Cigarmaker Moore & Bode Heading to India

Source from:  Cigar Aficionado 09/27/2011

Moore & Bode Cigars Inc., the quirky boutique company that has made cigars in Miami for more than two decades, is taking the dramatic step of moving production to Mumbai, India. The move is intended to vastly increase production of the company's cigars for the American market. All of Moore & Bode's cigar brands-Flamboyan, Flamboyan Dark, Adelante, Izmir and even Miami-will be rolled in India by a company known as Golden Tobacco Ltd. The factory will also roll a new cigar the size of a cigarette (retailing for 55 cents) called Chairman's Product. Sharon Moore Bode, president of the company, said some Moore & Bode would continue to be made in Miami, but under license, and that it might return to directly controlling its Miami manufacturing "once our production is set in India." The new Indian-made Moore & Bode cigars will be packed in wooden boxes or small cartons, differentiating them from the Miami-made cigars that come in soft packaging. "Our product is geared for export," said Robert Bode. "We're not setting up in India to sell in India." Moore & Bode is different. The company eschews cigar bands, and instead puts a small, circular label on the head of the cigar (as seen in photo). It has long been secretive about the tobaccos used in the company's cigars. The company spoke with Cigar Aficionado about some of the tobaccos used in its blends, which tend to be unlike many of the Central American and Caribbean tobaccos used in most handmade, premium cigars. The tobaccos come from such exotic, non-traditional growing countries as India, China and Turkey, as well as common ones such as the United States. The Indian-made, full-size cigars will retail for prices ranging from $7.10 to $19.40. Rolling in India is scheduled to begin later this month, and the cigars should go on sale in the United States by November. Enditem