Cigar News: Michael Herklots and Nat Sherman Brands Return

Michael Herklots, former Vice President of Nat Sherman, is teaming up with Brendon Scott, former Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Nat Sherman, to launch a new company Ferio Tego, LLC. This new company has prurchased the brands from Altria the owner of the Nat Sherman brand and will bring back the brands of the now defunct Nat Sherman company to market. The lines will no longer have the Nat Sherman name, they will simply be called Timeless, Metropolitan, Epoca, Host, etc.

“Having spent the last nine years developing and building these iconic brands, I am excited to be able to continue that work with Brendon.” says Michael Herklots. “I'm proud of the way we were able to balance the need to maintain consistency with core products, while continuing to innovate with new offerings. Ferio Tego will continue that commitment far into the future.”

Herklots had been with Nat Sherman brand since 2011. The company itself has been around since 1930 and was family run until 2017 when they were purchased by Altria, the cigarette company that owns Marlboro. In 2019 Altria announced that they were looking to sell the Nat Sherman brand and after that was unsuccessful and the hit of COVID-19, closed the company in 2020. As soon as the company shut its doors in August, Herklots and Scott began working to preserve the brand.

“We are grateful to Altria for working with us to find a path forward for these brands. I am extremely excited to work with Michael and our manufacturing partners to continue the legacy of these brands built by so many people over many decades. We are eager to bring our products back into the humidors of retailers and consumers.” said Brendon Scott.

Unfortunately Ferio Tego did not purchase the famous Nat Sherman Townhouse in Manhattan. The new company will be releasing a new line simply called Ferio Tego this spring. The company is in negotiations on where it will be produced. The legacy Nat Sherman brands will be re-released this summer if all goes according to plan with Timeless and Metropolitan being first. All the blends and production of the cigars will remain the same, although there will now be a secondary band that says “Made Exclusively for Ferio Tego.”

“Michael and Brendon have made valuable contributions to Altria since joining in 2017. They are great brand stewards, and we wish them well in their journey,” said Jessica Pierucki, Managing Director, Altria Group Distribution Company and former General Manager, Nat Sherman International.

The name Ferio Tego comes from the Herklots family crest that goes back to 1641 and that coat of arms will be used in company's logo. It loosely translates to strike and defend. Ferio Tego also purchased Nat Sherman's pipe brands, but that will wait until sometime in the future to see a re-launch as the priority now is cigars.