IPCPR 2019: La Galera

Located along one edge of the show floor, the La Galera booth felt a bit more open this year as opposed to previous years, a move that cleared space to put its new products front and center, including a new Greek-themed line that pays tribute to the winds.

While the booth had plenty of traffic from retailers looking to bring the line in, there seemed to be an even longer queue to get to talk to Jochy Blanco, who has solidified himself as one of the most respected growers and cigar makers in the country and quite likely beyond. In just a short visit to the booth there was no shortage of fellow cigar industry personnel stopping by to shake hands with him and share a few laughs.

La Galera Anemoi

The new La Galera comes wearing a blue band and sporting a fair amount Greek. It is named in honor of the winds, which Blanco says play a vital role in the growing of tobacco by showing farmers where the best spaces are to plant seeds. The ancient Greeks also knew the importance of the winds, and it is the name of their collective god of wind from which the line gets its name, while the names of individual gods of winds that grace the vitola names. As an extension of that, the company is only releasing certain vitolas to certain regions of the country. While the Anemoi vitola will be available nationwide, regions will get the vitolas named for their respective winds. For instance, the Southwestern U.S.—southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas—will get Notus and Zephyrus, the two vitolas named for the gods of the southern and western winds. There are four other regions: northwest, midwest, northeast and southeast.

• Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
• Binder: Dominican Republic (Jacagua)
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Criollo 98 & Piloto Cubano La Canela)

• La Galera Anemoi Boreas (4 3/4 x 46) — $8.50 (Box of 20, $170)
• La Galera Anemoi Zephyrus (6 x 60) — $11 (Box of 20, $220)
• La Galera Anemoi Anemoi (6 3/8 x 52) — $12 (Box of 20, $240)
• La Galera Anemoi Eurus (5 1/2 x 48) — $9.25 (Box of 20, $185)
• La Galera Anemoi Notus (5 x 56) — $10 (Box of 20, $200)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2019

La Galera Minis

From what I was told, these arrived at the show not long before the doors opened, and many of the specific details about the release are still being ironed out. It’s a machine made cigar that comes in 20-count tins and uses a wrapper similar to that of the La Galera Connecticut. Blanco said it should be widely available in about 30 days, which would be late July or early August, and priced around $15 or $16 per tin, before taxes.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
• Binder: Indonesia
• Filler: Dominican Republic

• La Galera Minis (5 x 20) — 80 Cents (Tin of 20, $16)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2019