Fratello’s Smooth And Strong Is Two Cigars In One
It’s a two-sided cigar and a choose-your-own adventure of sorts. In a few months, Fratello Cigars will be launching a brand called Smooth And Strong. Cut one side and you’ll get a “smooth,” mild-to-medium-bodied smoking experience. Cut the other and you’ll get something much stronger. Both ends are sealed and it’s up to you which end to snip and which end to light.
“This project is easily one of the most challenging projects I have had the pleasure to work on,” says brand owner Omar de Frias. “We blended a cigar where the consumer decides if they want to start their smoking experience smooth and creamy or strong and spicy.”
The cigar comes in a large format measuring 7 inches by 52 ring gauge. It’s covered in an Ecuador Habano wrapper. A bit of very dark maduro tobacco on one end indicates the strong side while a bit of much lighter tobacco on the other indicates the smooth side. Underneath is an Indonesian binder that holds together a filler blend of Pennsylvanian and Nicaraguan leaf. Of course, the proportions of tobacco are different depending on the side.
If this all sounds familiar it’s because Fratello has done it before. In 2022, the company launched Vice Versa, which was the same concept.
Smooth And Strong will have a suggested retail price of $17 each when it debuts in June. It’s made in the Dominican Republic at the La Aurora factory. They are packaged in in 30-count boxes that hold five six-packs, but Fratello says the cigars can be sold individually as well. Only 12,000 cigars will be produced this year, and Fratello intends Smooth And Strong to have an annual release.
