A growing concern

This past week has been one of the most fun and exciting for us since we began national distribution of our Emilio Cigars. On a personal level it is so rewarding to see the great reception we've been given in the marketplace, the enthusiasm of our sales staff, and the constant positive feedback from consumers.

What makes this last week so meaningful is that we're entering a period of time in which so much of our hard work is beginning to bear fruit that I'm almost overwhelmed myself, and that doesn't happen often.

For the consumers out there so anxious to get hold of Emilio Cigars the great news is that we've managed to add several new sales associates, and there are even more to come with whom we're currently in negotiations. In the southwest we're happy to welcome Eric Parkinson aboard. Although he is headquartered in Arizona it looks like he'll be broadening his horizons soon, and we look forward to what we are certain will be his success.

I saw a post on Facebook last week in which a young man I'd often taken note of said his dream would be to get involved in the cigar business. It took me just a few phone calls to make his dream come true. Andrew Yenchko will now be representing our brand in Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Thanks to the cooperative way in which we boutique manufacturers have begun to work, he will also be representing Ortega Cigars, 262 Cigars, and El Primer Mundo in those same areas.

Another new addition is Kevin Kurtz, who will be covering western Pennsylvania and Ohio, giving continued support to our existing retailers, and introducing us to new retailers and consumers in the area. I might even prod him to move a bit further afield as he has time.

In product news there's a lot of things happening. The rebranding of Grimalkin to La Musa is almost complete, and that release should happen soon. In addition the second blend in this series, the La Musa Melete should happen around the time of IPCPR in August.

Our Emilio AF Suave production is complete, and once everything is aged and packaged we'll be bringing that to market. This is a mild to medium Connecticut wrapped cigar that will be available in 5 sizes. On my next trip to Nicaragua, which is coming up soon, I'll be finishing yet another new blend with A.J. Fernandez that can hopefully be released early next year. There are also new sizes in production for both AF1 and AF2.

Our Draig K limitado will be released shortly. This line will be an annual release, with a different blend each year. As of now it looks as though the first Draig blend will have a production of 400 boxes each of corona, robusto, and toro. These will be allocated to our existing retailers through a complex mathematical process basically known as the Griffith Algorithm. I'll reward those who have been strong supporters.

Hopefully we'll be able to release our first cigar from yet another factory at IPCPR in August, a line we call Los Regalos. We're delighted with this project, and more details will follow in the coming weeks.

Is that all I have up my sleeve? Heck no. But let's just say this rather lengthy post, by the end of the year, will be considered nothing but a teaser.