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new, but this will make us better as re-
tailers and manufacturers. I think it will
be better with everyone coming together;
we’ll be a better industry because we will
band together. We’ll put warning labels
on our boxes, but we will do it together.
As a whole, this industry will band to-
gether and be great, still.”
Perez-Carrillo says that loyal custom-
ers will come back into vogue, thanks to
brands going back to “quality and consis-
tency.” He says, “I think the effect will be
to build a lot more loyal customers than
what we were seeing when new stuff was
coming out every day.”
The way Patel sees it, “there will be a
cleansing” of the industry. “People who
looked at this as a hobby will be gone.
Consumers will be more serious and more
awakened. Retailers will get better and be
more challenged by more serious manu-
facturers. Everyone will take this as a
more serious business and that will make
us all
stronger.Weare all one professional
family now, working hard to make great
products, to lobby and fight the govern-
ment, and I think we will ultimately suc-
ceed and move forward together.”
The “Fat Cigar Trend”
Conversation
Beyond regulatory concerns, cigar makers
are chewing on the current market trends
and how they’re affecting everyday busi-
ness. One big trend that doesn’t seem to
be going away is just that—big, fat cigars.
“Big-ring cigars are here to stay,” as-
serts Perez-Carrillo, who mentions ring
gauges of 60, 64 and even 70 as being
very popular sizes still. “These are not a
fad anymore.”
Personally speaking, Johnson is “not a
great fan” of fat cigars, but admits that
he has them in his line, with one pre-
predicate product, a 6.5x60 ring gauge
that he “can’t keep in stock” because it’s
so popular.
“We obviously make them, but I’m not
a fan of anything over 52,” says Patel. “But
they sell; I was in Europe last week, and I
was shocked to see how many are selling
there, 64 and 70. It’s been such a turn in
the last 10 years.”
The “Bold vs. Mild and Concept
Cigars” Conversation
How about cigar strength? What’s trend-
ing there lately?
“I like to make rich, bold cigars. That’s
what I like to smoke, but when we look
at the numbers, we’ve noticed the trend
is still predominant with milder cigars,”
says Patel.
“I like to blend a cigar. At this point
in my life, I do what I like and hopefully
people will like it, too,” says Perez-Carril-
lo. “I like a concept cigar—you smoke it,
it reminds you of an event, like when your
kids were born or when you smoked with
your dad. It’s not really about strength,
but the experience you had when you
smoked it. It’s not about a certain profile
per se, but how the consumer feels about
it. Is it special for him? That’s what I look
for when I blend cigars today.”
“I’m similar, I like good cigars no mat-
ter what the strength. If they’re good and
bring me to a special place, that’s what it’s
about,” says Johnson. “Today’s cigars don’t
have to blow your head off strong, they
just have to be full of flavor.”
Perez-Carrillo expresses that he’s ex-
cited about the future of cigar-making in
spite of FDA. “The change in the past 10
years has been incredible from a farm per-
spective,” he says. “We don’t have to look
for new things, this is the future. It’s all
about the best experience.”
Patel agrees that “better cigars are be-
ing made now than in all of history.What
we’re looking for and producing now
is a richness with balance. It used to be
strength, but if you have that character
from different regions, the cross-polli-
nating of farms, now [that] is fun—this
is what we love to do. It sucks being in
Washington, D.C. walking the halls
when you can be on a farm. This is what
cigar-making should be about.”
TBI
C I GAR SENSE
44
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
“Everyone will
take this as a
more serious busi-
ness and that will
make us all stron-
ger. We are all
one professional
family now, work-
ing hard to make
great products, to
lobby and fight the
government, and
I think we will ul-
timately succeed
and move forward
together.”