AJ, Swisher? and really hot smokes by Frank Seltzer
A.J Fernandez makes some great cigars. The San Lotano series…Connecticut, Habano, Maduro and the Oval ( which was named to the top 25 list of CA last year). They are adding another new limited line to the group with El Mayimbe. Mayimbe comes from the Taino Indians on Quisqueya Island (another name for Hispanola, ie. where the Dominican Republic is and it is a province in the eastern portion of the Dominican Republic) and loosely translated El Mayimbe means village chief. According to the company, in Latino culture Mayimbe is someone everyone loves to be around.
The cigar itself uses a select Pennsylvania broadleaf wrapper, over Fernandez’s Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan, Honduran Jamastran and special private filers. The cigar comes in four sizes in a 10 count boxes; robusto at 5” x 56, toro at 6” x56, Churchill at 7” x 56 and a torpedo at 6” x 56. These are pricey cigars with the suggested retail ranging from $14.20- $15.
Update
During the show, I told you about Tom Lazuka with Christian Eiroa adding a new size to his Schizo line. The 7” x 70. Well in the rush of the convention I forgot to say it is already here.
Big Dog
The potentially big dog at the trade show was a name most premium cigar folks are not used to. Swisher. The company, which makes a bundle off of its mass made Swisher Sweets, is jumping into the premium side with both feet. The company has hired Alex Goldman as its president and his family has a long history in the business and many connections. For the new project, Alex and Swisher reached out to well known manufacturers for their new cigars. Casino Gold HRS is being blended by both Nestor Plasencia , Sr. and Jr. and made in their Honduras factory. The cigar uses a Jalapa Habano Rosado wrapper over Cemeroon binder and Ometempe, Jamastran and Esteli fillers. It comes in 5 sizes, Ace 6.25” x 62, King, 7” x 54, Queen 5.75” x 52, Jack 6”x 44 and a Joker Belicoso at 5” x 52. The suggested retail ranges from $5.45 to $6.95.
The Kismet comes out of Augusto Reyes Corporacion de Cigar Export in Santiago. It is a true Dominican puro and uses a 2006 Dominican Corojo wrapper over Dominican binders and fillers. Again it comes in 5 sizes; Fate 6’ X 60, Destiny 7.25” x52, Luck 6” x 50, Fortune a 6.25 x 54 Belicoso and Chance 5.5” x 46. Being from the Dominican they are a bit more in price, ranging from $7.10 – $8.50.
Gold Strike is the company’s Nicaraguan made bundle which has an Indonesian Sumatra wrapper over an Indonesian Besuki binder and Nicaraguan fillers. There are two sizes, a 7 x48 Churchill and a 6.25” x 50 Toro with suggested prices of $6.99 and $6.75 respectively. They come in bundles of 15.
Maybe the most interesting outing from Royal Gold will be the Nirvana. It won’t be ready until October and it is being made at the Drew Estate factory. At the show there were no samples of this one. It uses a Cameroon wrapper over San Andres Negro binder with Nicaraguan filers from Jalapa and Esteli. Jonathan Drew and the Goldmans go way back so really it is no surprise that the two have gotten together again. Nirvana comes in 5 sizes— Silencio at 4” x 44 for $9.15, Corona Gorda at 6” x 46 for $9.65, Robusto at 5” x 52 for $10.35 and a Toro at 6” x 52 and a Torpedo at 6” x 54 both priced at $10.85.
When asking Alex Goldman about the challenges of making a premium product for Swisher, he said he thought it might be tough, considering their place in the machine made universe, but was surprised about how open the manufacturers were to him and the concepts. He also said having Swisher’s backing was amazing in that if he wants to do an event, he makes one call and it is all handled for him. Swisher has an event staff just to do that. It should be interesting.
Hot Smokes
If you are in Florida and someone has a great deal on cigars for you, it may be too good to be true. It seems several people broke into a cigar warehouse in South Florida and stole a quarter of a million dolars worth of cigars. The thieves, who were caught on tape, stole 700 cases of cigars from the warehouse. No word on WHICH cigars were taken.
