Vegueros Slated for 2013 Return

Earlier this week, a post on a message board provided the unofficial announcement as to the 2013 Edición Limitadas that Habanos S.A. would be releasing. The Italian distributor Diadema, S.p.A. posted their 2013 catalog on their website, which listed the trio of cigars that would be joining the Edición Limitada collection.

Also contained in the catalog was a listing for three new vitolas of Vegueros, a marca that was discontinued in 2012. While Habanos S.A. has yet to make an official statement on the line’s return, Mitchell Orchant of C.Gars Ltd. in London confirmed the return of the Vegueros line on Friday morning.

The new Vegueros lineup, at least as it displayed in the catalog, is made up of three new vitolas:

• Entretiempos – 4 1/3 x 52 – MSRP €4.90
• Tapados – 4 3/4 x 46 – MSRP €4.50
• Mañanitas – 3 9/10 x 46 – MSRP €3.40

There may be additional vitolas being added, as Diadema, S.p.A. might not be carrying all available sizes. E-mails to them were not immediately returned.

All three vitolas will be sold in both three-count packs and 16-count boxes.

The Vegueros line was launched in 1997 and existed for 15 years as a local brand with a minor market share. The tobacco for the cigars came from the Vuelta Abajo region of Pinar del Rio in western Cuba, where the majority of premium tobacco is grown. The name Vegueros refers to the term used for tobacco farmers in the area, and is also the nickname of the province’s Serie Nacional baseball team.

The line was discontinued in 2012, with slow sales due to a lackluster flavor profile often cited as the reason. At its peak, the Vegueros marca had four regular production vitolas:

• Especiales No.1 – 7 3/5 x 38
• Especiales No.2 – 6 x 38
• Marevas – 5 1/10 x 42
• Seoane – 5 x 33

The line also had a limited distribution Collector Belicoso Extra released in 2002, and a special release 135th Anniversary humidor that included all four regular production vitolas along with a fifth size made just for that project, the 5 3/5 x 49 Cepo vitola. The project was commissioned by Caracol SA of Cuba in celebration of the 135th anniversary of the establishment of the city of Pinar del Rio.

The Especiales No.1 and No.2 were discontinued in 2010, with the Marevas and Seoane discontinued in 2012.

A Vegueros Seoane was reviewed on halfwheel in April 2012, and the article contains a good bit of additional history about the Vegueros marca.

It is expected that Habanos S.A. will issue a formal announcement regarding the return of the Vegueros marca closer to the Habanos Festival happening February 26 – March 2, 2013.