Cigar Companero 2nd Editon March 2008 Reyes Family Cigars Premiere Cigar Interview

Reyes Family Cigars has a new logo, new leader, and a new blend coming out in March, we talked to Frank Santos about this new release and what this means to Reyes Family Cigar. With Carlos Diez at the reins comes a change, but still bound to tradition, there is something new abound, so let's see what it is.

FS: How you doing?

CC: Good, and you?

(We discussed the weather differences between Miami, FL and Phoenix, AZ a little first, thought that you guys might not really be interested in the weather so we jumped ahead a little.)

CC: I am here speaking with Frank Santos of Reyes Family Cigars on the new release of the first cigar under the new name of Reyes Family Cigars, so first, what sizes and shapes should we expect to see the new cigar in?

FS: First I would like to say hello to all your audience here and let
you guys know the sizes for the new cigar will be the basic top
sellers around the nation which is Robusto, Toro, Torpedo, and
I think we might come out with a Corona size 6 x 46."

CC: What should we expect for the tobacco origin of this new blend?

FS: For the Premiere cigar; we will be using tobacco for the binder
and filler which are strictly from Nicaragua; from the Condega and
Jalapa regions. The wrapper is a Costa Rican Maduro.

CC: Costa Rican?!

FS: Yes, very small quantities of that but it's a very rich tobacco.

CC: I visited Costa Rica and they have some very distinctive tasting
tobacco, are there any special tastes that one can look for in this new
blend?

FS: In my opinion it is just very rich and flavorful, it's more towards
the high end of the medium spectrum. It's what I call a flavor bomb.
Its just rich deep tobacco flavors.

CC: They grow pretty good rich stuff there in Costa Rica!

FS: Oh yeah!

CC: Is the new cigar made in the same factories of cigars of past
from Puros Indios?

FS: Everything is coming out of our factory in Danli, Honduras,
obviously we are not using tobacco out of Honduras and this is the
first time we used the tobacco out of Costa Rica and regions of
Nicaragua which are Condega and Jalapa in this brand new blend.

CC: Anything special we should know about with the aging or
curing of the tobacco used for the new blend?

FS: Absolutely, all of our tobacco is aged a minimum of 2 to 3 years, so for this blend we are using an aged wrapper of at least 3 years of the Costa Rica Maduro, and the filler is at least aged 2 years.

CC: I noticed the taste is nothing like the usual old world taste of the former Puros Indios, how did this come about?

FS: The new taste comes from Carlos, and this is his personal blend he created on his own, obviously with his grandfather overseeing it. Since the shift in the company was towards the hiring of Carlos as president, he decided he wanted to create a new blend to commemorate the new name and the direction we are going in and since we are using tobacco from new regions you are going to have a new taste coming out of our factory, which you have never tasted before but again its something new and exciting and we are really excited about this.

MC: When and where will these cigars become available?

FS: The cigars are going to available at the world premiere at Havana Cigars in Anthem, AZ a suburb of Phoenix, just north of Phoenix. (Premiere Date currently set for March 21, 2008)

CC: Is there a name for the new blend yet?

FS: It is called the Premiere, the Reyes Family Premiere.

CC: What is your perspective on this new blend?

FS: I'm extremely excited. We were fortunate that we got some
good tobacco for this blend and we kind of ventured outside the
typical taste profile of the Puros Indios and Cuba Aliados
brands that were coming out of our factory. Carlos took about
roughly a year to 2 years to come up with this special blend.
Just very rich in flavor if you usually smoke mild cigars, it's
more to the medium end and you will enjoy it, and if you are a
full body cigar smoker then you will enjoy it just as well

CC: Really awesome to see Carlos come up and not only takes the reins as President of the company but jump right into the mix with a new cigar blend.

FS: If I might add, he's young but he been in this business practically all his life so he really knows what the consumers needs are and he's got all the experience in the world and finally took the reins just like you said.

CC: With the new cigar I notice comes a new band and look, will the Puros Indios brands and Cuba Aliados brands still be available and under the same label or a new label?

FS: For now they will remain untouched same label, same great taste. In the future who knows, we might change some things around. But for now these classic blends and classic names and the package around them will stay the same.

CC: And I am sure that Carlos and Grandpa are proud of the new blend, anything special the two have had to say about the new blend?

FS: Actually the toughest critic was his grandfather so he had to please his grandfather with this before he actually brought it out to everybody else to the office and all the other consumers we had taste tests with including yourself so his grandfather was just thrilled that everything he has taught his grandson it has kind of blossomed he is thrilled he's thrilled it going the right way.

CC: This is a huge venture for Carlos and the company; I was really impressed at the taste and the individuality of the new cigar.

FS: That is what we aimed for. I am glad that is what you gather from it. I might add to the listeners please log onto out website and you can browse around and look at all our new products and our history at www.reyesfamilycigars.com and look to see you guys there.

MC: We thank you for your time and input on the new Premier Cigar from Reyes Family Cigars and the story behind it. We really look forward to the release.

FS: Excellent

The Premiere Release is scheduled on Friday March 21, 2008 at 4 pm
at Havana Cigars in Anthem, AZ. If you can, we hope to see you there.