Bentley Tobacco Expanding In The United States
Bentley Tobacco is a newer cigar brand to American smokers, one that made its big debut at the PCA trade show this spring in New Orleans. But Bentley has old roots, with origins that go all the way back to 1878, in Switzerland. Two brothers founded Bru-Bu Werke AG, a company that made pipes, walking canes and ski poles. In the late 1970s, the company became known as Bentley Pipe Co., and in 2011, Martin Shuster acquired the operation and expanded into cigarillos and spirits. Six years later, Bentley entered the premium cigar market.
Last year, Bentley joined with Jonathan Carney, who spent 13 years with La Flor Dominicana. Carney was named chief executive officer of Bentley Tobacco U.S.A. (Bentley Tobacco is not affiliated with the luxury car brand of the same name.)
Bentley has two lines of cigars, each made at Joya de Nicaragua in Nicaragua. The White is blended to be milder, the Green medium-to-full in body. Right now, they are available in four identical sizes for the U.S. market: Churchill, Corona, Robusto and Toro, and the prices are the same from one line to the next.
The Corona is 5 1/2 inches long by 46 ring gauge, with a suggested retail price of $13. The Robusto, which measures 5 by 50, sells for $14, the Toro is 6 by 52 and has a $15 price tag and the Churchill (7 by 54) has a suggested retail price of $16. They come in boxes of 20.
The White is made with a Connecticut seed wrapper from Ecuador, with an all-Nicaraguan binder and filler blend. The Green is meant to be stronger, with an Ecuador Habano wrapper the company calls “Ecuador Rosado.”
Bentley is also expanding its portfolio with two new sizes that it plans to debut next month. There will also be some new packaging options for some of its cigars. The Bentley Green GT Gran Toro is a completely new size for the brand, made specifically for the U.S. market. It measures 7 by 70, and has a suggested retail price of $18. The company is also bringing out three sizes of cigars in five-packs: Toro, Robusto and Half Corona. The Half Corona is a size that’s sold in Europe, but this will be the first time it’s offered in the United States. It’s a small cigar (3 3/4 by 45) and for now it will only be available in the United States via a five pack. They have a suggested retail price of $11 per cigar, or $55 for the pack of five.
Look for a review of Bentley in an upcoming edition of Cigar Insider.
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