First released in 2001, the Gurkha Shaggy Cigar, named for its signature unfinished foot, returns to US retailer shelves in April.
“In my travels throughout the country, visiting our clients and other tobacco shops, I’m always asked about the Shaggy cigar,” said Juan Lopez, National Sales Director. “People want to know what happened to the Shaggy and when is it coming out again. On a recent visit to our factory in Nicaragua, Carlos Llaca-Torano, Operations Director, was taking inventory when he came across a few boxes of the Shaggy. The Oliva Family, the original creator of the Shaggy, still had the recipe in their books from 2001. After a conversation with Kaizad and the Olivas, we decided to make it available in limited quantities.”
“The reason behind the unfinished foot on the Shaggy is that when you first start to smoke the first half inch of the cigar you’re smoking just the binder and filler, but when that burn hits the wrapper the flavor profile completely changes,” said Lopez. “We were able to recapture the original blend of the Shaggy Cigar. I think it will do well especially at this price point.”
The unbanded cigar comes in boxes of 25 encased with loose tobacco. There will be 2,000 boxes of each of the four sizes of the Shaggy released twice a year. The price is USD 8.00 for a Robosto, USD 8.50 for a Toro, USD 9.00 for the Churchill and USD 9.99 for the XO.
