Bond Roberts Releases 109-Style Cigar
Many refer to it as a 109. Others call it a “drop head” or “cabeza tumbada.” And a few even say it’s a campana, or bell. Whatever your terminology, there’s no denying the alluringly curious form of the 109-style head, which resembles a belicoso tip, but with a more subtle taper. Bond Roberts, a U.K.-based online Cuban cigar auction house, has launched a new size in its namesake line, and the cigar is rolled in the Cuban 109 shape.
Called the Bond Roberts Línea D No. 1 109, the cigar measures 7 1/4 inches by 50 ring gauge and is made in Honduras with mostly Honduran tobacco save for some Nicaraguan filler. It’s available now and follows the launch of the Petit 109, which came out this summer marking the brand’s debut. Both cigars were blended by Hamlet Paredes and made at the Oscar Valladares factory, but the blend of this new release differs from the Petit 109.
The cigars have a suggested retail price of $21 each, come packaged in 50-count cabinets and are sold at James J. Fox retailers in London and Ireland. Early next year, distribution will be expanded on a global level, according to the company, which says there has been interest from retailers in the United States, Asia and Europe. International distribution will be handled by Ravi Mahbubani of COH Cigars.
Bond Roberts was started in 2020 by Robert Fox, managing director of James J. Fox Tobacconist, (the oldest cigar retailer in the United Kingdom), and Internet cigar retailer Rob Ayala.
“The response to the Petit 109 has been overwhelming,” says Ayala. “We didn’t want to wait too long to bring the next cigar in the series to market.”
