But it’s no longer one of the first brands you think of among the many luxury lines on the market and the London-based owners of the Dunhill brand – a subsidiary of the giant British American Tobacco (BAT) – are determined to change that. After much discussion, it gave the job to Torano Cigars of Miami.

In addition to building up the Dunhill Dominican brand, Torano has taken over the super-premium Dunhill Signed Range program. This limited-production brand was introduced in 2003 and made in the Dominican Republic, designed to be the “best of the best.” While the cigars were of fine quality, the brand has never caught on with consumers.

Torano will now undertake the project of making the Signed Range as good as it can be, and distributing it within the U.S.:

• First, it created a new blend for the Dunhill Signed Range line, made at their factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. Torano Marketing Manager Aaron Guenther explains that “the tobacco leaves used to manufacture the Dunhill Signed Range cigars are all aged a minimum of three years.” The blend features a Nicaraguan-grown wrapper, rich Cameroon binder and a balanced filler blend of Dominican-grown and Nicaraguan-grown tobaccos. The result is a full-bodied cigar with a deep richness of flavor.

• Torano smartly limited the size range to just six classic shapes: the immensely popular Robusto (4 1/2 inches by 52 ring gauge), Toro (6 x 50) and Churchill (7 x 50) sizes, plus a Torpedo (5 1/2 x 52) and two smaller cigars, a Corona (5 1/2 x 42) and a Petit Corona (4 x 42).

• Accommodating the style of today’s smokers, each size is available in the standard box of 25, in a box of 10, or in packs of three, four or five cigars. Four of the sizes – Petit Corona, Corona, Robusto and Churchill – are offered in aluminum tubes.

• The pricing isn’t oppressive for a cigar designed to be at the top of the line, with retail prices ranging from $7.50 for the Petit Corona up to $14.50 for the Churchill, before any local sales or tobacco taxes are applied.

Regaining the prestige of the Dunhill brand won’t be easy, but the Torano approach shows considerable deftness in its appeal to smokers who want to try anywhere from a few cigars to a whole box.

The new Dunhill Signed Range was introduced at a tasting at the Havana Club of Miami on September 28 and the line is now making its way to tobacconists across the U.S. in time for the holidays.

Specially-made Patriot cigars headed to Iraq:
“We are deeply indebted to Emilio Reyes, for his unselfish contribution to our troops in Iraq. He is donating 50,000 new Patriot premium cigars, which we are now preparing for shipment, to be put directly in the hands of the service personnel. We are certain they will appreciate this demonstration of our support.”