Drew Estate Appoints Grant Batson To Head Up Pipe Division
Miami, FL – Drew Estate announced today that they have hired renowned American pipe maker Grant Batson to head up their pipe division, which includes their Drew Estate Classics pipe tobacco line, along with their Drew Estate Pipe Collection by Tsuge. Drew Estate is also the exclusive North American distributor for Tsuge Pipes out of Japan.
Grant Batson has been a pipe enthusiast since 1994 and has been making handcrafted tobacco pipes out of his Nashville workshop since 2012. During this time, Grant has gathered an in-depth knowledge of the American pipe market. He has garnered respect from some of the top pipe makers in the world and will now bring his talents to Drew Estate.
When asked about his new role at Drew Estate, Batson said, “I’m humbled and excited to be a part of the Drew Estate team. I’m a huge fan of Drew Estate’s cigars and have been a Drew Estate smoker for many years, so I was naturally excited to hear they would be getting into pipe tobacco a few years ago. It’s hard to imagine that I’ll be part of the team now. I can’t wait to hit the road and meet some of the good folks out there and talk pipes.”
Drew Estate entered the pipe tobacco market in 2013 with the introduction of their Drew Estate Classics line of pipe tobaccos, featuring eight unique blends consisting of six aromatic blends along with an English blend (“Meat Pie”) and a Virginia pressed flake tobacco blend (“Gatsby Luxury Flake”).
In May of 2014, Drew Estate announced that they would become the exclusive distributor of Tsuge Pipe in the US and Canada. They followed this news up in July 2014 with the announcement of the “Drew Estate Pipe Collection by Tsuge”, a new line of Drew Estate-designed pipes made by Tsuge Pipe in Japan. Drew Estate announced at the same time that they would be distributing eight new Tsuge pipe tobacco blends, which include four aromatic blends named “The Four Seasons” and four traditional blends named “The God Series”. This release marked the first time the Tsuge brand would be featured on a pipe tobacco blend.
Drew Estate President Michael Cellucci, who had an integral role in leading the development of Drew Estate’s pipe division, had this to say about Grant Batson: “Grant is a very talented individual, with a background in marketing and sales. He is an incredibly skilled craftsman who knows the pipe market well, and his talents will be well received at Drew Estate. When I met Grant last year, I knew he’d be a good fit at Drew Estate, and I’m glad we had a chance to bring him on board.”
When asked about Grant, Jonathan Drew stated that, “If you look historically at the talent pool of Drew Estate, both in Central America and the USA, one shouldn’t be surprised to see the addition of Grant Batson to the team. It was time for DE to activate some Southern Blood to the diverse mix of current Dirty Rats.”
Grant Batson will appear at Drew Estate and Tsuge pipe events nationwide. Check the Drew Estate events page at http://drewestate.com/events to see when Grant will be visiting a store near you. Also, follow @grantbatson on social media to see his work and learn more about Grant.
About Drew Estate
Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”TM, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that have attracted new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Natural by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Nirvana, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, and Java by Drew Estate.