Andullo tobacco is a not new thing to the cigar business, however, using it as a marketing technique is not steeped in tradition. The latest company to brag about its use of andullo is Total Flame, who is making it a feature of its La Aurora-produced Wild One cigar, a new release debuting at the IPCPR convention and trade show.
Wild One is offered in a single 5 x 50 robusto size, packed in boxes of 20. It uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Dominican binder and fillers from the Dominican Republican and Nicaragua. At least some of the Dominican tobacco is andullo, which is processed in a completely different manner from most tobaccos used for premium cigars. Generally, leaves are harvested, hang-dried in a barn and tightly placed on top of each other in large piles called pilones. Andullo tobacco is harvested and placed into long cylindrical pods known as yaguas. They are then stacked on top of one another and rotated while the tobacco processes.
La Aurora is also responsible for producing Project 805 for Ventura Cigar Co., which prominently advertises its use of andullo. Total Flame has not announced pricing for any of its new releases, but it expects the cigars to ship before Nov. 1.