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March 10, 2010
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Joya de Nicaragua not going far for new distributor:
Tabacos Puros de Nicaragua (TPN), the manufacturer of the popular Joya de Nicaragua cigars lines is reported to be close to finalizing a distribution agreement with another Nicaraguan manufacturer, Drew Estate.

“It’s going to be a study in psychology,” said one observer. “It all appears to indicate that it’s going to be Drew Estate. If it’s not Drew Estate, I will be highly surprised.”

TPN would be engaging a high-energy partner in distribution in the effervescent Jonathan Drew, the founder and creative force behind Drew Estate. The company began as the Cigar Boom of the 1990s was gaining steam and has won wide acclaim for its inventive blends including Acid, Ambrosia, and Natural, but also some excellent, traditional cigar brands including La Vieja Habana and the popular Chateau Real.

The Joya de Nicaragua lines – Joya de Nicaragua, Joya de Nicaragua Antano 1970, Joya de Nicaragua Celebracion and Joya de Nicaragua Serie C – have regained much of the critical acclaim and sales momentum the brand enjoyed in the 1970s, prior to the civil strife in Nicaragua. However, TPN decided to part company with its long-time U.S. distributor S.A.G. Imports in Miami and that partnership will end in April.

It would be new territory for Drew Estate as well, which has been primarily concerned with the promotion of its own brands, although it has long made cigars for other distributors. One thing for sure, any Drew Estate campaign for the famed TPN lines will be anything but traditional. It will be, to note one of the Joya de Nicaragua line names, a “celebracion.”

New Hampshire legislature struggling with cigars:
Suddenly, cigars are a big deal with the New Hampshire legislature. In the past week:

  • The state’s House of Representatives postponed action on a bill which would have shut the doors on most of the 27 cigar shops in New Hampshire by raising the state tax rate from 19 percent of the wholesale price to 60 percent.

  • The House passed a bill which would tax little cigars as cigarettes, even though the two have little in common other than their size. The amount of tax to be picked up appears to be small, although no amount of revenue is too small to be noticed by states these days.

  • The House passed a bill last week that would create an exemption from the state’s smoking ban for businesses which obtain at least 60 percent of their revenue from the sales of cigars or cigar-related products. This would create an opportunity for cigar bars to exist, and the bill would allow these businesses to have a liquor license, which under current New Hampshire law also requires food service.

    The so-called “cigar bar” bill is being sent to the State Senate for discussion next and Governor John Lynch told reporters that he has not seen the bill and does not know whether he will sign it if it is passed by the Senate.

    Under the bill, employees in such facilities would be required to sign a form that says they understand the dangers of secondhand smoke and choose to work in a cigar bar anyway. In addition, minors (those under 18) would not be admitted.
    ~ Rich Perelman
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