Fratello’s The Pelican Arriving at Louisiana Retailers

Fratello has released The Pelican, the newest cigar in its series of state exclusive cigars.

The Pelican is a 5 1/2 x 54 robusto extra that uses an Ecuadorian HVA wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a mix of fillers from the Dominican Republic and Pennsylvania, including Dominican andullo tobacco. Andullo, which is known more for being used in pipe tobaccos, is processed by being placed into long, tightly wrapper cylindrical pods known as yaguas, then stacked on top of one another and rotated while the tobacco processes. It is a very different process than the air curing in barns that most premium cigar tobacco undergoes.

“The Pelican was conceived in a meeting we at Fratello had with Karl Malone and his team in the Dominican Republic,” said Omar de Frias,, founder of Fratello, in a press release. “We were trying to tell the story of how Andullo tobacco and its fermentation technique had so much in common with perique tobacco and The Pelican was born.”

Fratello calls The Pelican a medium-to-full-bodied cigar. Pricing is set at $10.50 per cigar and $210 for a 20-count box, with production limited to just 250 boxes, for a total of 5,000 cigars.

The Fratello Pelican is exclusive to retailers in Louisiana and is being distributed by PF Importers, a family-owned and -operated distribution company co-owned by Karl Malone, the NBA legend, and Tim Basham.

“We are proud to partner with Fratello to produce this offering that embodies the Louisiana culture,” Basham said in a press release.

PF Importers also distributes wine, beer and spirits in Louisiana.