Caldwell and Drew Estate Launch All Out Kings
Three cigarmakers have come together to blend a new cigar called All Out Kings. The cigar is a collaborative effort between Willy Herrera and Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate and Robert Caldwell of Caldwell Cigar Co.
All Out Kings made its debut at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers trade show last year and shipped to a few retailers immediately following the show. The cigar was slated for a more formal, nationwide launch in November, but was postponed at the request of Drew Estate master blender Willy Herrera, who decided the cigars needed more time to rest. The full rollout of All Out Kings started last month.
"[All Out Kings] has started shipping out," Willy Herrera told Cigar Aficionado. "I delayed the release of the cigar because I felt it wasn't ready. The stalk-cut Connecticut Habano wrapper is very thick and oily and required a bit more time in aging rooms to ensure that it smoked and tasted right."
All Out Kings is draped in a dark, stalk-cut Connecticut Habano wrapper and contains an Indonesian Sumatra binder and fillers consisting of Jalapa and Estelí viso from Nicaragua, Dominican seco and Connecticut broadleaf ligero.
It comes in four sizes: Smash, at 5 inches by 52 ring ($13.80); Give Me Your Lunch Money, 5 3/4 by 46 ($12.80); Foreverlast, 6 1/2 by 54 ($14.80); and The 4th Pose, 6 by 54 ($15.80). Though All Out Kings was originally planned to be produced at Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A., the cigars were ultimately made at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, also in Nicaragua.
"All Out Kings was blended at Drew Estate by me, Caldwell and J.D. and will continue to be manufactured at Drew Estate," Herrera said.
All Out Kings comes packaged in 20-count boxes. The cigar bands and box artwork are emblazoned with an image of three fists grasping a crown, a reference to the three cigarmakers working together on the blend.
"This is an exciting project for us," Caldwell told Cigar Aficionado at the 2016 IPCPR trade show. "[All Out Kings] rounds out our portfolio with a Nicaraguan-made cigar."
Caldwell's other brands are made in the Dominican Republic and Honduras. All Out Kings is being distributed by Caldwell Cigar Co., and the cigars are arriving on store shelves now.
This article first appeared in the April 4 edition of Cigar Insider.
