IPCPR 2010: Toraño Family Cigars

I am not really sure how this slipped through the cracks on Tuesday, but Toraño Family Cigars probably brought the most new stuff to New Orleans for a lot of different reasons. The company itself was entirely new, after Charlie Toraño decided to break off from CAO and not become another fish in the pond of the merger between Swedish Match and Scandinavian Tobacco. Toraño accelerated the planned separation by leaving mid-Summer, allowing them to have their own booth at the show.

In addition to the new company, Toraño showed off its three new cigars: the Master, Single Region and the Brigade. I had the opportunity to talk to Bruce Lewis, VP of Sales and Marketing, and Felipe Sosa, the roller behind the Master Series. Bruce discussed the plans for products, as there will definitely be more changes coming as the company seeks to redefine themselves, but there were two things that seemed a bit more important. First, the Roots Run Deep tour will continue (and it sounds like Sosa might be touring for the Master.) Second, a clarification of the Single Region… It took two years to get this blend, all from the same farm. There will likely be other blends with the same premise, but there are no plans to get rid of the Serie Jalapa just because a new farm would be introduced.

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 handle the editing of our written content, the majority of the technical aspects of the site and work with the rest of our staff on content management, business development and more. I’ve lived in most corners of the country and now entering my second stint in Dallas, Texas. I enjoy boxing, headphones, the Le Mans 24-hour, wearing sweatshirts year-round and gyros. echte liebe.