Viking Cigars expands internationally

Viking Cigars expands internationally and tweaks the blend of the Valhalla. At the Intertabac trade show, that took place in Dortmund last week, we spoke with Håkon Aanonson. Aanonson is the owner of Viking Cigars, a four blend private label blended and produced by Ernesto Perez Carrillo.

The cigars are based on the legendary Vikings from Aanonson’s home country Norway. And the cigars come with a metal alloy ring, a new design for each of the four blends. Earlier this, Viking introduced the latest blend, Valhalla. But feedback from consumers and cigar media led to some changes.

The feedback from many consumers is about the draw, it’s too loose. So another half leaf is added to the new production. That should solve the draw issues. We reviewed the Viking Valhalla Robusto in May of this year.

No new blend this year

According to Aanonson, Viking is more focussed on building the Valhalla brand, that was released earlier this year. It’s too early to release a new blend and that’s why there is no new Viking out. For most of the distributors and retailers, the trade show was the first time they saw and tried the Viking Valhalla. Maybe there will be a new release next year, depending on the success of the other lines in the international markets.

More international markets

Viking Cigars will be available in a few more markets. At the Intertabac trade show, the brand has signed distribution agreements with several distributors in several countries. Aanonson found distributors for the Baltic countries, Poland, Russia, and France.

But there is more. There are still negotiations ongoing for some Asian markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore. And the big news is that Viking might be able to make it onto the American markets. But these countries have not been confirmed yet.