New cigars and A Great Party by Frank Seltzer
SLR Gen2
Last week I mentioned the new Saint Luis Rey Gen 2…shortly after we put up the post in came the official announcement. The SLR brand according to research conducted this year is one of the top 15 brands in the US. It has been in the market since 1982, though the original Cuban version was developed right after World War Two and was named after the town where it was rolled…San Luis in the Vuelta Abajo region of Cuba.
The idea behind the SLR Gen 2 is to update the brand and bring it more in line with today’s tastes. Altadis USA is using three year aged tobaccos for the fuller bodied smoke. The wrapper is a dark Ecuadoran Sumatra over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. The Gen 2 will come in three sizes—a Robusto at 54 x 4.5”, a Toro measuring 54 x 6” and the Titan weighing in at 60 x 6”. They come in a 21 count box and are priced from $5.75 to $6.75. Even the design of the box shows an updated image. According to the release:
Gen² is not just a new version of a classic. It is much more. It is the heritages of many generations of know how. It is the expression of wisdom and passion from some of the most expert craftsmen in the world as they bring forth a most sublime smoking experience. From our recent consumer research, we know that US Consumers are always looking to try something new; this was one of the aims of the launch – to offer something new, compelling and punchy to these targeted profile.
The Gen2 will be available any day now…..you know where. Pre-order yours now!
Happy Anniversary Pete and Pepin
Calm before the storm
I am writing this blog while looking at the ocean in lovely Fort Lauderdale (there were gunshots earlier but that is another story and it involves JLo). I came down for the weekend to talk with Altadis about what all is going on there (and we spent a great afternoon talking. Look for the details coming up in the catalog.) But the other reason for the trip down to Florida was to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tatuaje and My Father Cigars.
Don Pepin Garcia
It was in 2003 when Pete Johnson thought about making his own cigar which became Tatuaje and he met a little known roller and blender named Jose Pepin Garcia who , at the time, was working for Tropical Tobacco. Sitting in the Grand Havana Room in Beverly Hills, where Pete then worked, and using a bartender as a translator Pepin gave Johnson some samples. But Pete was not impressed. He gave Pepin a Cuban and said he wanted something like that. Pepin went oh, that is easy…having been a top roller in Cuba for all his life before coming to the US. He rolled a new cigar on the spot, Pete smoked it and viola…two companies were born.
The Garcias and Pete Johnson are definitely intertwined. Not only do they make Pete’s brown label cigars at the factory in Miami, they also produce every other cigar he has in their Nicaraguan facilities. Last year at the trade show, Johnson unveiled his latest company made up of Sean Johnson (no relation), K.C. Johnson—Pete’s brother– and long time friend and cigar fiend, Dan Welsh, L’Atelier—again made at the My Father factory in Esteli. In just ten years, Pepin and his family have grown into a force in the cigar community. Not only does he make Tatuaje, and his own blends, but he also makes cigars for Ashton, namely the La Aroma de Cuba which is a great priced cigar, and the ever tasty San Cristobal.
Pepin also scored the cigar of the year from Cigar Aficionado with the Flor del las Antillas Also last year, Pete worked with Pepin’s daughter Janny to come up with her cigar, La Dueña.
Janny & Pete
At this weekend’s party the My Father Miami Factory warehouse was transformed into a fabulous venue where, about 250 friends and customers –including the Levin family of Ashton—toasted the family’s success. National sales manager Jose Ortega gave the night’s only speech talking about how Pete and Pepin met and how both companies grew. Most of the evening was spent with drinking, food and lots of music. You would have never known this was taking place in a warehouse rather than some special Miami club.
For the 10th anniversary, My Father is re-releasing a popular brand called Centurion. According to Janny:
“The Centurion is going to come in 5 sizes and will be a regular production it won’t be like the Centurion we did 6 years ago in the one size. Everybody has been asking for Centurion and it will be a little bit different than the original because Jaime has been playing a little bit with the blend and because the tobacco has aged. He changed the wrapper to a Criollo and everyone has loved it.”
Flor de Las Antilas & Centurion
While the Centurion was handed out at the party and again it got rave reviews, the actual release of the cigar into stores may take a bit longer. Earlier this year, the factory was slammed because of the demand for Flor de las Antillias after the CA mag and rating came out. They caught up to that demand but it slowed the production of the Centurion.
The Garcias have a few other things planned for this year which will be released at the trade show in July.
The party went on until the very wee hours of the morning..I left by midnight but the next morning I saw many who left the factory after 3 and some intrepid souls even went over to South Beach to continue the celebration. Again Congratulations to the Garcias and Pete Johnson.
