In its first year, Mayflower Cigars stormed the industry in ways experts had never seen before as Michael Knowles’ cigar endeavor proved not just to be a successful business venture, but a new movement of appreciation for premium cigars.  The success was never in doubt. Mayflower Cigars launched on November 9, 2023, and within the first 36 hours, it sold four months’ worth of inventory. But the movement of customers flocking to Mayflower’s site months later to purchase the cigars again proved that Knowles’ vitolas weren’t just popular — they had an enduring quality that left a mark on enthusiasts and first-timers alike.  In year one, Mayflower Cigars sold over 285,000 cigars, bringing in over $3.6 million in revenue. The sales weren’t only from its massive launch. Mayflower Cigars customers continued to buy Dawn and Dusk vitolas throughout the year, and the brand shows no signs of slowing down.  “I expected that the launch would be a success because I knew the product was excellent. However, the historic success of Mayflower surprised even me,” Knowles said. “But perhaps it should not have, as the entire Mayflower story has been nothing short of providential.” Mayflower Cigars are handmade in Esteli, Nicaragua, and created along with designers at Oliva Cigar Co. in a factory known for producing some of the highest quality cigars in the world. Oliva CEO Cory Bappert told The Daily Wire that the initial launch of Mayflower Cigars yielded stunning results.  “I’ve been in the business a long time. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. I’ve seen a lot of brands launched, and to see the first 24 hours from a year ago was insane,” Bappert said. “And Michael and everyone at The Daily Wire, I applaud them for what they did there. That’s nothing short of amazing.” The Oliva CEO added that Mayflower Cigars’ launch was “very unconventional,” adding that the brand “may have broken the mold with this one.”  Alex Svenson — the Procurement and Special Projects Chief at BrandShopper, an outdoor sports and cigars e-commerce platform — has been in the cigar business for over 20 years. He said that Knowles’ knowledge of cigars impressed him.  “Michael had a very intimate knowledge of the process of how cigars are made. He had a very specific idea of what he wanted,” Svenson said. “He’s got a great palette.”  “It became apparent really quickly when I met Michael that this dude really knows his stuff,” he added. Svenson said that Knowles has continued to take a hands-on role with Mayflower Cigars. “Almost to the point of being a pain in my ass,” he quipped.  Knowles said he’s “had this brand in the back of my mind for about 15 years.”  “I even pitched it to Daily Wire five or six years ago,” he added. “The best part, unusual in these types of things, is that the company came together precisely as I hoped it would. Everything from the branding to the distribution to, of course, the blends, have not only met but exceeded the wildest expectations I had for them. The whole process has been an absolute delight.” The brand’s top item was the 8-cigar assortment, which comes in a wooden Mayflower box and lets customers sample four Mayflower Dawn cigars and four Mayflower Dusk cigars. But all the Mayflower Cigars hype wasn’t just about the 8-cigar assortment. The company offers much more, such as the Mayflower XIKAR® Xi2 Cigar Cutter and a travel humidor to preserve Mayflower Cigars on the road. The brand also recently released the Mayflower Smoking Jacket, a custom velvet jacket designed and tailored in collaboration with Shepherd’s, a custom men’s suit company in Kansas City, Missouri, co-founded by Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker. Mayflower Cigars also has multiple new product announcements in store.  In just one year, Mayflower Cigars, under the direction of Michael Knowles, has lit the cigar industry on fire, and year two promises even more surprises. “We got a lot done in Mayflower’s first year: two blends, seven vitolas, a couple premium accessories, an avalanche of revenue, and a bespoke smoking jacket collaboration that sold out instantly,” said Knowles. “And even still, the best is yet to come.” 

Looking back on America’s history, Reagan was right.

65 identical tail numbers were identified at both the WEF and COP28

'You know so much better'

'Unworkable'

Could we be looking at a legacy recovery for FSU

Democrats have no ground to stand on

White Harris Supporter Facing Potential Hate Crime Charge After Punching Minority Trump Supporter

Late Friday, our friends at the Daily Wire uncovered a massive Biden-Harris administration scandal that blew away the liberal media’s claims that FEMA was fully in control of and taking care of communities affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Thanks to Leif Le Mahieu, we learned a FEMA supervisor instructed employees to avoid homes in Florida with Trump signs. Of course, this wasn’t of any interest to the flagship morning and evening newscasts of CBS (CBS Mornings and the CBS Evening News/CBS Weekend News) and NBC (Today and NBC Nightly News). On cable, CNN, Fox News, Newsmax, and NewsNation all numerous mentions throughout the weekend and into Monday. Le Matieu explained in his ground-breaking story that “a federal disaster relief official ordered workers to bypass the homes of Donald Trump’s supporters as they surveyed damage caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida, according to internal correspondence obtained by The Daily Wire and confirmed by multiple federal employees.” He added the supervisor in question, Marn’i Washington, “told workers in a message to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid” and sources said it added up to “at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags...from the end of October and into November[.]” Washington was fired with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell insisting this “reprehensible” action “departed from [FEMA’s] values” of “helping people before, during and after disasters, often sacrificing time with their own families[.]” Mahieu had the receipts, including multiple sources speaking out, pictures of homes skipped, and screenshots from the surveys FEMA workers were filling out of affected homes. But given this intrepid reporting came from a conservative website, ABC and PBS pretended this scandal suddenly appeared out of thin air or was something Criswell admitted to on her own. On Saturday, PBS News Weekend (the weekend version of News Hour), anchor John Yang gave it 20 seconds: The FEMA administrator said today she’s fired a worker for advising her survivor assistance team not to go to homes with signs supporting Donald Trump. This was in the aftermath of September’s Hurricane Helene. In a statement, Administrator Deanne Criswell said the former employee’s actions were “reprehensible” and vowed to take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again. ABC broke the “Big Three” network blackout a day later with a one-minute-39-second report on World News Tonight. Anchor Linsey Davis kept it vague: “FEMA is investigating a former employee for what it calls reprehensible actions. A supervisor was fired after telling her team that was helping hurricane victims not to go to homes with Trump signs.”     Correspondent Perry Russom kept it vague by claiming it’s unknown which state this official allegedly made this demand and what their name was (click “expand”): RUSSOM: Tonight, a federal investigation at FEMA, after the agency fired a supervisor for what's being called “a clear violation of FEMA's core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.” FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell says the unnamed supervisor ran a “Survivor Assistance Team” and told her workers not to go to homes with yard signs supporting President-Elect Donald Trump. CRISWELL [on 10/09/24]: I think we're going to have a lot of impacts and people that are going to need our help, sir. RUSSOM: Criswell is not naming the supervisor, nor saying when or where the incident happened, but Governor Ron DeSantis says it was in Florida, calling it “targeted discrimination.” Two major hurricanes hitting Florida this fall, including Hurricane Milton. The category three storm killing at least 16 people in Florida early last month.  Russom alluded to the blowback FEMA had received during this year’s hurricane season, whining Trump had questioned “FEMA's integrity” and Criswell had to spend time “denying Trump’s claim.” Ignoring this disconnect, Russom was already out of time, concluding with a tone of Criswell being in charge and nothing about anyone doing anything to investigate whether this was an isolated incident: “Criswell is calling the supervisor's actions reprehensible. She is also not saying whether or not the workers did what they were told to do and skip homes.” By Monday morning, the overnight CBS show CBS News Mornings had host Michael George deliver a 26-second brief, citing the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The flagship CBS Mornings had an allusion to this Monday, but buried it in the show’s “Eye Opener” (which we at NewsBusters leave out of time counts given its informal role as a highlight reel vs. actual news reporting). Worse yet, they used a single-sentence soundbite from ABC overnight anchor Andrew Dymburt on World News Now. To see the relevant transcripts from November 9-11, click here (for PBS), here (for ABC), and here (for CBS News Mornings).

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