Rick Rodriguez Returns with West Tampa Tobacco Company

Long time General Cigars blender Rick Rodriguez who was the face and the blender of CAO for the last decade announced his retirement from General Cigars recently. But it appears he did not have a ‘do not compete’ clause in his contract as just a week after his finale CAO event he’s back with his own company, West Tampa Tobacco. And the first cigars will be available for retailers in the next few weeks to come.

The first cigars are the Black and White. The White has a Nicaraguan binder and filler under an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper just als the black. The difference is the wrapper. The Black uses a higher priming, with a darker color and stronger flavor. Garmendia Cigar Company in Esteli makes the cigars.

The West Tampa Tobacco Company comes in three sizes. Those are a 5×50 Robusto. 6×52 Toro and a 6×60 Gigante. All arer available in boxes of 20 pieces. For West Tampa Tobacco, Rodriguez teamed up with Gus Martinez, another General Cigar veteran.