My 2007 Cigar Brand That I Wasn't Able to Launch

I have been a cigar smoker since 1986, puffing my first stogie inside a radio station i was interning in. Having been given 5 or 6 cigars bearing the Presidential Seal of Ferdinand Marcos by my boss, hotshot DJ Louie Dizon, and having been part of the anti-Marcos struggle, I proceeded to treat the cigars as my personal trophies of the struggle against a dictator. Without the benefit of a cigar cutter or even a puncher, Louie taught me how to "punch" holes using a match stick.  So, we lit up, and puffed, and puffed, while "on board" at primetime.  What I could not forget from that first cigar was that the

 one I lit up was producing a film of oil on my lips, much like what you would have if you ate a plateful of homestyle pinoy spaghetti.    Now, after 24 years of smoking a range of cigar brands including some of the famous ones from Cuba, I have NOT YET COME ACROSS ANOTHER CIGAR THAT PRODUCED A FILM OF OIL.  Never.   Now here is the sad part.  of that clutch of cigars, I remember smoking 3, giving another 1 or 2 away, and just keeping 1 for souvenir in a drawer that is now in my parent's house in Bulacan.  I do not think it is still there anymore. Those cigars are priceless now for two reasons:  quality, and historical value.

Ever since 2005, I have been thinking about launching my own brand, but with the leaves imported and rolled for me by a third party.  The brand whose taste I wanted to emulate was the original "Double Happiness", which was, for all intents and purposes, a Philippine brand manufactured for an American company.   Naturally, I wanted the manufacturer to make a batch for me, but the situation was more of "chicken and egg", or "is this supposed to come before that"?  I had trouble designing the bands, (the one which goes around the cigar) but the bigger trouble was finding a printer who could just do "one-offs" for me.  The printer of Manila Cigars (cigars in their own test tubes)  could print it for me, but their minimum run is 100,000 cigar bands.  I only needed 1,000.  To simplify the inventory, I had wanted to issue just one size, which was the ROBUSTO.  at that time, my favorite size was the robusto, as I had not yet been exposed to the torpedo and pyramid.  All three sizes, robusto, torpedo & pyramid, are "fat" cigars, but the robusto is strait, versus the other two which had a tapered head.  Tapered heads give you the choice of adjusting the resistance or "drag" of the cigar.  

In hindsight, I would have opted for a FAT ROBUSTO, which was exactly like a robusto, only fatter and an inch shorter.  Fat robustos are not rolled in the Philippines, and it is difficult to find an imported one.  Fat Robustos burn faster (about 20 minutes, since they are shorter) than regular robustos which burn for about 30 minutes.  Hence, my subname "Media Hora".  Fat robustos would be my choice today because of 2 reasons:  1) the shorter burning time is more for the "trial" cigar smokers, so they do not become impatient waiting for the cigar experience to end.  2) the "fat & squat" look of the cigars resembles the "gangster" look, and maybe what people remember cigars to look like.

The photo is the first print of my ill-fated brand, Camara Estates.  The profile is of Don Pedro Camara, patriarch of the clan.  The cigar band was supposed to be printed with gold stamp.

This is the second cigar band design which was a much simpler option without the gold foil and the photographic printing.  The choice of green was to set it apart from the traditional brands, as the popular band color was principally red or some variant thereof.  The cigars are all "HECHO A MANO", meaning all hand made.  Premium cigars have to be hand rolled, with little or no mechanical intervention so as to keep its positioning in the top-end chain.

So, what happened to it all?  There were 3 factors which prevented the launching of my cigar brand.  First was the venture capital I was intending to raise.  Second was the legislation and implementation of the advertising ban on tobacco products, which would have hit me hard.  Third, were my endorsers.  If you remember, 2007 was an election year.  I supported 7 candidates who were "sure win" by anyone's analysis.  At least 4 of those 7 had already agreed to endorse my brand, and the appropriate advertising shoot was already completed.  None of those big names won, and the project went down.

Two months ago, while cleaning out my drawers, I chanced upon those two photographs.  I remembered this ill-fated venture that only a handful of people knew.  I think its about time that everyone else should get to hear about my cigar brand.  The one I failed to launch.

Jesus Paul C. Yan

for The Paul Yan Chronicles

August 30, 2010