Aging Room La Bohéme is returning

[JohnS]

La Bohéme Returns Under Aging Room Banner

A cigar of operatic proportions is coming back with a bolder blend

Dec 2, 2024 - By Gregory Mottola

La Bohéme is being revived—not the Puccini opera, but the cigar—and it will be branded as another line of Aging Room when the curtains go up in January. 

When La Bohéme debuted in 2014, it was made in the Dominican Republic by Jochy Blanco and consisted mostly of Dominican tobacco. Eventually, brand owner Rafael Nodal retired the line, but he never completely forgot about it. Now, a decade later, Nodal serves as vice president of product capability for Altadis U.S.A. and is bringing back La Bohéme, but it isn’t going to be exactly the same production. 

As the name suggests, Aging Room La Bohéme is a sub-brand of the larger Aging Room series (the original La Bohéme was its own line). It’s no longer produced at Blanco’s Tabacalera Palma, but made in Nicaragua by A.J. Fernandez, a longtime collaborator with Nodal. And it’s an entirely new, stronger blend of all Nicaraguan tobacco, save for the wrapper, which is a hybrid of Broadleaf and Habano seed grown in Connecticut. Like a talented tenor making his stage debut, this is the first time that Altadis or Nodal have used this wrapper leaf.

The Aging Room La Bohéme will come in the same four sizes as the previous La Bohéme brand: Mimi, measuring 3 1/2 inches long by 46 ring gauge ($17.90); Pittore (5 1/8 by 52, $23.92); Poeta (5 3/4 by 54, $24.52) and Musico (6 1/4 by 60, $24.90). The cigars will come in 20-count boxes and will be adorned with vintage, pre-Revolution bands similar to the original release. 

“The original La Bohéme was introduced in 2014 as a tribute to the cigars my grandfather smoked in the small park near our home in Cuba,” Nodal says. “The new Aging Room La Bohéme is a look to the future, featuring bolder flavors and unique tobaccos. It represents three of my passions: music, cigars and Cuba.”

Source: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/la-boheme-returns-under-aging-room-banner

[JohnS]

December 2, 2024 - Patrick Lagreid

Aging Room La Bohéme Returning with New Blend

The La Bohéme line is reportedly coming back with a new blend and will now be a part of the Aging Room portfolio.

The original version of the line debuted in 2014, using an Ecuadorian habano wrapper atop a Dominican filler and binder, with the cigars made by Tabacalera Palma in the Dominican Republic. Now, the cigars are being made by AJ Fernandez and use a hybrid broadleaf and habano-seed wrapper grown in Connecticut, while the binder and filler come from Nicaragua.

While the blend is changing, the new La Bohéme line will be offered in the same four sizes as the original version:

• Aging Room La Bohéme Mimi (3 1/2 x 46) — $17.90 (Box of 20, $358)
• Aging Room La Bohéme Pittore (5 1/8 x 52) — $23.92 (Box of 20, $478.40)
• Aging Room La Bohéme Poeta (5 3/4 x 54) — $24.52 (Box of 20, $490.40)
• Aging Room La Bohéme Musico (6 1/4 x 60) — $24.90 (Box of 20, $498)

The new cigars are expected to begin shipping in January and will come with new packaging that uses a navy blue and gold color scheme.

The previous versions of the La Bohéme line did not feature the Aging Room branding as it was considered a standalone brand. In 2017, a line extension called Momentos, which used an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, was created for Thompson Cigar.

Altadis U.S.A. announced La Bohéme’s return via Cigar Aficionado. Rafael Nodal, vp of product capability for Altadis U.S.A., declined a request for images and details about the cigar, saying that a formal press release would be sent this week.

Source: https://halfwheel.com/aging-room-la-boheme-returning-with-new-blend/445199/

[BrightonCorgi]

Impressive smooth wrappers and caps. I doubt I'll ever smoke or buy one though.