Should a LE ever be made standard production?

[Mitch]

Fuente has gotten me thinking.

We've all seen HTF LE's go at auction for crazy prices. We often save and cherish our HTF's even if there is a production cigar very close in size and flavor. So is it OK for Fuente or anyone to take their rare cigars and mass produce them with the same band, same name, etc. taking away the excucivity they once held.

I'm not talking about the ECCJ becoming the Epinary, diffirent name and brand, the Boris following the Frank with different size and band, or the 898 SG's having a few more released in very small quantity each year. I'm talking about a mass release of 898 Rosada, Opus Sharks and Love Stories/Affairs all released in much larger quantities then the orginals had ever been released. (if my numbers are not accurate, please check me)

Your thoughts...

 

[theribdoctor]

you raise an interesting point Mitch, but I don't have a good answer...for those looking for the chase, the answer is hell no, for those just looking for a great smoke...then the answer is hell yes.

btw: did u find a brown hoodie at your house from the herf?

 

[hdroadglide]

well from a marketing standpoint, who wouldn't want to buy a new release of a famous cigar. that being said. i think all of us can now see that no matter how hard a manufacturer tries, they are never going to capture the same lightning in a a bottle they had with the OR. and, when they don't live up to the same reputation as the OR, it makes the original just that much more valuable?

 

[Alwayslit]

OR's will always command more....imho. It's good in a way that other can try these. I don't think these can be defined as mass produced just a touch more accessible.

 

[Asher]

I say yes, unless it was specifically designed to be rare (advertised as 'only 1000 made', etc.). If it was designated as a one-time-only thing, then the re-release should at least be labeled as such.

 

[terrantheman]

Honestly Mitch I'm thrilled to death that they are doing this... Good quality cigars that are readily available is a difficult thing to come by... Like we need another monster release fiasco??? Believe you me we're watching and old pro that has stood the test of time work there magic and will only get back some lost sales because of another few key manufacturers gain some of the market share.

 

[terrantheman]

By the way you can always tell what's what by the color of the cello, right?

 

[SkinsFanLarry]

AVO for one has already done it, at least two of the "Avo Birthday Special Editions" have become regular line cigars.

 

[caseabb]

Honestly Mitch I'm thrilled to death that they are doing this... Good quality cigars that are readily available is a difficult thing to come by... Like we need another monster release fiasco??? Believe you me we're watching and old pro that has stood the test of time work there magic and will only get back some lost sales because of another few key manufacturers gain some of the market share.

+1:ccowboy:

 

[Treinenwj]

Personally, I would love to see some LE's become regular production. Of course, the manufacturers would have to lower the price, but they would make up for it with increased sales.

 

[Starz26]

By the way you can always tell what's what by the color of the cello, right?

Only if the cello was a part of the cigar. How easy would it be to just put a new cigar in old cello? :dunno:

 

[flathead59]

I'm all for it, with one caveat: the quality has to remain the same. I think that's where the rub will be. It may be possible to get the particular quality/blend factors figured out for, say 1,000 boxes worth of cigars, but what happens when you multiply that number by a hundred?

Mark

 

[whodeeni]

Ummmmmm what's an "OR"? :dunno:

OR's will always command more....imho. It's good in a way that other can try these. I don't think these can be defined as mass produced just a touch more accessible.

 

[diesel]

Ummmmmm what's an "OR"? :dunno:

Original Release.

 

[njstone]

There are rumors of the Tat T110 becoming a full line. I'd love that. I buy cigars because I like to smoke them, give them away, and collect them--but not to brag or show off so much. So an LE I love becoming a wider release or even a full line = awesome!

And from a marketing standpoint, starting a stick off as an LE to generate buzz is a brilliant idea.

 

[tmoney2007]

If pete has the leaves to keep a steady supply of T110's coming, I think they'd do well. You never know though. They are great smokes, but I don't know if there are enough people interested in that kind of smoke to make it successful in full production. Maybe a couple hundred boxes a couple times a year...

I think LE smokes serve a purpose other than hype. I guess you could still call it hype, but a cigar maker can't come out with a whole new line every year forever to keep the brand fresh in people's minds. LE cigars fill in that gap.

 

[indyrob]

Boutique cigars are and will always be a limited production. Keeping some of the harvest set aside because it's just that good and making a LE is a great use of the leaf...and it's that LE that should showcase the manufacturer.

If all the LE's became a regular release how would it impact the rest of the regular lines? If only the top 5% of the crop was earmarked for LE use, would it have to jump to 10% to keep up with demand? Where would they come up with the extra 5%? It would have to come out of the allotted materials for the rest of the line.

2 things would happen....

1 - The flagship vitolas would loose a little bit either in numbers or quality. The materials were used elsewhere and it's either cut production numbers down or skimp a little to compensate.

2 - The quality of the LE would not be as good as it could be. THe originl allottment of 5% was THE top of the crop. Leaves that originally were deemed not owrthy are now being used to keep up with demand.

In the long run, it's a loose/loose situation. Keep your LE's set aside and be humbled that they are the top 5% of the crop. If you smoke them casually, well you'll just run out of them faster and wish they were just another regular production stick.


To the crack about the fiasco - I don't know Pete from Steve...never met him in a face to face enviorment, never hung with the dude...never had any real conversations with him but he seems like 'one of us'...Joe 6-pack. I think he just wanted to do all the cool shit we WISH some of the big dogs would do. Yeah, he made a couple of mistakes but at least he made it fun. He's the one that has to deal with all the shit gone wrong that none of us will ever have to bear...

 

[daniyal]

Last I checked cigars were made to be smoked not stored so why not? make them part of the regular line and let people enjoy some fine tobaccy!

 

[Mitch]

I largly agre about the access to good cigars and good tobbacco is a good thing. But that isn't what I'm talking about, Fuente has a lot of great Opus and some HTF's that are special blends. But will an Opus shark really taste diffirent than a Super B or No.2? Same blend, same wrapper, almost the same size. But, the Shark used to have a mystique about it, smoking one was smoking something very special.

I for one, believes that smoking a cigar is as much about who you smoke it with and why, as it is about the cigar. I mark the special occasons and friendships of my life with special cigars and that is the main reason I've filled my humidor with HTF's. When we had our HERF here I gave away 90 year old clear havana's. Good cigars, but not on par with many of todays finest, or even very good. But, a very special night. I took great pride in being able to hand a brohter a BBMF because he'd always wanted one and had not been able to get one.

So, not to rag on Fuente, but I think HTF's have a value of more than just their tobacco, and would be sad if many of the special cigars I'm holding onto for special occasions, suddenly were released in the same band, same size, same blend and were suddenly not so special.

My .02

 

[whodeeni]

Having experienced it, and seeing his amazing humidor .... In the words of the famous Smokey Robinson...... "I second that emoooootion...." :eyebrow:

I largly agre about the access to good cigars and good tobbacco is a good thing. But that isn't what I'm talking about, Fuente has a lot of great Opus and some HTF's that are special blends. But will an Opus shark really taste diffirent than a Super B or No.2? Same blend, same wrapper, almost the same size. But, the Shark used to have a mysique about it, smoking one was smoking something very special.

I for one, believes that smoking a cigar is as much about who you smoke it with and why, as it is about the cigar. I mark the special occasons and friendships of my life with special cigars and that is the main reason I've filled my humidor with HTF's. When we had our HERF here I gave away 90 year old clear havana's. Good cigars, but not on par with many of todays finest, or even very good. But, a very special night. I took great pride in being able to hand a brohter a BBMF because he'd always wanted one and had not been able to get one.

So, not to rag on Fuente, but I think HTF's have a value of more than just their tobacco, and would be sad if many of the special cigars I'm holding onto for special occasions, suddenly were released in the same band, same size, same blend and were suddenly not so special.

My .02