雪茄行业有时候会倾向于感性,往往非常重视传统和家族遗产。对于多米尼加的雪茄制造商拉奥罗拉公司来说尤其如此,该公司是多米尼加共和国历史最为悠久的手工雪茄制造商。
胡安·卢戈(Juan Lugo)刚创立了一家名为唐·多罗特奥的雪茄公司,这家公司是以他祖父的名字来命名的。胡安·卢戈的祖父多罗特奥·费尔明·德尔加多(Doroteo Fermin Delgado)早在1936年的时候,那时候多罗特奥才16岁,那一年他父亲去世,他成为家里的顶梁柱。才十几岁的多罗特奥就开始为拉奥罗拉家族种植烟叶。
2011年,多罗特奥去世。雪茄生意也没人接手,他的亲戚要么对农业没有兴趣,要么已经移民离开了多米尼加。多罗特奥的孙子胡安·卢戈已经在科技行业开始了自己的职业生涯。胡安经常想到家族的传统产业,有一次去加勒比海旅行时,他和朋友布兰登·达尔曼(Brandon Dallman)聊到了自己的想法,他们一拍即合,决定开始做。随后,胡安找到了拉奥罗拉公司,希望可以重新续起祖辈之间的业务合作关系。
胡安·卢戈和布兰登·达尔曼在卢戈家族曾经劳作的雅雀谷(Yaque Valley )买了20英亩的农地,在拉奥罗拉公司的帮助下,再次种植烟叶。如今这块地已经有了第一季的收获,烟叶也将出售给拉奥罗拉公司。与此同时,拉奥罗拉公司也允许这两个创业者使用他们公司的陈年烟叶库存来生产属于他们自己的雪茄品牌。
卢戈将要发布的第一个版本是一款名为El Legado的限量版,在西班牙语里是遗产的意思。这款雪茄将由拉奥罗拉公司代工生产,预计在今年7月份亮相美国的PCA贸易展。
用于卷制El Legado的烟叶都是陈年发酵的烟叶。茄衣是厄瓜多尔种植的苏门答腊种子烟叶,茄套是哥伦比亚、多米尼加的混合烟叶,茄芯是尼加拉瓜烟叶。
El Legado的售价并不便宜,有五个尺寸,大部分单支售价在20美元。皇冠,42环径,5.5英寸,单支售价17美元。罗布图,50环径,5英寸,单支售价17.5美元。丘吉尔,47环径,7英寸,单支售价17美元。相扑公牛(Sumo Toro),54环径,5.75英寸,单支售价19.5美元。比力高,52环径,6.25英寸,单支售价19.5美元。
相扑公牛(相扑是日本词汇,形容这款公牛的粗大)是每盒3支包装,其他尺寸都是每盒20支包装。烟标上印制的1936是多罗特奥·费尔明·德尔加多开始种植烟叶的年份。
胡安·卢戈告诉记者,这些雪茄将在PVA贸易展之后立即发货,他们也在准备其他新的产品线。
附参考文章:
The cigar industry can sometimes lean sentimental, and often puts a lot of emphasis on tradition and family legacy. This is particularly true for Dominican cigarmaker La Aurora. The family-owned company is the oldest handmade cigar manufacturer in the Dominican Republic, and is renewing a partnership that began almost a century ago with Juan Lugo, whose grandfather Doroteo Fermin Delgado once grew tobacco for La Aurora.
Lugo has created a new cigar company called Don Doroteo named after his grandfather, and the first release will be a limited-edition line called El Legado, or “the legacy” in Spanish. Made by La Aurora, the cigars are appearing at the PCA trade show this July.
The story began in 1936 when Doroteo Fermin Delgado was 16. That year, his father passed away and he became the head of the family household. The teenaged Delgado partnered with La Aurora to grow tobacco for them. When Delgado passed away in 2011, the business died with him as his relatives either had no interest in farming or had left the Dominican Republic. His grandson, Lugo, had established a career in the tech industry but often dreamed of returning to his family roots. While on a trip to the Caribbean, he and his friend Brandon Dallman discussed the idea of creating their own cigar and they resolved to do so. Lugo then approached La Aurora with his family story and renewed his grandfather’s partnership.
For this arrangement, Lugo and Dallman purchased 20 acres of land in the Yaque Valley where Lugo’s family had once grown tobacco. With the help of La Aurora, the partners cultivated and prepped the land for tobacco once more, and the fields have already yielded the first harvest, which will be sold to La Aurora. In exchange, the pair were allowed access to La Aurora’s inventory of specially aged tobaccos, and the El Legado brand was born.
According to the company, all of the tobaccos used in El Legado have been considerably aged. The cigars consist of an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper and binder with a blend of Colombian, Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers.
El Legado will be available in five sizes, but the cigars will not be cheap, as most have suggested retail prices around $20. In price order, the Corona measures 5 1/2 inches by 42 ring gauge with a suggested retail price of $17. The Robusto, at 5 by 50, retails for $17.50. The 7-by-47, events-only Churchill costs $18.50 while the Sumo Toro (5 3/4 by 54) and Belicoso (6 1/4 by 52) are both $19.50. All come in boxes of 20, save for the Sumo Toro, which comes in three-packs. On the band is the year 1936 in honor of Delgado’s legacy.
Lugo told Cigar Aficionado that the cigars will start shipping immediately after the PCA trade show and more lines are in the works.
新意盎然——安徽中烟在新质生产力实践中的探索与成果