White Hat Cigars is a distribution company headed up by industry veteran Spencer Drake. The company handles the distribution of the HR line of cigars. When Hiroshi Robaina and the La Corona factory parted way with Cubanacan Cigars, both Robaina and La Corona needed a distribution arm to keep the HR brand going. Drake had built a relationship with Robaina while he was the National Sales Manager at Cubanacan Cigars. The decision was made that Drake would spearhead the distribution of HR, and thus White Hat Cigars was born.
White Hat Cigars made its debut at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show. In addition to taking over distribution for HR, the company introduced two new lines – the HR Claro and HR Blue lines. This year, White Hat Cigars didn’t introduce any new lines, but rather focused on growing its distribution footprint in the U.S. market.
The HR line is still very much the same cigar as it was when it was launched as a collaboration between Robaina and Omar Gonzalez Aleman at the La Corona factory. It is still made at La Corona and remains the centerpiece of the HR brand. The blend consists of an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 Hybrid Seed wrapper over Nicaraguan tobaccos from Estelí and Jalapa.
The HR Claro is a complex “Cubanesque” blend that Gonzalez Aleman spent over a year perfecting. The cigar features a Habano Claro wrapper. It is available in four sizes: Rothschild (5 x 48), Robusto Gordo (5 1/2 x 56), Toro (6 x 52), and 109 (7 1/4 x 50).
The HR Blue is described as a full-bodied maduro that is a twist on the existing HR blend. It uses tobaccos from the original HR blend, but with lower primings and covered with an Ecuadorian Habano Maduro wrapper. HR Blue is available in four sizes: Corona Gorda (5 1/2 x 46), Petit Edmundo (4 12 x 52), Toro (6 x 50, $8.95 SRP), and Gordo (6 x 60).
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop
