Recent shows have been stagnated by the boom market's crippling of manufacturers' abilities to offer new and exciting products ­ they were simply too busy meeting backorders to develop and offer new cigars. However, this year was entirely different with many interesting different blends and sizes of cigars introduced. Three primary industry wide trends were evident during the show: 1) Utilization of Havana cigar line names on new or reintroduced products including some of the lesser-known Cuban names. Also a migration to the traditional Havana band and box designs on some existing brands. 2) General market trend towards figurado shaped cigars. Almost all the major manufacturers added a perfecto, belicoso, or torpedo to their existing lines. One new prominent brand introduced was entirely comprised of figurado cigars. 3) Introduction of stronger blends. Some of the buzz words being said around the show were "robust," "full-bodied," "Cuban like," "satisfyingly strong," and "powerful." In all cases though most of those descriptors were followed with "yet very smooth..." Below are sneak peeks of some the more interesting new cigars offered during this year's RTDA convention. You should be expecting these to hit your favorite retailer's shelves soon.

You have probably already seen some of the distinctive hunter green advertising for the Macanudo Robust. This new General Cigar Co. offering is a stronger blend of their traditional Macanudo line and is meant for the "smoker who is ready to step up." There is a huge sales campaign behind this product including window display kits, consumer giveaways, and even "An Evening with Macanudo Robust" tasting event scheduled nationwide for Friday, December 4th, 1998. This new blend is offered in six popular sizes and is expected to hit the shelves in October.

Manual Quesada's Sag Imports is introducing an extension to their very successful Fonseca line of premium cigars with addition of Fonseca Vintage cigars. These handmade Dominican smokes sport a darker Ecuadorian grown Connecticut shade wrapper and are aged longer. The blend is stronger with a bit more punch than the traditional Fonseca line. These cigars will be offered in elegant black four cigar packs and are expected to cost $5.00 to $7.00 each.

JR Cigars was showcasing their reintroduction of a new Bolivar blend. These Cuban named cigars come packaged in 20 count dress boxes with the traditional artwork adorning the box and cabinets of 25. The blend consists of Dominican and Mexican filler, an Ecuadorian binder, and a very dark Conn/Conn wrapper. These cigars are made by General Cigar Co. exclusively for JRs. The ones displayed at the show were dark and lush looking and will retail for less than $5.00 each for the robusto size.

Padron Cigars is still under siege with their backorders and was unable to open new accounts or to offer any new cigar lines to their retailers. However, they are now rolling a new size within their Padron Anniversary line up called the Principe. This is a small stocky box pressed corona measuring in at 4 1/2 x 46.

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