IPCPR 2013: Nat Sherman

We’ve seen the Nat Sherman booth a few times over the past years, between previous years’ IPCPR trade shows and the 2013 TPE trade show. One side is cigars, the other cigarettes, and it’s clear that the cigar side is becoming increasingly crowded.

We first mentioned the Nat Sherman 1930 back in January when Michael Herklots showed off an unbanded sample that he had just brought back from the MATASA factory in the Dominican Republic. Now the line is on full display in five vitolas: a 7 x 56 Inmenso, a 6 x 46 Corona Grande, a 5 1/2 x 42 Corona, a 5 1/4 x 54 Gran Robusto and a 4 1/2 x 52 Rothchild, and all are coming in 24 count boxes. Herklots said the larger ring gauges have been showing a brighter flavor profile than the smaller ring gauges, which tend to be a bit earthier and not quite as bright.

The Sterling borrows a bit from Nat Sherman’s history, as the shield on the band comes from an old company cigarette logo, though the company doesn’t know the exact dates. Herklots speculated it was probably from the 1940s or possibly early 1950s, but couldn’t be sure.

The bright orange box is a bit of a new look for the company, and Herklots focused on how the Sterling is designed to harken back to the finest Havana cabinets from a bygone era. He also mentioned that the Sterling is meant to inspire box sales as he thinks that the flavors will marry nicely over the coming years, particularly if the cigars are left in the box. The cigars don’t come in cellophane, but a single strip of cellophane surrounds each bundle inside the box. They use an Ecuadoran wrapper over Dominican binder and filler.

Four classic, small ring gauge vitolas make up the Nat Sherman line: a 4 x 40 Perlas, 5 x 42 Marevas, 6 1/4 x 43 Dalias and 5 3/4 x 46 Corona Gorda. Herklots said that they experimented with larger ring gauges, but couldn’t get anything over a 50 ring gauge to work. All four sizes come in 25 count slide top boxes.

Also making its IPCPR debut was the three new sizes of the Timeless Nicaraguan, which you can read more about here. They are more traditional sizes, which provide a bit of balance to the line.

One thing that Herklots stressed is that both 1930 and Sterling are regular production lines, and that they are part of Nat Sherman’s strategy of building lasting brands. While he said that he likes limited editions as much as the next person, it’s critical to have solid brands that are consistently available in retailers’ humidors, and that’s what these lines will be.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.