Drew Estate Herrera Esteli Adds Brazilian Maduro
Willy Herrera, Drew Estate’s master blender, has always enjoyed working with Brazilian tobaccos. Before he ed Drew Estate in 2014, he would experiment with Arapiraca and Mata Fina, two of Brazil’s more famous tobacco varietals, while blending at Miami's tiny El Titan de Bronze factory on Calle Ocho.
“I love the sweetness of [Mata Fina], the floral notes it has,” he said during an interview at the recent International Cigar and Pipe Retailers trade show. “I always wanted to work with it, but it’s very expensive and hard to get.”
This year, Drew Estate gave Herrera the green light to add a new line to the lauded Herrera Esteli brand. Herrera Esteli Brazilian Maduro features a dark, Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper over a Connecticut broadleaf binder, with filler tobaccos from Nicaragua.
“When you blend Mata Fina with broadleaf, it offers a gritty, floral sweetness,” he said.
Herrera Esteli Brazilian Maduro will come in five sizes: Short Corona Gorda, which measures 5 7/8 inches 46 ring gauge; Robusto Grande 5 1/4 by 52; Maduro Lonsdale 6 by 44; Toro Especial 6 by 52; and a figurado called Fino, 6 by 52. The cigars, which come packed in 25-count flip-top boxes, are priced from $8.16 to $10.80.
Rolled at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Nicaragua, Herrera Esteli Brazilian Maduro is expected to ship to retailers in October.
