Riverside’s Fosforo Goes National With Pospiech Distribution

In October, Riverside Cigar Shop of Jeffersonville, Ind. launched its own cigar brand called Fosforo. Now that line will be heading to stores nationwide thanks to a new distribution deal with Pospiech Inc.

While the owners of both Riverside and Pospiech are known for their close relationships with RoMa Craft Toac, Fosforo is actually made at Garmendia Cigars Co., the same factory behind Rick Rodriguez’s West Tampa Tobacco Co. blends. Jose Palacios of Garmendia and Jeff Mouttet, owner of Riverside, developed the blend which uses an Ecuadorian habano oscuro wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers from Condega and Jalapa.

It is currently offered in four sizes:

• Fosforo Corona (5 x 46) — $8 (Bundle of 10, $80)
• Fosforo Robusto (5 x 52) — $8 (Bundle of 10, $80)
• Fosforo Toro (6 x 50) — $9 (Bundle of 10, $90)
• Fosforo Gordo (5 x 56) — $10 (Bundle of 10, $100)

“Jeff has been (a) dear friend of mine for over 10 years,” said Mike Szczepankiewicz, owner of Pospiech Inc., in a press release. “We are excited to start this partnership together. Jeff has been working on some fantastic blends while staying in Nicaragua. Having a finger on the pulse in the factory you are working with is an integral part of making a great cigar. This partnership will give Jeff the ability to fully focus on creating fantastic cigars and have his mind put at ease with all the other aspects of sales and customer service. I’ve always believed that’s it’s important for retailers to work together and play to each others strong suits, that way we can all be successful. We are looking forward to working with Jeff in all his other endeavors as he continues to grow and build on the manufacturing side of the industry”

Pospiech says it is now shipping Fosforo to its retailers.

Update (Jan. 10, 2023) — The Corona size is 5 inches long, not 4 inches long as originally stated.