HR Habano Returns to Market Today

For the first time in almost a year, there’s a new batch of HR Habanos in the U.S.

Last spring, the González family, who has manufactured the cigar as a partnership between it and Hirochi Robaina, stopped shipping new batches of HR Habano to Cubanacan due to a legal dispute.

Since then, HR has been without an official distributor. That changed earlier this year when Spence Drake, the former Cubanacan vp of sales, signed an agreement with Robaina and the Gonzálezes to become the new distributor for HR through his new White Hat Tobacco.

Today, the first batch of new cigars is heading to retailers.

While it’s no longer part of the Cubanacan portfolio, the cigar uses the same blend and is still being made by the González family in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Drake has indicated that two new lines from Robaina should be out in the coming months, both with lower price points than the original HR, which can retail for upwards of $20 per cigar.

White Hat Tobacco is using a team of brokers to distribute the product nationwide.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.