Cigar News: El Artista Announces Buffalo TEN Natural and Other Line Extensions

Tabacalera El Artista has announced two new line extensions for existing brands and one new rebrand. Fugly Cheroots and Buffalo TEN each are each getting line extensions and the eight-year-old Puro Ambar is getting a new look and blend.

The new Buffalo TEN Natural features El Artista's own Ecuadorian-grown Habano wrapper, Indonesian Sumatra binder, and a proprietary blend of Nicaraguan, Dominican, and USA filler tobaccos. Like the original maduro version, it comes in a single size of 6 x 50 Soft-Box-Pressed Toro in 5-Packs that sell for $22.50 SRP or as a Single in a 40-CT Tray for $5.00 SRP. These are available in North American, European, and South American retailers now.

Says Ram Rodriguez, President of El Artista Cigars: “The outstanding sales performance and consumer response of the original Buffalo TEN Maduro meant we had to do a strong follow up. The process was complicated because we wanted a cigar that felt like a Buffalo TEN but was a new smoking experience and not just a clone in a different wrapper.”

“Buffalo TEN is a study in the strengths of the Factory,” Says Kevin Newman, “El Artista produces great quality cigars at a very good price, and the B10 follow-up project needed to live up to that brand promise.”

The new Puro Ambar features El Artista's own premium Habano wrapper with a proprietary blend of Artista-grown Criollo tobaccos and Dominican Olor leaf. The band and box will also have a redesigned look for a retro-modern style. Puro Ambar comes in three sizes: Corona ($6.00 SRP), Robusto ($6.80 SRP), and Toro ($7.00 SRP). Each comes in a white 20-count box with gold and bronze accents. That also is on sale now.

According to Ram Rodriguez, President of El Artista Cigars: “Puro Ambar has been part of our original line-up since 2011, however recently we have had a difficult time getting the original materials. So, we had to make a decision about the future of the brand.”

States Kevin Newman head of Marketing & Sales at El Artista Cigars: “Early in 2020 we asked our Sales staff about the brand and we were surprised when our all-female sales staff pointed out many female shop owners as well as female cigar consumers are the primary purchasers of Puro Ambar. After some careful consideration we discovered the majority of the brand's smokers were in fact women. We began a research project to identify flavor profiles, cigar shapes, and packaging that appeal to today's female smokers. What we settled on is a medium-bodied blend with a sweet, smooth, and clean finish with hints of exotic spice and nuances of charred oak.”

The new Fugly Claro stays true to the Fugly concept of the freehand cowboy-style cigar and features El Artista's own Dominican Corojo Claro wrapper, no binder, and a combination of strong long-leaf ligero tobaccos from the USA and Dominican Republic. Each sells for $3.00 MSRP and comes in a 100-CT chest style rough-hewn box. Fugly is freehand rolled and it ranges form 37-40 ring gauge and are generally 5” long. Available to US retailers now

“The break-out success of Fugly Cheroots caught everyone by surprise in 2019 when the brand exceeded sales forecasts and 2020 same-store sales were utterly impressive. We had no clue this strong and frankly ugly hand-rolled cheroot would take the US by storm, but here we are!” Says Kevin Newman. “For the follow-up Fugly we wanted to keep the cowboy-style theme but offer it in a whole new way.”