Ponce Cigar Co., a new company from Frank Vazquez, has begun shipping its debut release, Ponce.

It’s offered in a single 5 1/2 x 54 robusto extra size that uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over an American broadleaf binder and fillers from the Villa González, Dominican Republic; Estelí, Nicaragua; and the U.S.A. Interestingly, the cigar is being sold in 11-count boxes and the MSRP set at $11.99 per cigar.

It is being made at MJ Frias Cigar SRL in the Dominican Republic. Vazquez says the cigars are already heading to stores in California, Florida and Illinois with shipments to New York and North Carolina upcoming. He clarified that he is handling distribution, not MJ Frias.

Ponce’s launch comes after Vazquez spent six years working for Corona Cigar Co., a retailer with locations in Orlando and Tampa.

Update (March 17, 2021) — Vazquez now says that he will be handling distribution, not MJ Frias as originally announced.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.