Some society say change is a obedient thing while others are the exact opposite, they can’t handle it. Within the past yr, the cigar business has seen some serious changes, not from a tobacco and cigar perspective, but from a manufacturer business broadside of things. It started beside CAO and General self merged under the Swedish Match umbrella, followed by Sam Leccia leaving Oliva, the company that gave him his create. We next saw Willie Herrera, then the master blender and cigar maker for El Titan DE Bronze join forces with Jonathan Drew and business at Drew Estate. And most recently we byword Jose Blanco, the period face of La Aurora, retire from his position next to his former employer to eventually take a siamese position with Joya Delaware Nicaragua. All of this makes for whichever serious shake-ups within the cigar industry and leaves many people wondering wherever this all leads. Some of these changes have been in force for long enough for both retailer and user to see the changes begin, while others are still so fresh we have yet to decide for ourselves how great they could be.
Let’s start by looking at the merger of General Smoke and CAO. Many people saw this shift as the death of a smaller brand, CAO, because the 800lb gorilla would detonate it. Then far the opposite seems to be occurring, with General moving Rick Rodriguez from his previous rank working with La Gloria Cubana into a partnership beside Ed McKenna to oversee and market CAO. Cramp has been training for years under Benji Menendez, a master blender with great success and respect in this business. Rick took this opportunity on guide first and charged right into it, outset to blend a trial cigar for CAO almost immediately, and sounding to prove the naysayers wrong. In doing so, he created OSA, which stands for Olancho San Agustin, the locality all for which the wrapper leaf for this cigar is grown. While this goods is just hitting shelves within local B&M’s, it was met with early success and display At the annual tobacconist trade show, IPCPR, in July. Ed McKenna is the marketing man behind this latest product and has blocked to the edgier mode that CAO is known for. Using a white packet with lime greenish and black as the complementary colours, this cigar really stands out and catches ones eye. It isn’t a full material monster same a lot of product we seat hitting the souk these days as it stays stably in the moderate body range near a nice sharp flavor. As part of the launch of this service, Rick will glucinium traveling to B&M’s throughout the region on the CAO OSA Sol tour starting in September. Correct now dates for the episode are planned into November, with much dates to Be side as they come person. Be sure to canvas CAO’s website or with your local tobacconist to see when they’re upcoming to a town near you. Spasm is a really great smoke guy and this event is not one you want to miss. He will be here on Sat, November 12th for our CAO OSA Sol thing.
Moving forward, we judgment a change that hasn’t fully compete out, we’ve solely started to seat it begin. I am talking about Sam Leccia leaving his original “home”, Oliva Cigar Monoxide. Sam is credited next to the building of both the Cain and Nub lines and the thought behind Studio Tobac, the edgy design and innovation limb of Oliva Cigar Co. Unfortunately, this was not a pretty split and became quite the topic at the beginning of the summer within the tobacco world. Shortly aft leaving Oliva, Sam decided to motorboat his own marque of smoke, aptly titled Debut. We as tobacconists were to see and sample this smoke at the IPCPR in Las Vegas, however it was disclosed that Sam had a non-compete clause as part of his departure and Oliva stopped this from happening. We haven’t heard much out of Sam’s camp within recent months but Oliva continues on. Studio Tobac appointed Bryan Scholle the new ambassador for Cain and Bulge and has sent him on the road for the Studio Tobac Tour. They built a folklore Studio Tobac Corvette, packed his cigar rolling gear into the matched trailer, and sent Bryan down to surge cigars and eventually raffle off the ‘Vette. This tour included events that started on the East coast in February of 2011, devising its way towards the Westward coast, and ending in November in Florida. Even without Mr. Leccia, Studio Tobac has forged ahead and continues to create new product with Bryan at the controls steering the ship. What volition happen with Sam has yet to beryllium seen and unfortunately will end up being played out within court.
The next core movement we all saw created rather a splash. Willie Herrera, the cigar master and man behind El Titan Delaware Bronze left his former position to join the boys at Drew Estate. Willie had spent old age working on and creating this small store mix out of Miami that had quite the following astatine the time of his departure. This relocate is just part of Drew Estate’s effort to widen into the non-infused market for which they have become known through cigar lines such as Acid, Natural, and Tabak Especial. Willie will be creating blends in Player Estates factory located in Esteli, Nicaragua and will have access to many tobaccos for which he never has before. Steve Saka, the President of Drew Estate, has stated that Willie will spend the first year of his time working closely with his new teammates, working with new tobaccos, and eventually hitting the road to meet the people who will one day be smoky his creations. This has the makings of a great new relationship and should add nicely to the non-infused portfolio they currently mortal, including Liga Privada and the soon-to-be released Liga Undercrown. One thing is for sure, working for Drew Holding opens many doors for Willie and should allow him to really hit his pinnacle as a cigar blender and master.
The most recent change we have seen was the departure of Jose Blanco from La Sunrise S.A., a company which he was employed next to in some capacity for 29 years. Starting with Grupo Leon Jimenes as fragment of it’s brew and cigarette distributorship, Jose would eventually associate Guillermo Leon as bit of Metal Aurora’s tasting sheet because Guillermo recognized Jose’s passion and palette. Within 1999, Jose took the position of Income Director all for La Aurora, a title he held until his retirement in June of 2011. He did one last blending seminar for La Aurora at the IPCPR in Las Vegas and then left on a long leisure. Shortly after returning He made a trip to Nicaragua where he met with old friends such as Don Pepin Garcia, Jonathan Drew, and Dr. Alejandro Martinez Cuenca. During this trip, he accepted a position arsenic Senior Vice President of Joya de Nicaragua, responsible for humiliate and blend development and working with the user national. Inert gas relocated from the Domincan Republic to Nicaragua and has already begun blending and testing new cigars. Part of this major amend for Whiten also means working closely with Drew Estate as they are the U.S. distributor for JdN. Blanco made a name for himself in this business blending for the oldest cigar company in the Dominican and will keep on his legacy with the first smoke maker in Nicaragua, quite the accomplishment for a boy from the Bronx. Jose’s zeal for this business was apparent when he left La Aurora as he said himself he would be back after his vacation because cigars are “in his blood”.
All of these changes mean many things for the smoke industry. Some of these changes have already started to make waves and Be seen piece others are still in their babyhood. Patch some people just can’t accept change, this industry has been around for a long time and change has what’s kept it animate. Changes like we’ve talked about above keep the commerce on it’s toes by injecting bright and fresh planning to manufacturers we know and love. For a firm that is steeped in such routine and history, it is amazing what young blood can execute. Combining the radical ideas of people like Jonathan Drew with the traditional style of Willie Herrera or the historical perspective of both La Aurora and Joya de Nicaragua could mean great things for consumers. Only time will tell and that time can’t come soon enough.
Source: http://www.cigarking.com/changing-of-the-guard-recent-shifts-in-the-cigar-business/
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