Here's our feature interview with Justin Andrews from Diesel Cigars at the 2023 PCA Trade Show. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel so you don't miss any of our Trade Show Coverage. You can also watch HBTC Live, Monday nights on Facebook and YouTube. Thanks for watching!
Today, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) announced the formation of The Forged Cigar Company. It will be an independent national cigar distribution network, and will divide its portfolio of brands between General Cigar Company (GCC), a subsidiary of STG, and the newly-formed company.
Diesel has been a popular brand for many years now, but for a while it became known an a catalog brand or auction-site brand. Although many of the blends were always flavorful, the cigars fell into a bit of a rut, possibly from overexposure. Within the last couple of years it seems that General Cigar, [...]
Diesel Cigars will soon roll out 'Hair of the Dog' to the market. It is a limited-edition release, landing at retailers this month. The cigar was developed by Justin Andrews, blended by AJ Fernandez, and made entirely by hand at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua. Hair of the Dog is a medium/full smoke blended to give the smoker earthy flavors, along with notes of pepper. The filler leaves are 100-percent Nicaraguan Habano, with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, then an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder.
Diesel is a brand name that has a very loyal following. The name Diesel has become synonymous with power, strength, and heavy spice. While this is still true as the hallmark of the brand, in 2018 the brand took a chance on something a little different. Justin Andrews, Senior Brand Manager for Diesel, wanted to stretch the bounds of what had been previously seen from the Diesel name. He learned that it wasn't going to be easy to convince AJ Fernandez to pull back and go a bit more subtle. That subtlety would prove vital in a cigar with Mexican binder leaves that were aged old Rabbit Hole bourbon barrels.
