Viaje and Quesada Put 20 Cigars in Two Tin Cans

Source from:  Cigar Aficionado 06/12/2016

Viaje has a great set of cans—tin cans that is—and they're loaded with cigars. When the company first announced plans to collaborate with Quesada Cigars for its 2016 Juntos project, we had to use our imaginations to envision the packaging. Now that the designs are finalized and production well under way, brand owner Andre Farkas is showing off his sleek cigar cylinder.

The tall tube is made up of two interlocking tins. Ten Toros will be stowed away on the top tin, with ten Torpedos on the bottom. Both measure 6 inches by 54 ring gauge.

And while Farkas is far from the first to put cigars in a fancy tin, most large-format premium cigars today aren't normally found in tin packaging.

According to Farkas, tin was the best material suited to the "over-under configuration" of the package.

"The other reason is the flexibility on the artwork," Farkas told Cigar Aficionado. "With tin, there are more options for laying down graphics. It's also a more contemporary look. It's also much lighter than other types of packaging, so it's easier to ship."

The Juntos project (formerly referred to as Viaje Collaboration) is the collaborative brainchild of Farkas and Hostos Fernandez Quesada of Quesada Cigars. The word juntos means "together" in Spanish, and Farkas's tin represents this sentiment both metaphorically and physically. (He's working together with the Quesada family and the two tins join together. See what he did there?)

"The Quesada factory is all about togetherness," Farkas said.

Made at the Quesada Cigars factory in the Dominican Republic, the cigar blend consists of a Dominican Negrito wrapper, Dominican Criollo binder and a filler combination of Criollo '98 and ligero tobacco from Nicaragua. Only 1,000 tins of 20 were made and they'll be available through Viaje Cigars at the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers trade show next month. Pricing has yet to be established.

Although Farkas intends the Juntos 2016 tin to be purchased by consumers as a single, complete unit, he said it's ultimately up to the retailers to decide if they want to sell it by the tin or one cigar at a time. Retailers will be able to order a maximum of 10 tins at the show. Enditem