PRODUCT PROFILE
maY/JUNE
88
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
MAY/JUNE 2015
JM Tobacco’s Corojo Nicaraguan
JM Tobacco has introduced a Corojo wrapper to its value-priced JM’s Nicaraguan
100 percent tobacco, handmade premium cigar. “Our new line extension for the
JM’s Nicaraguan premium cigar is for heavy hitters who can handle a brawny
smoke,” says Anto Mahroukian, president of JM Tobacco. “The cigar features a
Corojo wrapper and is full-bodied. It is equally full-flavored thanks to its powerful
all-Nicaraguan filler.” The company has been a leader in premium and value-
priced cigars since 1996 and offers several top-quality cigars at affordable prices.
The JM’s Nicaraguan line appeared at last year’s IPCPR show. It is a handmade
Cuban sandwich, with an all-Nicaraguan filler and maduro-fermented Connecticut
broadleaf binder. This year, the Corojo wrapper takes its place alongside the
original Sumatra and Maduro frontmarks. The Corojo offers a robust break to the
original Nicaraguan’s creamy, mild-to-medium smoke.
The Corojo and Nicaraguan follow JM Tobacco’s focus on value, with an MSRP
of less than $5. Like all JM Tobacco offerings, the punch-cut Corojo comes in
eight traditional shapes from the 5.5x42 Corona to the 6.75x62 Gordo Grande.
The original Nicaraguan and Corojo are presented 50 cigars to a box, except
for the large-girth Gorditos, Gordos and Gordo Grandes—their boxes hold
24. Mahroukian explains, “All the box art, graphics and text [are] now unified
throughout our portfolio, varying only in their color combinations for easy
identification. The MSRPs for all JM’s lines are also identical. We’ve made it easy
for retailers and smokers to identify our
individual products.” JM Tobacco will
show the Corojo-wrapped Nicaraguan
at JM’s IPCPR booth (No. 12619), and
the cigars will be ready for shipping
immediately after the show. JM Tobacco,
888-377-2667,
jmtobacco.comNew Entry
for La Pluma
Manahawkin, New Jersey-based La
Pluma Cigars has launched Principia,
an exciting new cigar that will join the
company’s already successful releases,
Origin of Species and Rights of Man,
debuted in 2014. The Principia features a
medium- to full-bodied, full flavor blend
with chocolate and coffee notes, with a
San Andres wrapper and a Nicaraguan
binder and filler.
All three cigars were inspired by New
Jersey-based actor and entrepreneur
Jonathan Maccia’s love of science,
literature, film and art. Maccia worked
for many years at one of New York City’s
most highly regarded cigar shops and
went on to visit dozens of cigar shops
during his travels and studies as an actor.
The communal experience of smoking
cigars and trading stories with friends,
both new and old, sparked his desire to
create his own cigar brand in 2013.
“Our first and second cigar releases
are called Origin of Species (referencing
the book by Charles Darwin) and Rights
of Man (referencing the book by Thomas
Paine),” Maccia explains. “I’m enormously
inspired by those two books and men—
both in Charles Darwin’s writing on
evolution and Thomas Paine’s belief in
equal human rights for all.” La Pluma
Cigars,
laplumacigars.comIntroducing OCB Organic
Republic Tobacco, the nation’s largest RYO/MYO
distributor, has introduced OCB Organic Hemp
Cigarette Papers nationwide. The paper is chlorine-
free, 100 percent organic with 100 percent natural
Arabic gum. It is ultra-thin, giving smokers a slower
burning, full-bodied cigarette with minimal ash.
Packaging is printed with vegetable inks on recycled
cardboard. Available in 1.25, single wide and king size
slims, 24-leaf booklets will initially be offered as a 99
cent pre-priced consumer offer.
OCB Organic Hemp Cigarette Papers are packed 24
booklets per box with 40 boxes per case. A three-tier
counter display is available for merchandising, as well
as prepacked bowl displays. POP support includes
door decals, posters and corrugated signs. Republic
Tobacco, 800-288-8888