Literal Cigar Launch by Frank Seltzer
Mundial in Space
We told you about the new Alec Bradley Mundial launch coming up at the trade show, and when we said launch, little did we know brand owner Alan Rubin would literally launch the brand into space. This past weekend, a special box with a camera was tethered to a weather balloon and sent aloft. The cigars made it to 110,000 feet and then the balloon popped and the cigars went plummeting to earth. The attached parachute worked perfectly as did the built in GPS transponder and the Bradley folks were able to retrieve the cigars and had a great picture of them in space. No Photoshop here. Oh and the white between the cigars….ice crystals. Rubin joked, “This is one way to prevent beetles”. The Mundial will be limited to 3,000 boxes this year.
The other Bradley new product is the Raices Cubanas, named after the factory which makes many of the cigars for Alec Bradley and is a brand the factory actually owns. Alan developed it for the factory as a way of saying thanks to its owners the Endemaño family. It is a medium bodied cigar which uses a Honduran wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. It comes in four sizes and will retail between 9 and 10 dollars.
Focused Altadis
Altadis is not putting out a bunch of new brands, instead it is dislaying two new ones. Monte by Montecristo, is a new updated take on the classic Montecristo brand, much like Romeo was for Romeo y Julieta last year. The cigar is much fuller than the traditional Montecristo. It uses an Ecuador Habano wrapper over a double binder of Dominican Olor and vintage Nicaraguan tobacco with a blend of Dominican fillers. The company says this is a modern take on the Montecristo and yet at a price point where it is more affordable for smoking on a regular basis. It comes in three sizes, the Conde which is a corona size 48 x 5.5” with a pig tail will retail for $8.95, the Jocopo Number 2 is box pressed figurado at $9.25 and the Monte is the 6” x60 at $9.50.
The other new line is actually a resurrection of an old heritage brand the Juan Lopez. The company made the cigars for years, but about a couple of years ago, he line was dropped. Altadis USA took another look at the brand, and re-blended it and reinvigorated it, keeping the classic Cuban look but with a bit more flair. It keeps the heritage but it is totally new. The result is a Nicaraguan puro, made in Condega, Nicaragua with a rich bold flavor. A shade grown Nicaraguan wrapper and the fillers come from all three growing regions of Nicaragua. It will come in three sizes, 5” x 54, 6” x 54 and a 6” x 60 and will retail between $5 – $6.
Drew Estate
One of the big launches for Drew is the Kentucky Fire Cured My Uzi Weighs a Ton. It comes in three sizes the Chunky at 4” x 46 for $5.95, the Fat Molly at 5” x 56 for $7.95 and the Just a Friend 6” x 52 for $8.15. As for the regular MUWAT line there will be a new 7” x 70 addition to the line up for $11.40.
The Nica Rustica is the other new launch and is an homage to Esteli. Coming in one size of a 6” x 52 and will retail for $6.95. The Nica Rustica uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over tobaccos from Jalapa and Esteli. The emblem on the box is El Brujito, one of the oldest artifacts found in Central America where it was carved in stone near Esteli and has become a symbol for the city. It is said the picture is of a shaman, which were one of the earliest users of tobacco.
As for the future, WIllie Herrera is working on another new cigar, this time with a San Andres Maduro wrapper. The unnamed cigar most likely will come out next Spring.
Rocky Doesn’t Like Nimish
From Rocky Patel there are new lines starting with the Bold by his brother Nish. When Nish first made the Xen, he said he wanted to release a stronger cigar and this is it. Coming in 4 sizes, it will retail just under 9 to just under 10 dollars, the Bold will be shipping in October.
The RP Royale is medium bodied and comes in 4 sizes with a retail price of $8.95 to $11.60 for the Colossal which is 7” x 52. The RP Platinum is a little stronger running medium to full in three sizes costing between 10 and 11 dollars.
Rocky’s cousin, Nimish Desai is a terrific guy and he has blended another cigar. His first was Thunder and now he has come out with a smoke that is not quite as strong as the Thunder but still with strength yet rich and complex. But for some reason Rocky decided to call it the Nimmy-D. Nimish is not wild about the name. The cigar will come in three sizes and retail from $7.60 to $8.40.
Lots more to come tomorrow.
