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| "TIME" FOR ALEC BRADLEY |
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Page 1 of 2  Plus: Cuban master surprises with a record-setting cigar!Los Angeles, May 12 –“You know what it reminds me of? Nothing.” That’s the high praise of one Arizona retailer for the new Alec Bradley Tempus line, which started shipping just two weeks ago and is now in a growing number of stores across the country. The word “tempus” is Latin for “time” and the cigar meets the growing desire of smokers for more and more flavor. “It has good strength,” said Alec Bradley president Alan Rubin, “and waves of flavor throughout the smoke. This cigar is going to have legs for some time.” The initial size line-up shows five shapes: a 5 1/2-inch by 42-ring corona; a 5-inch by 50-ring robusto; a 7 1/2-inch by 41-ring lonsdale; 7-inch by 49-ring double corona and a 6 1/8-inch by 52-ring torpedo, with retail pricing ranging from $6.25 to $8.75 each (not including local sales and tobacco taxes). Made in a small factory in Honduras, where Alec Bradley is the largest client, the Tempus line has been in development since 2003, when Rubin saw a specific wrapper that he wanted to use on a new, first-line cigar. Although his company is already well known for its MAXX line as well as Trilogy and other blends, “I think our flagship, going forward, is going to be Tempus.” That’s quite a prediction in view of the success of the MAXX line. Its bold taste has made it a popular choice, but also created demand for a second line. “It’s done very well for us,” said Rubin. “Many [retail] customers said they lined the blend, but asked for more traditional sizing.” The MAXX line has seven sizes, all with large ring gauges of 46 up to 62. The new MAXX Traditional line has four sizes, but with significant changes in the blend. “We tweaked it,” said Rubin. “We concentrated the flavors ‘down’ to the new sizes.” The tobaccos come from the same places – Nicaraguan wrapper, Costa Rican binder and filler leaves from Colombia, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua – but the proportions have been changed for sizes that range from 43 ring gauge up to just 52. “The response has been phenomenal,” noted Rubin, who said he might not be done with this line just yet. Now offered are a Churchill (7 inches by 48 ring, with a suggested retail price of $5.60 each), Corona (5 1/2 x 43, $4.25), Toro (6 x 50, $5.30) and Torpedo (6 1/8 x 52, $5.60), all in boxes of 25. What’s next? Rubin has already gotten calls from retailers asking why a robusto is not in the line. “And maybe we’ll add another traditional shape, like a perfecto,” says Rubin. New shapes might be ready in time for debut at the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers convention and trade show this summer in Las Vegas. |
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Did you know?
“Cellophane sleeves on cigars were introduced into wide use only in the 1940s.
