Tuesday, August 02 2005
The collaborative effort of four cigar masters has General Cigar executives shouting "VIVA BOLIVAR!" in praise of the full-scale re-launch of the eponymous Bolivar® brand.
The collaborative effort of four cigar masters has General Cigar executives shouting "VIVA BOLIVAR!" in praise of the full-scale re-launch of the eponymous Bolivar® brand.
Under the direction of cigar master Daniel Nuñez, Bolivar was developed with input from industry greats including Benji Menendez, Estelo Padrón and Ernesto Perez-Carrillo.
Cooper Gardiner, vice president of marketing for General Cigar comments, "Bolivar embodies the 'new General Cigar.' The final blend is the result of extensive input from our stable of cigar masters and from our new product development team. It is the epitome of what we collectively believe a Bolivar cigar should be."
As the boldest, most full-bodied cigar in the General Cigar portfolio, Bolivar is dressed in a thick, full-bodied wrapper of Honduran San Agustin Ligero and is bound with Havano Medio Tiempo, the Connecticut-grown tobacco that wraps Partagas® Black Label. The blend for Bolivar consists of Dominican tobacco which is complemented by Nicaraguan filler from Esteli, and from the remote volcanic island of Ometepe.
According to Bill Chilian, director of marketing for Bolivar, "To do justice to such a classic brand name as Bolivar, we decided to give the brand an 'extreme makeover'. Our intent was to provide consumers with a flavorful powerhouse of a cigar, one worthy of its pedigree, and I believe that we have delivered that in spades. We're confident that Bolivar will become a fast favorite among tenured smokers."
Bolivar cigars will debut with four traditional Cuban frontmarks. Bolivar Lonsdale is a 6 ½" x 45 cigar, which will be available at retail for $5.50 per cigar, or $112.50 for a box of 25 cigars. Bolivar Robusto (5 ½" x 50) will be protected in a crystal tube and will sell for $5.80 per cigar at retail; a box containing eight Bolivar Robustos will cost $46.40. At 6" x 52, Bolivar Toro will sell for $5.95 per cigar, while a box of 25 Toros will come with a suggested retail price of $148.75. Bolivar Churchills which measure 7" x 49 will cost $6.25 per cigar at retail, or $156.25 for a 25-count box.
Orders for the ultra full-bodied Dominican collection will be taken during the product's debut at this year's RTDA trade show in August. Consumers can expect to see Bolivar cigars in tobacconists' humidors beginning in late September.
Packaging for Bolivar is noble and masculine, a testament to the cigar's namesake, Simón Bolivar, the legendary liberator who led wars of Independence in several South American countries. Maintaining the integrity of the brand's Cuban origin, Bolivar cigars will be housed in a handsome, dark-colored box with outstanding gold foil treatments.
General Cigar owns the rights to the Bolivar trademark. Bolivar Fuerte, which was made by General Cigar and sold exclusively through JR Cigars, will now be called Bolivar Cofradia, and will continue to be sold as a JR exclusive.
