Tatiana Groovy Blue Belicoso Announced as TAA Exclusive

Last year, Miami Cigar & Co. quietly added a new 6 x 54 toro extra version to its popular Tatiana Groovy Blue line. Now, the company is adding another larger size for the brand, which is primarily offered in sizes robusto and smaller.

The Tatiana Groovy Blue Belicoso Groovy is a 6 1/4 x 52 belicoso that will be an exclusive release for stores that are members of the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA). Miami Cigar & Co. says it will have an MSRP of $13 per cigar and is limited to 1,000 boxes of 10 cigars.

While it will be shown off at the TAA’s annual event later this month, the Groovy Blue Belicoso will begin shipping in May.

Groovy Blue is part of Miami’s Tatiana brand of flavored cigars. It uses an Indonesian wrapper over a Dominican binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic. It is described as having flavors of berries, cognac, honey and vanilla. Tatiana cigars are produced by La Aurora in the Dominican Republic.

The TAA is a membership group, which also includes approximately 40 manufacturers, that gathers annually to discuss issues facing the industry and retailers, as well as to have its annual trade show, a unique event that works on a group buying format in order to secure exclusive deals for these generally high-volume merchants.

During the event—which takes place March 26-30 at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic—the organization holds two selling events, one known as the Dream Machine where the retailers collectively order to secure larger discounts, while the other is a more traditional trade show. Typically, around a dozen manufacturers release new exclusive cigars for the retail members of the organization under the TAA Exclusive Series Program banner. Those manufacturers agree to give a portion of the proceeds to the organization, a minimum of 50 cents per cigar.

So far, Crowned Heads, Gurkha, Miami Cigar & Co., My Father, Tatuaje and Villiger Cigars North America have announced their TAA 2023 releases.

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.