The Henry Clay brand might not be one of Altadis U.S.A.’s premier lines, but Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars has had an affinity for these oft-ignored cigars ever since he started smoking them. Now, the Altadis blending team known as the Grupo de Maestros has worked closely with Johnson and will be releasing a collaborative cigar dubbed the Henry Clay Tattoo.
Made in the Dominican Republic at the giant Tabacalera de Garcia factory, Henry Clay Tattoo is Johnson’s modern interpretation of the classic Henry Clay brand and is taking shape as a single-sized, 6 inch by 52 ring gauge cigar topped with a rustic pigtail cap.
“This project was in talks for over a year,” said Johnson to Cigar Aficionado. “We worked on the blend for several months, trying to find the right blend that not only moved Henry Clay forward but also kept the feel of what I grew up with and remember from my original days in the business in the early ’90s.”
Blended around a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper from a 2010 harvest, the Henry Clay Tattoo consists of a Dominican Piloto Cubano binder from 2010 and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua’s Ometepe region.
Limited to a 50,000 cigar production, Henry Clays will come in boxes of 20 in the original Henry Clay Brevas bundle-press style. They’re set to retail for around $9.00 each and will debut at the IPCPR trade show.
The box is decorated with an image of the original Cuban Henry Clay factory from the 1840s.
This would not be the first time that Altadis has turned over one of their brands to another company for a special collaboration. Henry Clay Tattoo comes on the heels of the Romeo by Romeo y Julieta Aging Room and Montecristo Espada. Some will remember back in 2006 when Michael Argenti’s defunct Cuban Imports had some creative control over the H. Upmann and Por Larrañaga brands.