Quesada Adding Fonseca Nicaragua Line
Fonseca, one of the oldest brands in the Quesada Cigars portfolio, is getting the Nicaragua treatment.
The new, value-priced Fonseca Nicaragua is rolled solely with Nicaraguan tobaccos and will debut at this month's International Cigars & Pipe Retailers trade show.
Made in Nicaragua by the Plasencia family, a longtime partner of the Quesadas, Fonseca Nicaragua features tobaccos from Estelí and Ometepe, a volcanic island located in the middle of Lake Nicaragua renowned by tobacco growers for its soil content. The oscuro wrapper, which hails from Jalapa, is Criollo ‘98 viso.
Fonseca Nicaragua will come in three sizes, packed in 20-count boxes: a 6 inch by 50 ring gauge Toro; a 5 1/2 by 54 Robusto; and a 5 by 42 Petite Corona. The new line will retail from $4.99 to $5.95.
"Because this is the first time we will make a Fonseca outside of the Dominican Republic, we wanted to create a special cigar that everyone can afford to smoke. And so we approached this project with the concept of creating a $10 to $12 cigar for $4 to $6," said Terence Reilly, of Quesada Cigars, in a press release.
Fonseca was originally a milder cigar covered by a Connecticut wrapper and was one of the first brands from company owner Manuel Quesada. Cigar Aficionado first rated the cigar 23 years ago, in its Spring 1993 issue, and the popular brand has spawned three expansions: Fonseca Cubano Limitado, Fonseca Cubano Exclusivo and Fonseca Vintage.
