Press Release: Two New J. Grotto Boutique Premium Cigars Now in Gift Sampler Packs

November 15, 2011 — Ocean State Cigars, Inc., has just added two 4-cigar Gift Samplers, following the debut of these two new boutique premium cigar lines last July. The Samplers should satisfy the curiosity of discriminating cigar smokers, about the new J. Grotto and J. Grotto Reserve cigars. Paul Joyal, company founder and president, describes the original J. Grotto line “as a mild-to-medium, spicy cigar.” The wrapper and binder are Honduran; the filler is Nicaraguan and Honduran, with Honduran ligero. Its shapes are: Gran Robusto (5” x 52), Gran Toro (6” x 52), Gigante (6” x 58), and Churchill (7” x 48).

J. Grotto Reserve, the newest cigar line, is a full-bodied smoke, but without the spice. It is a five-leaf blend, with tobaccos aged three years, for deep complexity and balance. The finished cigars sleep for another four months, to complete the marriage of the leaves’ flavors. The wrapper and binder are Honduran Criollo 98, and the filler is Honduran, with Nicaraguan ligero. There are four shapes: Gran Corona (5-5/8″ x 46), Gran Robusto (5″ x 52), Gran Toro (6″ x 52), and a new 6″ x 60, for veteran smokers, seeking a commanding cigar.

Both lines are bunched in the superior, Cuban entubado style, which eliminates smokers’ two main complaints … off-center burn, and hard or plugged draw. Each base filler leaf is rolled lengthwise into a “soda straw” tube, and then placed in a circular array around the similarly-tubed ligero leaf(ves). The tubes provide for an easy draw, unimpeded by the constricting folds and twists of regular bunching; and, the ligero can be visually checked to ensure it is centered correctly. The result is a trouble-free cigar that simply cruises through its entire smoke.

Both cigars are cellophane-sheathed, regularly packaged in cedar boxes of 20 cigars. The Samplers are also presented in cedar boxes, with sliding lids. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the original J. Grotto Sampler is $33.95; the J. Grotto Reserve Sampler’s retail pricing is ($37.95).

Joyal is drawing smokers to retailers by advertising in the newly-national Cigar Snob magazine, which also awarded the J. Grotto Reserve 6” x 60 a “90” rating, the line’s first published rating. The Samplers, as well as boxed cigars in both lines, are now available at full-service tobacconists nationwide.

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.