For a company that had no new products to show, Tabacalera El Artista drew a large crowd of people on Thursday afternoon. The reason? David Ortiz.
The former baseball player made an appearance at the booth to sign autographs, take pictures, and of course, promote the cigar bearing his name that came out last fall, Big Papi by David Ortiz.
I had the opportunity to speak with Ortiz about cigars after he had signed a good number of autographs and posed for photographs, and it’s clear he has a passion for cigars. He said that he’s always been a cigar smoker and has really enjoyed getting to see more of the process. In specific, he mentioned that his favorite part of the cigar making process is when the tobacco comes in from the field and goes into the curing barns, and he enjoys not just the history of cigars, but how they can bring him right into the present moment.
As for cigars, the company is continuing to promote Big Papi as well as another release from last year’s show, El Pulita. The cigar honors both the 60th anniversary of the company, as well as company founder Ramón “Pulita” Rodriguez. Here’s Ram Rodriguez talking a bit more about the cigar:
Davidoff is the official sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2017 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
