IPCPR 2013: Altadis USA

Altadis USA has been on a mission over the past few years to revamp and re-energize nearly its entire portfolio, with the biggest names getting the most attention. This year, Montecristo gets a new line, Juan Lopez gets reintroduced and several brands get some line extensions and additions. First, the sizable booth that is almost right in the middle of the trade show floor.

Monte by Montecristo is a three-vitola release, the 6 x 60 Monte, 6 1/2 x 52 Jacopo No. 2 and 5 1/2 x 48 Conde. It will ship in mid-August; additional details here.

Also coming from Montecristo is the Connoisseur Edition Collection, an eight cigar sampler that features a pair of the four Montecristo regional releases that have come out over the past two years. 15,000 samplers are being produced with an MSRP of $101.50.

Juan Lopez returns to the main stage of Altadis USA’s booth, as the Nicaraguan puro will debut in three sizes and at a price of $5-6 per cigar. More details here.

Following up on the success of the Romeo by Romeo y Julieta, the Romeo Gran Bully is a 6 x 60 special edition that has received extra aging before being released. It should be out in September.

The Romeo line also adds a limited edition humidor containing 50 Piramides vitolas that was sold out by Tuesday morning. Two short vitolas are being added in slide-top boxes: the 5 x 44 Bocados and 4 x 60 Bocados Gorditos. Bocados translates as bite, so this vitola is a little bit (or big little bite) of the Romeo.

The other new addition to the Altadis USA line is the H. Upmann 1844 Reserve Special Edition, a 6 x 60 Magnum vitola that come in one of the fancier presentations that Altadis USA offers. Limited to 4,000 boxes of 10, it will sell for $100 per box.

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 Major League Baseball, 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.