New Henry Clay Stalk Cut Coming Soon To Stores

Source from:  Cigar Aficionado 01/06/2016

The once sleepy Henry Clay brand is coming into the 21st century, and the newest version is made with vintage-dated tobacco. Altadis U.S.A. has reinvigorated the Henry Clay name with the upcoming Henry Clay Stalk Cut, a broadleaf-covered line of smokes that will begin shipping early this month. This new, modern expression of Henry Clay is named after the stalk-cutting method used for harvesting broadleaf. According to Altadis, the blend showcases dark, Connecticut broadleaf wrappers from a 2012 harvest.

"Henry Clay cigars are known for their Connecticut broadleaf wrapper," said Janelle Rosenfeld, vice president of marketing at Altadis. "We wanted to use a special Connecticut broadleaf on our new Henry Clay-to create something new and special yet stay true and in-line with the taste profile of our original Henry Clays."

Stalk cutting is the process in which the entire tobacco plant is chopped at the base and hung by its stalk to cure in a barn. Most tobacco is removed from the stalk one leaf at a time in sections of the plant referred to as primings.

All of the tobacco within the Henry Clay Stalk Cut blend has been given a vintage date. The Dominican Piloto binder, for example, comes from a 2010 harvest, while the Dominican Olor and Piloto fillers are from 2012. The Nicaraguan Criollo tobacco in the filler was harvested in 2013.

The cigars will ship in slate-gray boxes decorated with an image of the Cuban Henry Clay factory from the 1840s. The exterior also features a large "De Julian Alvarez" watermark, paying homage to the Cuban manufacturer who made Henry Clay a world-famous brand.

Each box contains 20 cigars, all with uncut feet, packed in two 10-count bundles bound by a ribbon.

Henry Clay Stalk Cut comes in three sizes-a pigtailed Gran Corona, measuring 6 inches by 46 ring gauge; Robusto, 5 by 50; and Toro 6 by 54. The cigars will have suggested retail prices from $8 to $8.50 each.

Stalk Cut was developed by the Altadis team of blenders and cigarmakers known as Grupo de Maestros and is produced at Tabacalera de Garcia in La Romana, Dominican Republic.

The announcement comes less than a year after Altadis collaborated with Tatuaje's Pete Johnson on the Henry Clay Tattoo, which also sported a vintage wrapper and sparked new market interest in the heritage brand. Rosenfeld says to expect a higher production volume for existing Henry Clay cigars and additional brand extensions in the near future. The core Henry Clay line of cigars will still remain in full production. Enditem