Agape Lifestyle Inc. Launches Freud Cigar Co.
Startup company Agape Lifestyle Inc., which is headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, is about to introduce a new cigar company next month, and with it, a brand that evokes one of the most famous cigar-smokers in history—Dr. Sigmund Freud.
Called Freud Cigar Co., the new operation will debut the SuperEgo Collection in mid-May. It’s a line that keeps with the Freudian theme and is rolled in the Dominican Republic at the William Ventura factory.
If Agape Lifestyle Inc. and its subsidiary Freud Cigar Co. don’t sound familiar, it’s because the two companies only formed last summer. The lifestyle-focused entities are the result of a partnership between venture capitalist and cigar enthusiast David Stadnyk along with Luis Torres, former head of Casa de Montecristo Inc. and previous national retail director for Oettinger Davidoff AG.
“With the exception of Winston Churchill, Dr. Sigmund Freud is the most prominent cigar smoker in world history,” Torres tells Cigar Aficionado. “The term ‘Freudian slip’ is part of the lexicon in daily language.”
According to Torres, SuperEgo is inspired by “one of three agents in Freud’s model for psychoanalytic theory, namely the moral standards by which the ego operates.” If the concept seems a bit probing, note that you won’t need a minor in psychology to understand the cigar. Plainly put, SuperEgo is a medium-bodied blend made with an Ecuadoran Corojo wrapper, Sumatra binder and filler tobacco from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. It comes in four sizes: Toro, measuring 6 inches by 52 ring gauge; Robusto Extra, at 5 by 54; a 6 1/2-by-42-inch Lonsdale; and a 6 by 60 called Magnum. They come presented in 10-count boxes and have suggested retail prices ranging from $16 to $18 per cigar.
Distribution of SuperEgo has been taken up by Illusione Cigars out of Reno, Nevada.
SuperEgo is the maiden product launch for Agape (pronounced ah-GAH-pay) which is an ancient Greek tenet for unconditional love. Agape plans to release a high-end mezcal in the future, as well as more cigar brands under the Freud Cigar Co. banner later this year.
