Press Release: Fratello Cigar Scheduled for Launch this Summer

June 27, 2013 (Springfield, Va.) — Entrepreneur Omar de Frias is pleased to announce the launch of the Fratello cigar (label/brand). Fratello will compete in the premium cigar market. de Frias is test marketing Fratello at select stores in the Greater Washington DC area with an official launch scheduled for September, 2013.

The new (label/brand) will also be featured at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Annual Convention & International Trade show this July 13-17 in Las Vegas in the New Exhibitor section.

Fratello will be available for retail customers after the IPCPR show and will be sold in a box of 20 cigars. Fratello will debut in four sizes Corona, Robusto, Toro and the 6 x 60. Prices will range from 7 and 8 dollars. Produced in Esteli, Nicaragua, Fratello is a full-flavored cigar with a medium to full-body profile that is layered and complex. For more information about the cigars, visit www.fratellocigar.com

Fratello is a life-long dream for industry newcomer de Frias, a cigar aficionado for more than 15 years who grew up next to a cigar retail shop in his hometown of Santo Domingo D.R. “ I would come into the shop and the manager Don Rafael would always kick me out since I was not of age. One day he brought me in to watch a torcedor (Cigar Roller) perform his art, when he finished the cigar, he gave it to me and said, “Kid welcome to the true gentlemen’s club.” “Fratello, has been my nickname since college, means brother in Italian and embodies the true nature of this industry, camaraderie, family and friendship,” said de Frias.

de Frias, is an ex-professional basketball player with a love for cigars. Originally from the Dominican Republic, de Frias has worked for NASA, Baxter Healthcare Corp, and earned an MBA from the University of Puerto Rico. He spent two years defining The Fratello Cigars line and perfecting its blend. He resides in Northern Virginia with his wife and two kids.

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.