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42 SMOKESHOP August 2016 who had a successful heart transplant a few years ago. And for his wife there is a beach with a palm tree that represents Jochy—it is their happy place." The cigars began shipping to retail- ers in the U.S. and overseas in February in two blends—Connecticut and Haba- no. The cigars come in seven sizes for the Habano and eight for the Connecticut. One of the things notable about La Gal- era is its price point. The Connecticut be- gins at $3.50 retail, toping out at just over $6 and the Habano starts at just under $5 peaking at just over $8 for a 6 1/4" by 60. Says Jochy, "We want to give to the people the opportunity of a great cigar, an excellent cigar at a lower price." He is able to keep the costs down because he controls everything—from the fields, to production, and now with IndianHead Cigars, to distribution in the U.S. Jochy loves both blends but if asked to choose, confesses, "I prefer the Haba- no. To me it has more flavor and com- plexity and is a little bit stronger." The Habano uses a Habano Ecua- dor wrapper with a Dominican Corojo binder coupled with Dominican Piloto Cubano, Criollo 98, and Pelo de Oro fill- ers. The Connecticut uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over a Piloto Cu- bano binder and Dominican T-112, Pilo- to Cubano, and Criollo 98 fillers. These cigars are a far cry from what his father made, says Jochy. "Back in my father's day, the consumer wanted one- seed of tobacco—Olor Dominicano— and one specific to a certain growing region. When we began with new cigars we came up with new tobaccos." Not only is Blanco using new seeds but he is also keeping a tight watch on where those seeds are grown. "We are working very hard in tobacco to sepa- rate the leaves in small areas based on where they are grown, because some- times you grow in one area and the taste is one thing, but if you grow the exact same seed two to three kilometers away, it changes the taste because of the micro- climate. You have the same process and same everything but the taste is differ- ent. We are playing with those different tastes and now after of years of blend- ing tobaccos with the different microcli- mates we know which ones make better complexity for premium cigars." The IndianHead line offers the Cu- ban Aristocrats in Connecticut, Maduro, or Habano with prices starting at $3.85 retail, and the Cuban Twists which are medium fill which begin under $2. They also will have the Rough Rider Sweets which is a mild Connecticut with a sweet tip using honey, sugar cane, and wine that will range from $3.20 to $3.60 retail. The American Stogies War Hunter is a Cuban Corojo, and it comes in an 11-inch wide tray with 12 each of three different sizers—6" x 60, 6 1/2" x 63, and 7" x 70— as well as 36 panetellas. The 7" x 70 tops out the lines price-wise at $6.50 retail. For the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show, Tab- acalera Palma will introduce a La Galera Maduro, a special Tabacalera Palma 80th anniversary limited edition under the La Galera brand, and another limited edi- tion La Galera that is box pressed. Jochy says this is ambitious for his factory, as he continues to make cigars for Nodal, his cousin José, and now Sei- jas, but believes it is no problem. "We will be adding a few more buildings to our free trade zone and already have bought a building in Villa Gonzales to ramp up production. It is a lot of work, but we have an excellent team and a lot of young people. We have some who have been with us 35 years, starting here since they were 16. They are al- ways learning. They have made mis- takes over the past, but they have learned from those mistakes. We have great blenders who we work with and a lot of times we have different opinions, but at the end our goal is to make our blends the best." IndianHead Cigars, 7335 NW 56 ST, Miami, Fla, 33166, Tel: (305) 517-1414, Toll-free: (800) 606-5799, Email: Fabian@IndianHeadCigars.com, Web; www.IndianHeadCigars.com. > CIGARMAKER SPOTLIGHT > IndianHead's relaunched Rough Rider Sweets feature a mild Connecticut blend and sweet tips and top out a $3.60 MSRP.