76 TOBACCO BUSINESS | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER | 22 to try and fail at something than to never have tried at all. The company has failed many times in many different categories, Laurendi reveals, but this hasn’t stopped him from continuing to develop new products and challenge what Peter James Co. is as a company and what it means to its customers. Failure has been beneficial to Peter James Co. as both a brand and company as it has helped build a foundation for a future and provided the company with key knowledge. “If we fail and we don’t learn, that’s the tragedy,” Laurendi proclaims. “But if we’re learning from that failure, that’s just going to make our brand stronger on the next launch or the next creative idea.” Laurendi is also mindful of how his company tests and plays with the market. Throughout the successes and even the failures, it’s all about having fun and enjoying what they do, and the company’s latest release was especially fulfilling and enjoyable. The “Favorite Pair of Jeans” Cigar Since 2014, Peter James Co. has made products to help cigar smokers better enjoy the lifestyle. Earlier this summer, the company revealed it was releasing its own line of premium cigars. Though Laurendi was very familiar with the manufacturing process, he wasn’t an expert in cigar making and never thought he’d take his love of cigars further than just being a cigar smoker. He knew there were a lot of brands already out in the market and that if he were to create a cigar, it would have to be different somehow. When someone asks him what his favorite cigar is, Laurendi responds that it depends on the time of day and other conditions, including what he’s eating. He was asked this question so many times that finally he decided that it was time for him to make his favorite cigar. Making a cigar felt right for his business that was inspired by a love of cigars and the lifestyle surrounding it. As if making a cigar weren’t challenging enough, Peter James Co. began this new venture at an extremely challenging time: during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Somehow, it worked,” he shares. “We launched in June, and the reception has been fantastic. We’re a craft producer, but we enjoy the blending process. The challenge for us was the actual manufacturing process. I know cigars: I know leaf, I’m very well-versed with that part. I had to become acclimated with the manufacturing process and really dive deeper into it. I like to understand the process, question it, test it. So not being able to be at the facility was a bit challenging to start.” As many had to during the pandemic, Laurendi and his team worked remotely with a cigar manufacturer to create a blend. Those at the factory were very communicative through the whole process and also very accommodating. Meetings were held both over the phone and through video calls until both the manufacturer and the Peter James Co. team were happy with the final result. It took 16 months from start to finish to create Peter James Co.’s premium cigar line, Los Estocio. The blend has all of the qualities Laurendi feels his favorite cigars have—they’re elegant, refined and suspenseful. The Peter James Co. Los Estocio Habano is a premium cigar blended for the casual cigar smoker. It’s described as having similar qualities to what you may find with your favorite pair of jeans: easy, relaxed, dressed up or dressed down—you know exactly what you’re getting every time you put them on, and that’s similar to what you’ll get with this cigar. This Los Estocio is a medium-bodied cigar made in Nicaragua with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, filler tobaccos from various Nicaraguan growing regions, and an Indonesian and Mexican double binder. It measures 5 3/4 x 52 and delivers notes of dark chocolate, hazelnut and café con leche. The EstocioMaduro is bolder andmore flavorful than its Estocio Habano counterpart. It is described as being slightly more robust, with an elegant body and notes of dark chocolate, freshly roasted espresso beans and an earthy finish. The Estocio Maduro is a medium to full-bodied cigar made in Nicaragua. The blend consists of a San Andrés maduro wrapper, Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. It is presented in a 5 3/4 x 52 vitola. The Los Estocio blends were considered ready for market once they satisfied Laurendi’s palate. These are cigars he says he wants to smoke every day. Having smoked Cuban cigars, he set out to bring a Cuban-esque cigar to market—one that was soft and elegant like those he’d smoked in the past—but he also wanted them to have more flavor. Developing the flavor profile for these cigars is where Laurendi was able to exercise his creativity. It’s his hope that Los Estocio will become like a cigar smoker’s “favorite pair of jeans.” This means it’s something that people won’t have to think about in terms of what to pair it with—a cigar that would become someone’s favorite smoke, an easy choice in a world filled to the brim with different cigar brands coming onto the market each year. “We just want to create things that are unique and great,” Laurendi proclaims. “We started this business with the first core value I ever had: Since Laurendi fully took over his company, Peter James Co. has released coffee, furniture and premium cigar products.
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