Los Angeles – "[I]n order to increase our market share and strengthen our position in the U.S. market, we felt it was imperative to introduce changes to our marketing and distribution strategies.

"Joya de Nicaragua is an exemplary Nicaraguan puro which has earned a privileged place with experienced cigar smokers. The task before us now is to achieve a market presence which is consistent not only with its value, but more importantly, its soul."

With that preamble, Joya de Nicaragua owner Dr. Alejandro Martinez Cuenca formally announced on March 25 his company’s decision to award its American distribution rights, as expected, to fellow Nicaraguan cigar maker Drew Estate.

"Drew Estate’s commitment to adopt my vision of Joya de Nicaragua and its goals was the key factor in my decision," said Martinez Cuenca in a statement. "The fact that they have their own in-house sales force and marketing department were important ingredients also. Plus the most obvious factor is the success they are having in increasing their own market share within the highly competitive U.S. market. We feel an alliance between our two companies will be a win-win situation for all, including cigar stores and consumers nationwide."

Since deciding to end its long relationship with S.A.G. Imports, owned by Manuel Quesada, four distributors were under consideration, but insiders predicted some time ago that Drew Estate was in the lead, especially because it had its own sales force. One example of the advantage this could offer Joya de Nicaragua: in the month of April alone, Drew Estate already has announced 23 in-store events in 10 different states across the U.S.

For the innovative Drew Estate team, the distribution of Joya de Nicaragua’s four lines – Joya de Nicaragua, Joya de Nicaragua Antano 1970, Joya de Nicaragua Celebracion and Joya de Nicaragua Serie C – will be a new challenge since the company has, up to now, concentrated on the development and promotion of its own brands, such as Acid, Natural, La Vieja Habana, Chateau Real and others. However, none of Drew Estate’s existing brands fill the same niche as the full-bodied Joya de Nicaragua.

"We are deeply honored to have been chosen to represent Joya de Nicaragua and other JdN-made brands in the U.S. and look very much forward to working with Dr. Martinez Cuenca," said Drew Estate president Steve Saka. "JdN is a brand with tremendous historic significance in our industry and the cigars themselves are exceptional in quality and flavor, one of my own personal favorites. Our job is simple: get them in the mouths of cigar smokers, because these cigars speak for themselves."

Drew Estate’s distribution agreement is for the U.S. only and Joya de Nicaragua, S.A., will continue to service its international and Duty Free accounts directly. More importantly, the announcement of the agreement included a note that "all aspects of the manufacture, including blending, tobacco selection and fermenting and production will continue to be completed exclusively by JdN in their own Esteli, Nicaragua factory." Distribution of Joya de Nicaragua products will continue to be handled by S.A.G. Imports through Friday, April 25, 2008 and the Drew Estate distributorship will begin after that date.

>> From thousands of first-timers who tried to roll a cigar at La Gloria Super Roll events across the country in 2007, Chicago oral surgeon Russell Cecala was selected as the winner of the sixth national Super Roll competition in Miami on March 16.

The 47-year-old Cecala and five other rollers competed for the top prize over two days with the winning entry selected by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, the man who made La Gloria Cubana one of the most popular brands in the U.S. from his El Credito Cigars shop in Miami and the eternally stylish El Credito marketing chief Michael Giannini.

Asked if his surgeon’s hands gave him the edge, Cecala said, "My hands are my life and I take great pride in doing what I do. I work in a field where I am constantly dealing with very fragile anatomy, so when it came to the cigar rolling competition, working on an inanimate object was really very relaxing and enjoyable for me."

As a reward for winning, Cecala was inducted into the El Credito Cigar Factory Hall of Fame, and received a custom-made humidor filled with 100 hand-crafted La Gloria Cubana cigars, each boasting its own secondary band emblazoned with the title "Super Roll Champ 2008." Russell also walked away with an authentic El Credito cigar mold from the 1960s which Perez-Carrillo autographed during the awards ceremony. For his final prize, Cecala was given a commemorative drawing created during the Super Roll by renowned Cuban artist Edin Gutierrez.

>> Short fillers: Find our latest tasting review, of four blends of the Joya de Nicaragua lines, in our News & Views archives for March 28.

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Heard in the Humidor is a publication of Perelman, Pioneer & Company of Los Angeles, California, USA. Copyright 2007; All rights reserved.