Quesada Cigars marks its 50th anniversary with a special limited-edition cigar, reflecting on five decades of excellence in the cigar industry. This commemorative offering will be unveiled at the Procigar Festival in the Dominican Republic, with a subsequent showcase at PCA 2024 in Las Vegas.
The Quesada family, now in its fifth generation of operation, has consistently maintained high standards in cigar blending and manufacturing. The anniversary cigar, available in Toro Prensado and Perfecto vitolas, embodies the rich legacy of Quesada Cigars, featuring a blend of tobaccos from four different countries.
This milestone is celebrated with 2,200 boxes of Toro Prensado and 200 boxes of Perfecto, alongside two special humidors created for the occasion, one of which will be auctioned at the Procigar Festival.
Plasencia Cigars, with its rich history dating back to 1865, is set to release “The Year of the Dragon” limited edition cigar, marking its fourth annual tribute to the Chinese New Year. This edition consists of a Torpedo 6 ½ x 54 Vitola, with 3,000 boxes produced globally.
The launch coincides with the Chinese New Year on February 10, 2024, celebrating the dragon—a symbol of good luck, honor, strength, and health in Chinese culture. This medium-bodied puro, crafted exclusively with Nicaraguan tobaccos from Plasencia’s farms, embodies the dragon’s esteemed qualities through its robust, smooth, and refined blend, offering peppery and earthy notes.
CEO Nestor Andres Plasencia highlights the dragon’s representation of the family’s pursuit of excellence. Priced at $45 per cigar, the boxes contain ten cigars each.
Quality Importers Trading Company has announced the launch of the Palió Veneto Quadruple Jet-Flame Desktop Lighter, set to enhance the cigar smoking experience with its unique design and functionality.
The Palió Veneto features an elongated diamond flame, textured body, and is available in multiple colors with gunmetal accents. Its ergonomic design includes a high-capacity fuel tank capable of lighting up to 150 large-ring cigars.
Additionally, the lighter offers a personalization option through the Swag Bunker customization program. Set for distribution in July 2024, each lighter comes in a 15-count display at a wholesale price of $225, with an MSRP of $29.99 per unit.
United Cigars has unveiled the Aganorsa Lunatic Firecracker as this year’s annual July Firecracker. Announced on The Cigar Authority podcast, the Lunatic Firecracker is a limited edition, 3 1⁄2 x 50 cigar, produced at the Aganorsa Factory in Nicaragua.
Oliver Nivaud, Director of Operations for United Cigars, highlighted the collaboration between United Cigars and Aganorsa Leaf in creating the Lunatic Firecracker. This release is aligned with the celebration of the Fourth of July.
The Lunatic Firecracker features a blend using Aganorsa Leaf’s Shade Grown Corojo Maduro wrapper, encompassing Corojo 99 and Criollo 98 tobaccos from Jalapa and Esteli. The 20-count boxes of these cigars are designed to offer a distinct smoking experience.
Terence Reilly, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Aganorsa Leaf, mentioned the Lunatic Firecracker as a testament to the artistry and commitment of both United Cigars and Aganorsa Leaf. He emphasized the uniqueness of the blend and the smoking experience it offers.
The 2024 Limited Edition Lunatic Firecracker is scheduled to be available in retail outlets in June, ahead of the 4th of July celebrations. With an MSRP of $150 per box, the availability of this edition is limited, offering cigar enthusiasts a unique smoking experience for the holiday.
JRE Tobacco Co. is set to release the Aladino Candela Toro at TPE 2024, following the debut of the Aladino Candela Robusto last year. The Aladino Candela Toro is a 6 x 50 toro, made entirely of Honduran tobacco, featuring a corojo-seed green candela wrapper. The pricing is set at $10.50 per cigar, with a limited production of 1,200 boxes, each containing 20 cigars. Shipments are expected to begin in February.
The candela wrapper is known for its distinctive green color, which varies in intensity. This coloration is achieved through a specific process rather than being a tobacco varietal like criollo or habano. The process involves heating the tobacco leaves in a specialized barn at higher temperatures compared to other tobaccos. This method aims to quickly remove moisture while retaining the leaf’s green color due to the preservation of chlorophyll, a contrast to the slower processes that yield the typical light tan to dark brown colors of most premium cigar leaves.
Vivi Eiroa from JRE Tobacco Co. mentioned last year the company’s intention to promote the candela wrapper in honor of Julio Eiroa, a significant candela grower in the 80s and 90s. During that period, candela was a dominant wrapper in the cigar industry, though it has since become less common in the U.S., now often seen as a novelty.
Candela wrappers offer a significant advantage in terms of production time. The heating process for creating candela tobacco takes less than a week, and the tobacco requires less processing when it arrives at factories.
Currently, JRE Tobacco Co. has not made the Aladino Candela a regular production line. Like the Toro, the Candela Robusto was a limited edition. Additionally, in November, the Aladino Candela Queen’s Perfecto was released as the second vitola for the blend, available exclusively at Smokingpipes.com.
TPE 2024, where the Aladino Candela Toro will be featured, is an important event in the tobacco products industry, showcasing new and innovative products.
