The Gatekeeper switches nationality

The Gatekeeper switches nationality. Instead of a Dominican cigar, it will now be a Honduran cigar. The 2019 release from Alec & Bradley Rubin moves production from Tabacalera La Alianza in the Dominican Republic to Tabacos de Oriente in Honduras. From one industry legend to another, from Ernesto Perez Carrillo to the Plasencia family.

Production capacity

The move isn’t due to a bad relation or dissatisfaction. In fact, Perez Carrillo remains involved in the production of the Alec & Bradley Gatekeeper. The reason was solely a capacity problem at Tabacalera La Alianza. Ernesto Perez Carrillo could simply not make enough cigars to comply with the demand for both Alec & Bradley’s Gatekeeper and his own EPC Cigars brand. 

Both The Gatekeeper and EPC’s The Pledge Prequel made Cigar Aficionado’s top ten of 2020, respectively at #7 and #1. That results in increasing demand. That combined with the limited production due to Covid-19 social distancing at the factory is creating problems at the production side. That is not even including the general increase in demand for cigars.

Headaches

“I believe we’ve alleviated a bunch of headaches for everybody,” says veteran cigarmaker Perez-Carrillo to Cigar Aficionado. “Juggling our needs with Alec & Bradley’s needs was a challenge. I value my relationship with everyone at Alec Bradley and am very proud of what Alec, Bradley, and I have achieved.”

Alec & Bradley Rubin say that the blend remains the same and that cigar enthusiasts won’t taste the difference between a Dominican-made or a Honduran-made Gatekeeper. “Bradley and I want to assure our brand advocates that absolutely nothing has changed with the Gatekeeper blend,” says second-generation cigarmaker Alec Rubin. “Our relationship with Ernesto is everlasting and he will still be very much involved in the process, ensuring only the highest quality standards.”