
first 200 attendees, coupled bourbon tasting
and cigar pairing. The bourbon was provided
byTatoosh Craft Distillery and the cigars were
provided by J.C. Newman Cigar Company.
Other notable elements of fun and
indulgence could be found at show booths:
Vato Cigars lured show-goers into their
space with chocolate-covered bacon; Miami
Cigar offered out La Aurora Rum; General
Cigar’s booth featured a golf simulator and a
Lamborghini, and Fantasia Tobacco Hookah
Company brought a two-story booth with an
abundance of neon lights and leggy models.
Celebrities with cigar passion brought their
excitement to the show, too; for example,
renowned football coach Mike Ditka spoke at
a breakfast meeting and endorsed Davidoff ’s
Camacho brand while film star Armand
Assante partnered and appeared at the booth
with Victor Vitale on behalf of Legacy Brand’s
(by Victor Vitale) new Ora Vivo Armand
Assante cigar.
One retailer brought his pipe and cigar
passion to the IPCPR show for the 50th time
and hence qualified himself as a celebrity in his
own right—for David Berkebile, president of
Georgetown Tobacco in Washington, D.C.,
this year marked his 50th attendance at an
IPCPR show.
TB
Recovering from a back injury, Drew
Estate Founder Jonathan Drew and
his wife, Marielos Baltodano-Drew,
still had plenty to smile about.
Guests at the Toraño Family Cigar Company’s
nightclub party.
Bold cigars are “back with a vengeance,”
according to Davidoff’s Camacho brand.
Fort Worth retailers Scott Thompson
and John Ost made time to party
with drinks and stogies.
Retailers from Edward’s Pipe & Cigar Shop
in Colorado at the Venetian Hotel’s The
Opium Room, courtesy of Toraño Family
Cigar Company and Bacardi.
This cigar cake was in honor of Charlie
Toraño’s birthday, which happened to be
the very night of the Toraño event at Tao.
The J.C. Newman Cigar Company/A. Fuente Cigar Company
booth was set to resemble a typical street in Ybor City, the
historic cigar manufacture neighborhood in Tampa, FL.
Harry Preston and Shanda Lee of J.C.
Newman Cigar Company hosted a well-
attended booth.
Mid-Carolina Distributors’ Scott Whitaker
(left) and his uncle, Tobacco Road Outlet’s
Andy Whitaker came to the show looking for
value cigars in the $3 to $7 price range.
Julia Beacham and Paul
Hoge of Tobacco Outlet
Products hold up one of the
company’s newest candle
flavors: Hippie Love, report-
edly popular now with baby
boomers and the younger
generation alike.
Doug Grove, Yuan Ongpin and
Mark Ryan manned the D&R
Tobacco booth, located just inside
the front entrance of the show.
Film star and cigar aficionado Armand
Assante promoting the Ora Vivo Armand
Assante cigar at the Victor Vitale booth.
IPCPR Trade Show 2013
