JRE Tobacco Co. Adding Lancero to Aladino Cameroon Line

JRE Tobacco Co.’s Aladino Cameroon line is getting a lancero vitola, and for the next six months or so, it will be a limited release available at just one store in the U.S.

The cigar, named the Elegante, is a 7 x 38 lancero, and the store is Blue Smoke in Dallas, Texas. The retailer is receiving 132 boxes of 20 cigars and has announced that they will go on sale this Friday, Dec. 11. Pricing is set at $9 per cigar, with $1 of that amount being donated to Cigar Rights of America. Jay Davis, owner of Blue Smoke, said that it keeps the cigar reasonably priced “and allows us, a medium-sized store with little excess cash due to COVID, to help CRA with a donation of $2,640.”

While the line is made in Honduras at Fabrica de Puros Aladino at Las Lomas Jamastran, the Aladino Cameroon also has roots in Texas. The idea for the cigar came from Tom Poehler, the sales representative for JRE Tobacco Co. in Texas and the surrounding states. Poehler had been visiting the factory while Julio and Justo Eiroa were working on growing a Honduran Cameroon crop. While initial results with the leaves were not good, eventually a change in growing techniques resulted in a better result, and not long after, the Aladino Cameroon.

Under that Honduran Cameroon wrapper is a Honduran corojo binder and filler, all of which is grown by the Eiroa family. The line was released in three sizes when it soft launched in May 2020:

• Aladino Cameroon Robusto (5 x 50) — $8.80 (Box of 24, $211.20)
• Aladino Cameroon Lonsdale (6 x 43) — $7.80 (Box of 24, $187.20)
• Aladino Cameroon Super Toro (6 x 52) — $9.80 (Box of 24, $235.20)
• Aladino Cameroon Lancero (7 x 38) — $9 (Box of 20, $180)*

*not pictured

The cigar is scheduled to get its widespread release at the 2021 Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) trade show, which was rescheduled from the end of January to May 12-14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will have an MSRP of $8 before taxes once it gets it full release, which Justo Eiroa said will happen in May, even if the TPE trade show has to be further delayed or canceled.

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 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.