Selected Tobacco has started shipping the Alfonso Añejos. This is the first release under the new Alfonso brand in the Selected Tobacco portfolio. This cigar was showcased at the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show. Selected Tobacco is distributed in the U.S. by United Tobacco
Selected Tobacco is the brainchild of owner Nelson Alfonso. According to the company, all of the brands in the portfolio are aged with a purpose. The cigars under Selected Tobacco are placed into cedar-lined rooms after they are rolled, then humidity is raised and lowered to allow the cigars to clean themselves with the cedar notes anywhere from two to five years.
“Cedar is to cigars as oak is to wine,” said Nelson Alfonso. “The years we take to age the cigars in this process have a purpose and we hope this is appreciated in the smoke.”
The Alfonso Añejo and the soon-to-be-released Byron 1950 lines were aged in separate rooms. This was an experiment Nelson was testing after learning the complexity French Oak could offer. Some of the most famous wines in the world use French Oak barrels and this became an obsession to incorporate a new wood into the aging rooms for Nelson.
The 2022 release of the Alfonso Añejos is in boxes of 25 cigars and each vitola will come in a dress box and a secondary box for the inaugural release. Future packaging for the line has not been finalized.
For 2022, there are six sizes being released. Each is presented in 25-count boxes. Pricing ranges from $29.99-$49.99 per cigar or $750.00-$1,250.00 per box. A total of 5,000 cigars per vitola are being released. These were from a 2017 production that has been aging for five years in the French Oak aging rooms.
In a press release, Oliver Nivaud, Director of Operations for United Cigars said, “The depth of flavor on the Alfonso is incredible. A symphony of notes that left me feeling like Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption listening to Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro.
There is also a new website dedicated to the Alfonso brand, www.alfonsocigars.com
At a glance, here is a look at the Alfonso Añejo:
Blend and Origin
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Filler: Peruvian & Nicaraguan Ligero
Country of Origin: Costa Rica
Factory: Tabacos De Costa Rica
Vitolas Offered
Alfonso Añejos #1: 4 x 50 (SRP $29.99)
Alfonso Añejos #2: 5 x 52 (SRP $34.99)
Alfonso Añejos #3: 6 x 54 (SRP $39.99)
Alfonso Añejos #4: 6 3/4 x 56 (SRP $44.99)
Alfonso Añejos #5: 7 1/2 x 58 (SRP $49.99)
Alfonso Añejos #6: 9 x 50 (SRP $49.99)
Photo Credits: United Cigars
“Cedar is to cigars as oak is to wine,” said Nelson Alfonso. “The years we take to age the cigars in this process have a purpose and we hope this is appreciated in the smoke.”
I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly. Which is why I will never rest my cigars and Tupperware or in Ziploc bags. Only cedar-lined humidors. I am incredibly interested in the innovation of aging cigars in woods other than cedar, like French White oak. This is exactly what Barrel aging is. There is a lot of room for innovation in this field.
Nobody ages cigars like Paul Garmirian, however. The BEST.