Nicholas Melillo will have a pair of new cigar lines to show off to the cigar industry this summer, the previously announced The Upsetters and a recently announced line called The Tabernacle.
Melillo is working with Abdel Fernández and his factory for this new line, which uses a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder and a blend of filler tobaccos from Honduras and Nicaragua, including some from Fernandez’s La Soledad farm.
“AJ grows some of his tobacco on the farm, La Soledad, where I lived on when I first moved to Estelí in 2003,” said Melillo in a press release. “I know firsthand that AJ’s farm is blessed with the perfect location for growing filler tobaccos. He has incredible tobacco inventories and gave me full access to some of his best leaf for this project.”
News was first reported by Cigar Aficionado.
The Tabernacle will be released in six sizes: Torpedo (4 1/2 x 52), Corona (5 1/4 x 46), Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 52), Double Corona (7 x 54) and Lancero (7 x 40). The first five sizes will come in 24-count boxes while the Lancero will be offered in 12-count boxes.
The new line will be shipping to a few select retailers at the end of next week before a formal debut at the IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, which runs July 25-28.
The packaging for The Tabernacle features imagery of Hailie Selassie, the 225th emperor of Ethiopia and a deity in the Rastafari movement, who is said to be a descendant of King Solomon. In biblical stories, the Tabernacle—which was the protective home of the Ark of the Covenant—was located in King Solomon’s temple.
Update (July 13, 2016) — Images and quotes added.