Aged La Gloria Cubanas Become TAA Exclusive

After resting for four years, the La Gloria Cubana TAA Exclusive 2023 is nearing its release.

The cigars measure 7 1/4 x 54 and use an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a Honduran habano binder and seco and ligero fillers from the Dominican Republic and Honduras. The cigars were rolled in 2019 and have been resting at the STG Danlí factory in Honduras ever since.

MSRP is set at $11.99 per cigar and the release is limited to 850 boxes of 10 cigars. General Cigar Co., which distributes La Gloria Cubana in the U.S., expects the cigars to ship in June. This is one of two exclusives from General Cigar Co./Forged Cigar Co.—both companies are owned by Scandinavian Tobacco Group—being made for retailers that are members of the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA) this year.

The TAA is a membership group, which also includes approximately 40 manufacturers, that gathers annually to discuss issues facing the industry and retailers, as well as to have its annual trade show, a unique event that works on a group buying format in order to secure exclusive deals for these generally high-volume merchants.

During the event—which takes place this week, March 26-30, at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic—the organization holds two selling events, one known as the Dream Machine where the retailers collectively order to secure larger discounts, while the other is a more traditional trade show. Typically, around a dozen manufacturers release new exclusive cigars for the retail members of the organization under the TAA Exclusive Series Program banner. Those manufacturers agree to give a portion of the proceeds to the organization, a minimum of 50 cents per cigar.

So far, CLE, Crowned Heads, Ferio Tego, Forged Cigar Co., General Cigar Co., Gurkha, J.C. Newman, Joya de Nicaragua, Kristoff, Miami Cigar & Co., My Father, Rocky Patel, Quality Importers Trading Co., Quesada, Tatuaje and Villiger Cigars North America have announced their TAA 2023 releases.