The El Rey del Mundo brand is being added to the portfolio of Forged Cigar Company, the recently launched independent national cigar distribution network that handles a portion of General Cigar Co.’s portfolio.

The brand had previously been available exclusively through JR Cigar and Santa Clara Wholesale, but will now be available to all retailers.

El Rey del Mundo will be offered in six vitolas, with the Café au Lait using an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, while the other five sizes use a Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper. All of the cigars use a Honduran binder and filler.

  • Café au Lait (4 1/2 x 36) — $4.80 (Box of 24, $115.20)
  • Café Noir OSC (4 1/2 x 35) — $4.80 (Box of 24, $115.20)
  • Robusto OSC (5 x 54) — $5.40 (Box of 20, $108)
  • Robusto Larga OSC (6 x 54) — $5.80 (Box of 20, $116)
  • Robusto Supremo OSC (7 1/4 x 54) — $6.80 (Box of 20, $136)
  • Ronco OSC (6 x 60) — $7 (Box of 20, $140)

The line is made at the HATSA factory in Danlí, Honduras.

“El Rey Del Mundo is exactly the type of brand that will flourish under The Forged Cigar Company,” said Sean Hardiman, national sales manager of The Forged Cigar Company, via a press release. “By introducing this established brand to brick and mortar retailers nationwide and supporting it with customized programming to drive interest among cigar lovers, my team and I will take a brand with great potential to the next level. We look forward to generating a lot noise at retail for El Rey Del Mundo, our first brand to debut under Forged,” he added.

Forged Cigar Co. was announced in mid-January as an independent distribution company aimed at serving brick-and-mortar retailers. Its initial portfolio includes Diesel, Chillin’ Moose, and the non-Cuban made versions of the Partagas, La Glorida Cubana and Bolivar Cofradia brands. While those brands are under the General Cigar Co. umbrella, Forged Cigar Co. will operate independently from General and have its own large salesforce. It can also serve as a distributor for third-party brands that are not owned by General Cigar Co.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.