let's talk about San Cristobal


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  1. Introduce a Long Panetela 38x192 7.6# in varnished Cab of 50 cigars (preferably bandless). The flavour profile of the San Cristobal suits a long skinny. Production of the long skinny to be low (50,000 cigars).

I'd the first one to jump on this release, although I'd much prefer a cervantes or a corona grande, made after the blend of the El Principe. In the early 2000's the favorite Vegas Robaina vitola here in France was the Classico, it was by far the best of the line.

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As the owner of a B&M....I can't begin to tell you how how many people will purchase a cigar based in part on the band !

Ditch the El Morro. La Punta in Tubos. It is a cigar perfect for Duty Free. Introduce Principe in 5 cigar tins. They will fly. La Fuerza to be packages along lines of the LCHD Officios/Mercadere

It may sound simple, but I would start by changing the band. Imo the current ones are boring. Add some color, give them some pop. If everything else is on something like that might create interest. T

5.Introduce a Long Panetela 38x192 7.6# in varnished Cab of 50 cigars (preferably bandless). The flavour profile of the San Cristobal suits a long skinny. Production of the long skinny to be low (50,000 cigars).

And you may have just nailed the appeal of SCdlH. I'm certainly biased here, but I'd like to think that less brand-concious buyers are also more inclined to smaller RG's. The 6 x 60's fanatics tend to be more brand-concious, IMO, unless the brand is restyled as "THE Fatty" CC line.

Don't know about only offereing 50 cabs though. I'd like to see something like that also avaialble in 10's or 12's for those of us who can only shell out so much seeking variety or new experiences. Forcing a 50 cab commitment is going to limit the response and therefore limit the ongoing following.

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Don't know about only offereing 50 cabs though. I'd like to see something like that also avaialble in 10's or 12's for those of us who can only shell out so much seeking variety or new experiences. Forcing a 50 cab commitment is going to limit the response and therefore limit the ongoing following.

I have that concern as well.

What I would want to avoid however is a "shelf sitter" such as the LGC1/3 were and to a lesser extent the Gourmet and Monte Especial No 2 are.

You couldn't run them out at the same price point as the PL Montecarlo, and you want something that does not compete with the Monte Especial or Lancero.

Something unique, something brilliant. "San Cristobal Spadas Cajon Cincuenta"

If pricing were to be an issue, I would be more inclined to reduce the size to a Carlotas but retain the 50 Cajon.

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Well scdh arguably had the best book release ie the O'Reilly. Similar in size I am excited to try the torreon soon.

Sent by telepathic super powers

-Stogie Boy

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Pricing is a little high for the experience, IMO.

Still, put out a lonsdale/long panetela and the connoisseurs will come aflocking!

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The ten worldwide premium Global and Niche brands are excluded from the Regional program. SCDH is one of the 3 niche brands.

Ah right...except Dantes of course...lol...

There is always a way if there is a will.

SCDLH only one without an EL from the lot. Not that it would help much if it tastes like other lousy ELs, but at least it would generate some publicity.

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With rumours of the trade embargo with the US maybe being lifted, I would negotiate with a US celebrity who is known for cigar smoking to get them to tweet photos and comments of how much they enjoy San Cristobal. This would be timed with the lifting of the embargo and a special LE would be produced and endorsed by this celebrity and blended to their specifications. Hey, once an adman always an adman!

It might also work if the celebrity was a sexy woman - more of a risky strategy. Just running it up the flagpole and seeing who salutes it, throwing it out on the back porch and seeing if the cat licks it up, chucking two oars in the water and seeing how far it takes us, shifting goalposts with some blue sky bleeding edge thinking. jester.gif

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You might do a bit of home work.

The El Principe is a minuto, not a marevas (No.4). The La Punta is a campana, it's not a pyramid. And the La Fuerza (gordito) is already very close to a corona gorda.

And I can't see why the names would be disturbing - do you also have a problem with Epicure No.X, Regios, Serie A, Exhibicion No.X, Non Plus, Famosos? All names that don't give any indication of the size…

As for the maduro wrapper suggestion: if there is ONE blend that doesn't need a maduro gimmick (by its organoleptic qualities) it's precisely the SCDLH blend…

Thank you for educating me, much appreciated. Yes, I am not a big fan of names like non plus, famosos, etc., which is exactly why I mentioned making name changes. Names like JL 1 and 2, or Epicure 1 and 2, or, Siglo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 bother me much less.

I disagree with you about the maduro wrapper suggestion. My goal as the new CEO is to drive up a buzz and get the brand moving again...the maduro and crazy large ring gauges are exactly the type of gimmicks that I believe would help me to achieve those goals.

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I disagree with you about the maduro wrapper suggestion. My goal as the new CEO is to drive up a buzz and get the brand moving again...the maduro and crazy large ring gauges are exactly the type of gimmicks that I believe would help me to achieve those goals.

You might as well switch it to an NC brand if your strategy as CEO is to rely on gimmicks.
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At the LCDH here in Toronto we sell singles of the torrean and it is the best seller in the SCDLH line (trend towards larger ring gages is a reality despite my not being a fan of these vitolas). This line is also missing the Corona and/or PC vitola which is a vitola that sells very well in most brands.

So as noted my a few others do a relaunch of the brand with a new label and a couple of new vitolas. A true Corona would be great as there are few of these left in the Habanos world and make the O´Reilly (double robusoto) a regular production. With the relaunch repackage the La Fuerza and the La Punta in SLB's and the O'Reilly in a VBN.

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  • 2 months later...

You know, it's a shame really that this marca is not more well-known. My brother-in-law came over last night for a quick cigar so I offered him an El Principe. He is new to the joys of Habanos but he soon realised how excitingly complex and flavoursome this little wonder was. We both ended up nubbing our cigars.

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You know, it's a shame really that this marca is not more well-known. My brother-in-law came over last night for a quick cigar so I offered him an El Principe. He is new to the joys of Habanos but he soon realised how excitingly complex and flavoursome this little wonder was. We both ending up nubbing our cigars.

Great cigar. Had 2 Principes this week. Both excellent.

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  • 1 month later...

I have had nothing but good experiences with everything in the SCDH line. I've had all but I think one. The Torreon are extraordinary if you can find them. La Fuerza and El Morro are fantastic, and La Punta not far off. I just got a couple of El Principe that I'll try soon. I love this brand.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  • 3 months later...
  1. Ditch the El Morro.
  2. La Punta in Tubos. It is a cigar perfect for Duty Free.
  3. Introduce Principe in 5 cigar tins. They will fly.
  4. La Fuerza to be packages along lines of the LCHD Officios/Mercaderes/Muralas. If you are going to price it as a premium, make it look like one. It is an excellent cigar and deserves more.
  5. Introduce a Long Panetela 38x192 7.6# in varnished Cab of 50 cigars (preferably bandless). The flavour profile of the San Cristobal suits a long skinny. Production of the long skinny to be low (50,000 cigars).
  6. Test the above for 2 years/

I somehow missed this entire thread. SCdlH is my favorite marca, as I find the flavors to be delicious and each stick to be very dynamic. Losing the Morro would be tough (got 2 boxes of them in my cabinet) but understandable considering the late '12 codes are extremely easy to find. Even the box of La Punta I just picked up is the same AME MAR 13 code I picked up 15 months ago!!!

Needless to say the band could be MUCH flashier (though I don't mind it). They could also benefit from a price cut.

The low sales of this marca don't make me too excited for the (likely) end of the embargo, as this brand will almost certainly be dumped. And once that happens I'm gonna be paying twice as much for an already overpriced stick that no one wanted a couple years earlier! Just crazy...

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The low sales of this marca don't make me too excited for the (likely) end of the embargo, as this brand will almost certainly be dumped. And once that happens I'm gonna be paying twice as much for an already overpriced stick that no one wanted a couple years earlier! Just crazy...

In regards to low sales, a fact that is often lost on experienced cigar enthusiasts is that aside from the seven global brands (Cohiba, Montecristo, H.Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, Jose L.Piedra, Partagas and Romeo y Julieta) the other brands combined only account for somewhere in the vicinity of 15% of all sales in a calendar year (the last figures publicly available in 2009/10 indicated around 17%). So it's just not San Cristobal that could be effected by future change. But let's not 'jump the gun' too soon. It's been a great year in terms of quality for San Cristobal at least!

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I'm gonna be paying twice as much for an already overpriced stick that no one wanted a couple years earlier! Just crazy...

Kind of the Cuban cigar business model, isn't it? Discontinue cigars that don't sell well, then when smokers lament the fact that they're discontinued, charge X amount more for the same cigar when brought back as a special / heritage series release - Brilliant!

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Seriously?

The brand has a serious problem much like Cuaba. Takes up the resources but doesn't deliver the return.

There comes a time when you have to commit or cut loose. SCDLH definitely has something unique and positive to offer and I'm glad the marca exists but HSA needs to actually commit to this brand and make some major changes. The ones Rob suggested would be a great start.

Spruce up the band and packaging. They are both very lame. Play with the prices and see if that helps (probably will). I don't blame anyone for not wanting to spend more than average on a young brand with poor presentation. Unfortunately, I think at least one 52+ RG model would help--bring back the Torreon for regular production. Fatties do sell. Offer tubes/jars/tins. Sure, I'd love to see Panetelas, Lonsdales or a Corona Gorda but I think that's wishful thinking these days. Boxes of 10/15 might make it a little easier for the unfamiliar to commit to a purchase. Elevate SCDLH to a multi-local brand as Robaina is. Special releases are a great way to get people familiar with the brand.

IMO, there's no reason the Fuerza can't be competing with any other robusto out there. It's good enough. The Principe holds its own with every other minuto/perla. Something went right with the Principe. Do whatever's needed to duplicate that success. I think the more people smoke SCDLH the more people will continue to buy them. They are very, very good cigars. You've just got to get them into people's hands. I think novice/average/new smokers really would appreciate the sweet dessert character of this cigar as much as anyone. This brand could be successful if it's handled the right way.

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