International Macanudos Migrate To The U.S.
A Macanudo cigar available on the international market is coming to the United States. Dubbed Macanudo Inspirado, the brand was first released by General Cigar in Europe in 2014 and is currently available in over 40 countries worldwide. The cigar is expected to arrive stateside this month and will be available in two formats: Macanudo Inspirado Orange and Macanudo Inspirado Black. The former will be a brick-and-mortar exclusive, the latter for Internet and catalog retailers.
"The launch of Macanudo Inspirado marks another exciting milestone for this iconic brand," said Alan Willner, vice president of marketing at General in a statement. "By bringing this global brand extension stateside, we are continuing to evolve Macanudo by expanding the line with fuller-flavored offerings."
Inspirado Orange is draped in a Honduran wrapper grown in the San Agustín valley of Olancho and contains a Honduran binder with filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. Inspirado Black wears a Habano Connecticut wrapper from the United States, a binder leaf grown in the Dominican Republic that's proprietary to General called La Vega Especiale, and utilizes fillers from Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
Inspirado Orange is positioned as a medium- to full-bodied cigar; Inspirado Black as full-bodied. The blending team behind Inspirado was lead by Jhonys Diaz, vice president of operations for General, who was recently promoted to a management role within the company.
Both Inspirado brands will launch in the U.S. in the same four vitolas and with the same retail prices: Toro, at 5 3/4 inches by 52 ring ($6.59); Gigante, 6 by 60 ($7.19); Churchill, 7 by 50 ($6.99); and Robusto, 5 by 50 ($6.19). Macanudo Inspirado Orange is made at General Cigar's STG Danlí factory in Honduras while Macanudo Inspirado Black is rolled at General Cigar Dominicana in the Dominican Republic.
The cigars ship in boxes of 20 and will be available to consumers later this month.
This article first appeared in the April 5, 2016 issue of Cigar Insider.
