New Red Anchor Vitolas Shipping This Week

Three new sizes of the Red Anchor line will begin shipping to stores this week.

United Cigars, the owner of the Red Anchor brand, says it is ready to begin shipping the following sizes:

• Red Anchor Gunner (6 1/2 x 43) — $20 (Box of 25, $500)
• Red Anchor Captain (5 x 50) — $20 (Box of 25, $500)
• Red Anchor Cooper (4 1/2 x 43) — $15 (Box of 25, $375)

The Cooper size is an event-only exclusive.

Those three new vitolas will join The Admiral, a 6 x 52 toro extra that debuted last year. The Red Anchor uses an Ecuadorian habano 2000 wrapper over a binder from Monte Planta, Dominican Republic and fillers from the Dominican Republic—habano 92 and San Vicente—and Pennsylvania. The line is produced at the Kelner Boutique Factory in the Dominican Republic and uses tobaccos from the Kelner family’s farms.

There is one additional new size that is not shipping this week. United says the Commodore (7 x 55, $30) will ship at a later date.

According to United Cigars, the history of the Red Anchor brand dates back to 1770 when a trademark was registered by a cigar shop. Two years later, Albertus Hillen Sigarenfabriek started making the Red Anchor cigars at a factory in Delft, Holland. The brand was passed to various family members until it was sold to Martinus Hioolen in the 1890s, who expanded the brand’s reach. In 1909, the company added new machines and started using tins but the brand faced challenges in the 1920s due to market saturation and new excise taxes. In March 1937, Red Anchor went out of business. United Cigars acquired the rights to the brand and shipped the Kelner-made version of the cigar last year.