Espinosa Formally Announces Reggae and Reggae DREAD

Espinosa Premium Cigars has officially announced two new cigars under a Jamaican theme: Reggae and Reggae DREAD. Both cigars made their way into the market in 2016 in very small shipments, as to meet the FDA guideline from last fall. The cigars were then hinted at more recently through social media, but full details have now emerged, with the cigars making their debut at Espinosa’s booth for IPCPR 2017.

We have been wanting to incorporate Jamaican tobacco into our portfolio for several years now, but the timing was never right. When the opportunity finally presented itself, we made our move.Erik Espinosa, owner of Espinosa Premium Cigars

Both Reggae and Reggae DREAD feature Nicaraguan tobaccos at the cigar’s core, but are highlighted by the usage of Jamaican Lengua de Vaca—with Reggae offering a medium body and Reggae DREAD an experience on the fuller side, as the brand has become known for over the years. In addition, Reggae DREAD displays a clever usage of an elongated pigtail cap(s) (similar to what is seen on the 601 La Bomba line) that has been fashioned to resemble dreadlocks on the cigar’s head.

The cigars, like most Espinosa blends in recent years, have been blended by Espinosa’s own Héctor J. Alfonso, Sr.—Director of Operations at Espinosa Premium Cigars—

Originally, the Reggae was tapped to be a Backroom Series cigar because of our limited access to Jamaican tobacco but “we have moved past that now.” And as for blending with it, there really aren’t a lot of companies using Jamaican tobacco, so there weren’t exactly a lot of points of reference for working with it; however making something different is always exciting. In blending this cigar we wanted both the Reggae and the Dread to have Jamaican undertones, but most importantly we wanted these cigars to remain true to the fans of Espinosa Cigars and our La Zona Factory.

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