C.L.E. Debuting 1916 Tabacalera Eiroa
For many cigar companies the business is a family affair, with lessons of the leaf passed down from father to child. The Eiroas are one of those families, and now a member of its fourth generation has created a blend to honor the long history of Eiroas growing tobacco and making cigars.
The cigar is 1916 Tabacalera Eiroa, named for the year Generoso Eiroa began growing cigar tobacco more than 100 years ago. It was created by Generoso’s great-grandson Santi Eiroa of C.L.E. Cigar Co.
Eiroa said the cigar reflects a middle ground between his father and his grandfather. “My father, Christian, prefers fuller-bodied cigars yet my grandfather, Julio, leans milder. I tend to prefer something in the middle, and I often wonder what my great-grandfather, Generoso Eiroa’s preference was. This blend reflects that balance, a bridge across generations.”
The cigar has been in the works for some time. “The original idea started about two years ago,” Eiroa told Cigar Aficionado. “My goal was to find a way to introduce a new generation to cigars while building on the foundation that the generations before me created. As the fourth generation of my family working in tobacco, I wanted to bring together tobaccos that represent those generations while approaching the blend from my own perspective.”
Blended with Corojo and Pinareño-seed tobaccos grown by the Eiroa family, 1916 Tabacalera Eiroa will come in four regular-production sizes: Robusto, measuring 5 inches long by 50 ring; Toro, 6 by 52; El Gordo, 5 1/2 by 60; and Belicoso (the lone figurado of the group), 6 1/2 by 50. The cigars range in price from $16 to $19, and will ship in 18-count boxes.
There is a fifth size that will be made just for an event in Morocco, called the Personal, measuring 5 1/2 inches long by 44 ring gauge. “The Personal size is a vitola I used to smoke often with my father…and my grandfather,” Eiroa said. That size will only be for retailers who attend the Morocco event.
C.L.E.’s 1916 Tabacalera Eiroa will debut at the PCA trade show in April and will start shipping in May or June.
