Soneros, the brand owned by the González family behind the La Corona Factory in Estelí, will return to the market next month.

While the name might be familiar, little else is the same as when the line debuted in 2013. One thing that remains the same is there is a Habano Claro and Maduro version of the blend.

The Habano Claro uses an Ecuadorian habano claro wrapper, a binder from Jalapa, Nicaraguan and fillers from the Estelí and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua and Peru.

It’s offered in four sizes:

  • Soneros Habano Claro Corona Gorda (5 1/2 x 46) — $5.45 (Boxes of 20, $109)
  • Soneros Habano Claro (5 x 50) — $6.45 (Boxes of 20, $129)
  • Soneros Habano Claro Toro (6 x 52) — $7.45 (Boxes of 20, $149)
  • Soneros Habano Claro Gordo (6 x 60) — $8.45 (Boxes of 20, $169)

The Soneros Habano Maduro is offered in the same four sizes, albeit 50 cents more expensive than the Habano Claro. It uses an Ecuadorian habano maduro wrapper, a Mexican San Andrés binder and fillers from Estelí, Jalapa and Pennsylvania.

  • Soneros Habano Maduro Corona Gorda (5 1/2 x 46) — $5.95 (Boxes of 20, $119)
  • Soneros Habano Maduro (5 x 50) — $6.95 (Boxes of 20, $139)
  • Soneros Habano Maduro Toro (6 x 52) — $7.95 (Boxes of 20, $159)
  • Soneros Habano Maduro Gordo (6 x 60) — $8.95 (Boxes of 20, $179)

“When creating a cigar we aim to achieve a deep richness, balance, aroma, and most importantly, a consistent product; I think that is what we have successfully done with the Soneros blends,” said Omar González-Alemán, co-founder of La Corona, in a press release. “The processes we use require a lot of time, but that is what it takes to create blends like these, there are no shortcuts. We grow most of the tobacco, ferment all of the tobacco, then age the tobacco for a minimum of two years before the cigars are rolled.”

Soneros was originally introduced when the González family was still making cigars for Cubanacan. At the time, Cubanacan distributed the cigar as part of its portfolio, though the González family always claimed ownership of the brand.

That changed in 2015 when the González family announced that it was ending its relationship with Cubanacan and eventually the matter was taken to court before being settled in 2016.

In the meantime, the González family opened up a new factory, La Corona, and began making cigars for other clients, most notably Hirochi Robaina’s HR brand. Like HR, Soneros is being distributed by White Hat Distribution.

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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.