Tobacco Business Magazine is excited to announce the 2020 nominees for the Tobacco Business Awards. These awards are designed to honor the best businesses, entrepreneurs, and products in various categories of the tobacco, vapor and alternative industries. The Tobacco Business Awards will be presented at an exclusive ceremony in Las Vegas on Jan. 30, 2020, during Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE).

“We are so excited to host the Tobacco Business Awards for the third year running. It’s a great opportunity to thank and give back those industry titans, innovators and visionaries who have contributed so much to our industry. This year, we changed things up on the voting process, giving total control to the our readers to choose the final nominees. The response was overwhelming and shows a true connect with the global brands and entrepreneurs who allow us to share their stories,” says Ben Stimpson, managing director of Tobacco Media Group (TMG), publisher of Tobacco Business Magazine.

2020 nominees were chosen through an open nomination period held from Oct. 7-20, 2019. Over 1.5K people nominated different premium cigars, accessories, mass-market products, retailers and entrepreneurs in the tobacco space with those receiving the most votes making it to the final round. All categories are open to voting with the exception of the Hugo Chairman Award which is chosen by the Tobacco Business Magazine staff and is awarded to a tobacco industry icon or titan who has had a great impact on the tobacco industry for much of their career.

Nominees for the 2020 Tobacco Business Awards are as follows:

 DOMINICAN CIGAR OF THE YEAR
Altadis U.S.A.– H. Upmann Hispanola by Jose Mendez
Arturo Fuente– Arturo Fuente Hemingway Untold Story
Davidoff Cigars– Winston Churchill The Late Hour
E.P. Carrillo– E.P. Carrillo Dusk
Kristoff– Kristoff Vengeance
La Flor Dominicana– Double Ligero Digger

NICARAGUAN CIGAR OF THE YEAR
Drew Estate–ACID 20
Gurkha Cigars–Gurkha Treinta
My Father Cigars–Don Pepin Garcia Original
Oliva Cigar Co.–Oliva Serie V Melanio
Perdomo Cigars– Perdomo Habano Bourbon-Aged Maduro
Plasencia Cigars–Alma del Fuego

HONDURAN CIGAR OF THE YEAR
Alec Bradley Cigars–Magic Toast
C.L.E. Cigar Company–Eiroa The First 20 years
Camacho Cigars–Camacho Nicaragua Barrel Aged Toro
General Cigar Company–Macanudo Inspirado Orange
JRE Tobacco–Aladino Corojo Reserva
Rocky Patel Premium Cigars–Rocky Patel The Edge

BOUTIQUE CIGAR OF THE YEAR
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust– Dunbarton Sobremesa Brûlée
Foundation Cigar Co.–The Tabernacle
Jas Sum Kral– JSK Nuggs
La Barba Cigars–Ricochet
Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Co– Super Fly
Room101–Doomsayer

MASS-MARKET PRODUCTS
Davidoff Cigars–Davidoff Mini Cigarillos Gold
John Middleton Co.–Black & Mild
Premier Manufacturing–Manitou Cigarettes
Swisher International–Swisher Sweets
Villiger Cigars North America–Villiger Export

ACCESSORY MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR
Boveda
Colibri
Kentucky Double
Les Fines Lames
S.T. Dupont
Xikar

TOBACCONIST OF THE YEAR
Anstead’s Tobacco Company (Fayetteville, NC)
Boss Cigars (Carrollton, GA)
Lord Puffer Cigars (Escondido, CA)
Queensbury Cigar & Pipe (Queensbury, NY)
Shore Thing Cigars (Watersound, FL)
Twins Smoke Shop (Londonderry, NH)

TOBACCO CHAIN OR FRANCHISE
Cigars International
Corona Cigar Company
Old Virginia Tobacco Company
Smoke Inn
Smoker Friendly
Tinder Box

ENTREPRENUER OF THE YEAR
Alan Rubin (Alec Bradley Cigars)
Dave Garafolo (Two Guys Smoke Shop)
Glen Case (Kristoff Cigars)
Matt Booth (Room101)
Pete Johnson (Tatuaje Cigars)
Robert Caldwell (Caldwell Cigar Co.)

WOMAN OF THE YEAR
Indiana Ortez (Agroindustrial Nicaragüense de Tabacos S.A (Agrotabacos))
Janine Perdomo (Perdomo Cigars)
Karen Berger (Don Kiki)
Lana Fraser (Davidoff of Geneva Americas)
Maya Selva (Maya Selva Cigars)
Nirka Reyes (De Los Reyes)

LEGACY AWARD
Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. (Arturo Fuente)
Don Pepin Garcia (My Father Cigars)
Rocky Patel (Rocky Patel Premium Cigars)
Nick Perdomo Jr. (Perdomo Cigars)
Manuel Quesada (Quesada Cigars)
Heinrich Villiger (Villiger Cigars)