Virtual Introduction VegaFina Year of the Ox
Pacific Cigar Company, the Habanos distributor for most of Asia hosted a virtual premiere of the VegaFina Year of the Ox yesterday. With guests from around the world. The two guests of honor were Javier Elmudesi and Pedro Ventura from Tabacalera de Garcia. we already has the cigars, a review is scheduled for next week, on the day of Chinese New Year.
Grupo del Maestro
Elmudhesi and Ventura are part of the Grupo del Maestro. It’s a group of 8 people working for Altadis, all with a wealth of experience. Pedro Ventura is the youngest of the group and he brings 24 years of experience. You cannot phantom the amount of knowledge. Six of the member are working in the Dominican Republic, the other two are in Honduras.
The group was formed in 1996 to innovate and develop cigars. A few years later they choose to integrate marketing departments into the process. To complement each other and streamline the processes.
Year of the Ox
During the zoom session, Ventura explains that for the Year of the Ox, the Grupo went with a concept. First, what represents the ox? The answer is strength and power. They didn’t want a super-strong cigar, so in this case, power translates into flavor. To create that the Grupo went into the large tobacco library of Tabacalera de Garcia. And out they came with aged Nicaraguan and Dominican tobacco. A Nicaraguan Habano leaf for the wrapper. Dominican for the binder. And both countries for the filler.
According to Pedro Ventura, size is also representing power. It is a big cigar, 6¼x56 Toro Gordo. And the packaging is top-notch. A drop-dead gorgeous box in red and gold. Red and gold are important colors in Chinese Culture that stand for wealth and prosperity. The cigar box comes with a lock in old Chinese style, gold in color. There are 16 cigars in a box, 2×8 as 8 is another reference to Chinese Culture. The number 8 stands for wealth.
Elmudesi says that each year a new blend is made. Depending on the characteristics of the animal. With the huge tobacco library available to the Grupo del Maestro, it is not that hard to create something new each year. The Grupo gets information from marketing on what the market wants in size, strength, and flavor. In this case, for the Ox, there is a demand for a big ring cigar. With enough binder and wrapper leaves of sufficient size available in the library, the Grupo went to work. Ventura adds that the blending for the Year of the Tiger is already in progress but he would comment “under development” only.
More VegaFina news
About twenty percent of VegaFina’s annual turnover is in new products. The Grupo del Maestro creates 12 to 15 new blends a year. But with all the new tobaccos incoming and the huge library, it is not hard to innovate. VegaFina is the best selling international brand for Tabacalera de Garcia. It’s available in over 50 countries, although it was initially a Spanish market exclusive.
A few of the things that we, cigar enthusiasts, can expect in 2021 are a new VegaFina Puro Origin, a VegaFina Jalapa Edition, and something with a 20-year-old wrapper. The highly successful VegaFina 1998 is getting two more sizes. Ventura mentions both are thinner ring gauges.
As far as the blending process, Ventura and Elmudesi explained part of the process. Tastings are blind and without a spoken word to be as neutral as it gets. The flavor and perception of the cigar count for 50%. The other components weigh less heavily. The looks count for 15% just as the burn. The draw, strength, and combustion are all part of the final grade as well.
Collaborations
Even though Tabacalera de Garcia is the largest premium handmade cigar factory in the world, with 5500 employees, they collaborate. The VegaFina Fusion Edition for example is made at the Great Wall Cigar Factory in China. The blend comes from the Grupo del Maestro. But for strategic and marketing reasons, the cigars are made in China.
Javier Elmudesi says that Dominican cigar manufacturers share an opinion. And that if the blenders and torcedors are good, he calls them good chefs, it is no problem. Good chefs with good ingredients make for good products. Good blenders and rollers with good tobacco produce good cigars, no matter where.
