Starting All Over Again by Frank Seltzer
This Sunday is Father’s Day. It is a nice time to recall what the father and son team of Julio and Christian Eiroa have done. Julio, a tobacco farmer, created Caribe Cigars which made Baccarat, Baccarat- Repeater and La Fontana—named after legendary salesman Sal Fontana. Nice mild blends that sell very well. His son Christian joined the company in 1995. By 2000, Christian came up with his own blend that would remake the company and the cigar industry, the Camacho Corojo—the first of the bold cigars. He added to the Camacho line with the Diploma series, which was even stronger. That was followed by the Triple Maduro and finally the Connecticut. Along the way Caribe became Camacho Cigars.
Christian Eiroa
When last we talked with Christian Eiroa, (last summer’s JR catalogue…what you didn’t see it? You don’t get the catalogue? Get it here.) he was working with Davidoff after having sold Camacho Cigar company in 2008. The Eiroas kept the farming operation which Julio still runs in Honduras.
At the time Christian told me about some of his plans. Now, I can tell you. Christian turns 40 on July 5th and to mark the occasion, most people would simply have a big party. Not Christian, he is starting a new company, or two. He wants to be able to create a new cigar line and distribution company, building it from the ground up and learning from the mistakes he made in the past.
The first company is Tabacaleras United or Unidas which will be a distribution company and should not be confused with GR Tabacaleras Unidas — an existing Miami and Honduras company owned by George Rico for distribution of his family’s Gran Habano cigars.
Christian’s distribution company will handle his new cigars which will be CLE Cigars for Christian Luis Eiroa. The first cigar will be the Cuarenta (or 40th in English). It come in four sizes, 5.5” x 46, 5“ x 50, his 11/18 shape and a 6” x 60. The cigars will use a Habano wrapper over Honduran fillers and binder. These will retail for between $5.50 to $6.95. The second cigar will be the CLE Corojo in the same four sizes and same price point. The cigars were made in the old Camacho factory the Eiroas once owned which now is the Davidoff factory in Danli, Honduras.
Christian also is partnering with several other people on cigars. One is Robert Caldwell who will be making the Wynwood cigar with Christian. Wynwood is a new trendy area of Miami with art galleries and is expected to become a new high end shopping area. Caldwell and Eiroa are planning to open a cigar factory in a building they have a few blocks from the main area once they can get visas for rollers. They hope to be up and running in late July. The Wynwood cigars will come in 4 sizes, will be made at the Miami factory and will retail for $7 to $9.
The third brand Christian is partnering in and will distribute will be Asylum Cigars. Tom Lazuka and Kevin Baxter co-own the brand with Christian. Asylum is going to be a Nicaraguan cigar coming in four sizes ranging from a 4″ x 44 to a 6″ x 60. Prices will be $4.40 – $6.60. According to Lazuka, the Asylum will be a medium to full-bodied cigar with full flavor. He says the company is also coming out with Asylum 13 which will be a little bit stronger and come in three sizes a 5” x 50, 6” x 60 and a huge 7” x 70. They will come in 50 count boxes except for the 70 ring gauge which will come in a box of 30. Suggested retail is $5, $6, $7.
What about mom?
Well grandmom really. Goldie Drell Paley was the wife of Samuel Paley who founded La Palina Cigars in 1896. Bill Paley—Samuel’s grandson and owner of the current iteration of La Palina — thought it was time for a cigar to celebrate women in that it would be made by, named for and designed by women. He tasked La Palina Vice President Courtney Smith, to develop the cigar. The result is debuting as the Goldie Laguito No. 2 –named for Bill Paley’s grandmother Goldie and for its size, the Laguito No. 2 in Cuba is a 38 x 6″ cigar.
The cigar is produced at the El Titan de Bronze factory in the Little Havana section of Miami. The cigar is being made under the supervision of Sandy Cobas, the owner of El Titan, and rolled by Maria Sierra—one of the first women trained in Cuba to roll cigars. Maria began her 32 year career at Cuba’s famed El Laguito factory in 1967 . She was trained by the legendary Avelino Lara—who developed the Cohiba brand. She has continued rolling cigars after leaving Cuba.
Do not expect a girlie blend though, as the cigar uses Medio Tiempo leaves that are the strongest on the plant. The Goldie is a limited release of 1,000 boxes.
They won’t give up
Even though we won the tax election in California (raising taxes on cigars by 73%) the other side is not giving up.
According to the LA Times, which actually editorialized for our side, the pro tax people are not conceding. Instead, they are hoping on absentee ballots changing the outcome. As of now we are still winning by 42,000 (down from 63, 000). But this is a good thing to remember….they cannot steal the election if it is NOT close.
