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The Serino Cigar Company
(Booth 2748) announced that Wayfarer will be in full
production and distribution at this year’s IPCPR. The
blend has become known as Carson Serino’s “personal
cigar,” previously sold naked as “The Wayfarer” to select
retailers and handed out as an event exclusive. The blend
will initially be available in three vitolas and will later be
expanded to five. Two will be special releases.
Wayfarer is Carson Serino’s first journey into the cigar
industry after learning and growing with his family’s
business for the past 20 years. “I’m very thankful to
have grown up around this beautiful industry,” Serino
says. “I’ve met some great people over the years that
have shown me what it takes to produce an exceptional
blend. For my first cigar, I wanted to create something
timeless and classic, a cigar that can be enjoyed at any
hour of the day and one that is accessible to all palettes.
Medium-bodied, complex yet balanced, The Wayfarer
blend is the culmination of everything I have learned
from this industry—this is my journey.”
Serino’s isn’t the only journey Wayfarer represents.
It also embodies the traveling of traditions. This proj-
ect was created by Carson Serino and Luis Omar
González, son of famed Cuban master blender Omar
González-Alemán.
“For this project we wanted to create a traditional
Cuban styled cigar with new-era branding. We imple-
mented traditional Cuban rolling methods and used
original Cuban molds, including the very 109 mold that
has crafted some of Cuba’s most memorable cigars.”
The Wayfarer blend will be offered in the following
vitolas:
H
Wayfarer Corona Gorda w/ Cuban triple cap
(6x46), $7.70 MSRP (Boxes of 20, $154)
H
Wayfarer Robusto w/ Cuban Perilla cap
(5x52), $8.50 MSRP (Boxes of 20, $170)
H
Wayfarer “The 109” cap Toro
(6.25x50), $9.20 MSRP (Boxes of 20, $184)
H
Wayfarer Corona (51/8x44), $6.95 MSRP
(Boxes of 20, $139) ** Future Release
H
Wayfarer Dalia (6.75x43),
MSRP TBA ** Future Release
The Serino Royale line will also be showcased at this
year’s IPCPR show. The line is offered in four different
blends: Connecticut, Medio, Maduro and Maduro XX.
This blend is special due to its 5.5-year aged filler and
two-year post-roll aging process.
Ventura Cigar Company
(Booth 2144) will be featuring all of its cigar lines, with
an emphasis on the flagship brands PSyKo, SEVEN and
Archetype. It will also be showcasing its premium bundle
cigar, Slaughterhouse, said to be “crafted for premium
flavor at an attractive value price point.”
Last year, Ventura Cigar Company announced the
Case Study cigar project, and this year, it is rolling out
the first full production run of lines 1–5. The back story
on this project begins during a period from 1945 to
1966 when
Arts & Architecture
magazine commissioned
the rising stars of mid-century architecture to design
and build a series of inexpensive, efficient model homes
for the post-World War II generation. In total, 26
homes were built, mostly in the Greater Los Angeles
area, by renowned architects including Richard
Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig and
Eero Saarinen. These now-iconic homes were designed
with a minimalist, modern aesthetic and have been
prominently featured over the years in Hollywood
films, advertising campaigns and photo essays.
The Case Study cigar project fromVentura Cigar pays
homage to this triumph of modernist design. Numbered
from 1 through 26, each exclusive Case Study blend fea-
tures a range of vitolas that have been hand-blended by
some of the top Master Blenders in the business.
The company will also be introducing its Hugo Chair-
man series cigar, which was a partnership between Ventu-
ra Cigar and Rocky Patel, who blended this cigar in honor
of Hugh Cassar, Ventura’s chairman and the man who
started parent company Kretek, so many years ago. It’s an
iconic cigar that features a Mexican San Andres wrapper
and offers a medium-full smoking experience.
1
2
3
4
MoreStogie
QuickTakes:
Altadis U.S.A.
(Booth 2308)
and
Ortega Premium
Cigars
have become
the first premium
cigar brands to be
included in the FDA’s
grandfathered tobacco
product list.
Oettinger Davidoff
AG Davidoff of
Geneva USA
, (Booth
2008)
recently unveiled
the Avo Syncro South
America Ritmo cigars,
the third in the Avo
Sancro series and
the first to contain
tobacco from different
countries. It is available
in four sizes: Robusto,
Toro, Special Toro and
Torpedo Largo.
General Cigar
Company
(Booth
2630)
recently
introduced its new
Cohiba Blue cigar,
calling it “a value-
priced” and “more
affordable version” of
its Cohiba brand.
Gurkha Cigar
Group
(Booth 1115)
recently announced it
will acquire American
Caribbean Cigars
after partnering for
more than five years.
Gurkha CEO Kaizad
Hansotia said that
owning its own factory
“is a natural transition
and the next strategic
step in being able to
continue to satisfy the
needs of Gurkha
fans worldwide.”
ICPCR Preview
Continued