This year, Drew Estate announced ahead of time, everything new that they would be showing off at IPCPR. We will take you through each of them with pictures of how each was displayed at the show. Take a look at our 360 degree picture of their booth below.
The first to be announced was the Kentucky Fire Cured Swamp Thang and Swamp Rat. line extensions. Drew estate paired a sweet candela wrapper with the smoky & tasty Kentucky Fire Cured tobaccos, to make an an eerie mystery to be revealed for a unique and powerful experience.
The new sizes include the 6 x 52 Kentucky Fire Cured Swamp Thang Toro (MSRP $8.75), a 5 x 54 Kentucky Fire Cured Swamp Thang Robusto (MSRP $8.29), and a 6 x 46 Kentucky Fire Cured Swamp Rat (MSRP $7.50). The new sizes will be available in 10-ct green craft paper bundles similar to the current Kentucky Fire Cured lines, as a refill to the new display trays, which will only be available for retail use. You can read the full press release here.
They were also showing off packaging updates to ACID at the show to their ACID Kuba Kuba, ACID G-Fresh, and ACID Krush Classic Cigars. LOUNGE’N with ACID makes the best events even better, recently drawing in a big crowd at the Essence Festival in New Orleans in early July. Future dates are on the calendar for events in the Atlanta, Charlotte and Miami markets. You can read the full article here.
One of the more exciting things to come out of the show was the introduction of some Undercrown line extensions including the Undercrown Shade Flying Pig. They showed off the following Undercrown Lineup: Undercrown Shade Flying Pig, Undercrown Shade Tubos, Undercrown Shade Churchill, Undercrown Shade 10 Count Metal Tins, Undercrown Maduro Churchill, Undercrown Maduro Tubos, and Undercrown Maduro 10 Count Metal Tins line extensions. The Undercrown Maduro line will now include a Tubo (6 x 50, $10.25), a Churchill (7 x 48, $8.27), and an Undercrown Maduro 10 Count Tin (4 x 32, $18.00 per Tin). You can read the press release here.
Also among the changes revealed at the show were packaging updates to Tabak Especial. You can read the full article here.
The next line extension for them is an exciting one to the Herrera Esteli line. The new Herrera Estelí Miami debuts in a 5 ¾ x 48 corona vitola packaged in 10 count boxes with an MSRP of $130.00 per box. The blend features an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro Wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra Binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan Fillers. The unique attribute of the new release is that it is produced at El Titan de Bronze Factory on Calle Ocho in Little Havana, Miami, Florida. Check out the entire article here.
Drew Estate Distributes Joya de Nicaragua and Debonaire cigars. Joya was showing off new packing for its Cabinetta line as well as their new Joya Black, a follow-up to the well-received Joya Red launched in 2014. This new blend continues efforts from the Joya de Nicaragua factory to introduce contemporary, innovative products to the marketplace. The JOYA Red was a medium-bodied, full flavor smoke specially designed and blended for the modern smoker. The new Joya Black follows in these footsteps and takes the experience up a notch by incorporating a dark Mexican wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers. “This is Joya de Nicaragua‘s first cigar to feature a Mexican San Andres Negro wrapper. We have had these wrappers available for some time and we wanted to create a blend with rich Nicaraguan tobacco, yet without the overpowering strength. The result is a balanced, rich and pleasant smoking experience – the type of experience the new JOYA brand is known for as demonstrated by the release of Joya Red” said, Mario Perez, Factory Manager. You can read the full article here. Debonaire released a maduro version of their cigar.
Drew Estate also announced national distribution of the previously excisive line to Deadwood Tobacco, Three Yummy Bitches. Sweet Jane, Fat Bottom Betty, and Crazy Alice were shown in Drew Estate‘s booth. Deadwood’s Yummy Bitches are wrapped in a Maduro wrapper and are blended with aromatic and exotic tobaccos that bring out the natural sweetness of the cigars. Deadwood’s Yummy Bitches include Sweet Jane, Fat Bottom Betty and Crazy Alice. Sweet Jane is presented in a 5 x 46 vitola and packaged in a 24-count box and has an MSRP of $180.00. Fat Bottom Betty is presented in a 5 x 54 vitola, packaged in a 10-count box and has an MSRP of $91.00. Crazy Alice comes in a 4 ½ x 46 vitola, packaged in a 10-count box and has an MSRP of $77.50.
Perhaps the most exciting news to come out of IPCPR for Drew Estate was the announcement that they would be bringing back the flying pig format in their No. 9 and T-52 blends, as well another release of Velvet Rats to Drew Diplomat Retailers. The Flying Pig is one of the most sought-after sizes in the company’s portfolio presented in a 4 ½ x 60 parejo vitola and is a favorite amongst collectors. It is one of the most complicated vitolas to manufacture due to the unique size and signature pig-tail which requires specialized training of the buncheros and rollers at the factory level. Both the Liga Privada No. 9 Flying Pig and Liga Privada T52 Flying Pig will be packaged in 12 count boxes with production forecasted at 4,000 boxes of each making this the largest release of Flying Pigs in the company’s history. The Liga Privada No. 9 Flying Pig features a Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut Broadleaf Wrapper, a Plantation Grown Brazilian Mata Fina Binder, with filler from Honduras and Nicaragua. The Liga Privada T52 Flying Pig features a Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut & Cured Sun Grown Habano Wrapper, a Plantation Grown Brazilian Mata Fina Binder, with Filler from Honduras and Nicaragua.
The Liga Privada Unico Serie Velvet Rat measuring 6 1/2 x 46, features a Connecticut Broadleaf “High” Mediums Wrapper, Plantation Grown Brazilian Mata Fina Binder, and fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras. It is equally complicated to manufacture due to the signature fan tail at the head of the cigar. Check out the press release here.
Last but not least, they announced a collaboration with Caldwell Cigars called All Out Kings. The collaborative project was announced earlier this year at Cigar Federation’s Cigar Safari where Robert Caldwell, Founder of Caldwell Cigar Co., Jonathan Drew, Founder of Drew Estate, and Willy Herrera, Master Blender of Drew Estate, led the tours blending session where attendees collaborated together with Caldwell, Drew and Herrera to create blends and lay out the rules they couldn’t break.
All out Kings will be distributed in the United States by Caldwell Cigar Co. All out Kings debuts with Tobaccos from La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Esteli, Nicaragua including Connecticut Stalk Cut and Sun Cured Habano Wrapper, with Indonesia Sumatra Binder, and filler comprised of Jalapa Viso, Esteli Viso, Dominican C-98 Seco, and Connecticut Broadleaf Ligero. All out Kings will be released in four sizes: Smash (5 x 52), Gimme your Lunch Money (5 ¾ x 46), Foreverlast (6 ½ x 54), and The Fourth Pose (6 x 54). The project is packaged in 20 count boxes. Read the whole release here.