West Tampa Tobacco Adds New Line
Last year, Rick Rodriguez, the longtime blender and brand ambassador for General Cigar, stepped out to form a new venture, West Tampa Tobacco Co., with fellow General veteran Gus Martinez. The Tampa-based operation debuted with two core brands, the West Tampa Black and White series, that began shipping to cigar retailers early last summer. Now, they’re adding another line to their portfolio, West Tampa Red.
“West Tampa Red gave me the opportunity to sit down with the factory and really focus on creating a blend that I enjoy,” said Rodriguez. “Red will be a reflection of what I believe is the next piece to lay in the West Tampa puzzle, a full-bodied cigar that delivers the full flavor consumers have come to enjoy from West Tampa.”
The new cigars will feature Mexican San Andrés wrappers with Nicaraguan binders and fillers. Like the Black and White series, West Tampa Red is made at the Garmendia Cigar Co. factory in Nicaragua and will come in three sizes: Robusto, measuring 5 inches by 50 ring gauge; a 6-by-52 Toro and Gigante, at 6 by 60. The suggested retail price of the smokes is $8.99, $9.99 and $10.99 per stick, respectively. Each size will ship in boxes of 20 and they are expected to head to retailers in May.
West Tampa Tobacco Co. also released the limited-edition Attic series last October as part of an ongoing, special-release project that’s intended to feature blends Rodriguez has locked away in his ‘attic’ over the course of his career.
