News: New Athlete-Endorsed Cigars Arrive
6 Dec 2012
With so many cigars out there, cigar companies are looking for every edge to persuade smokers to give their cigars a shot, even having professional athletes promote their smokes.
Ted’s Cigars is doing this with one of the best-known race car drivers in the world, Dale Earnhardt Jr. The company, which makes officially licensed Gran Marnier and Maker’s Mark flavored cigars, in addition to their non-flavored Ted’s Made by Hand line, announced today that they are releasing an officially licensed Dale Jr. “88†Cigar.
Curiously, the toro-sized cigar itself isn’t new. It’s the same blend that has been sold for some time as the Ted’s Made by Hand Connecticut Shade Tube (one which received an 88 rating, the same number as Jr.’s car). The new packaging, however, features Dale Jr.’s signature and 88 logo. The cigar comes in single cigars, three-packs, boxes of 10 and 25, and will sell for around $11 each.
Also joining the celebrity athlete cigar endorsers is legendary Hall of Fame NFL player and coach, Mike Ditka. Under a partnership with Camacho, “Da Coach†will develop a series of new cigar lines carrying the Ditka name, which will be made at Camacho’s Tabacos Rancho Jamastran in Honduras.
The first Camacho-produced Ditka cigar (Mike Ditka has had multiple other cigars sold under his name) is being introduced at a dinner at Ditka’s Chicago restaurant next Friday where he will be signing boxes for all those in attendance. Three blends are being introduced, with one box included with the purchase of a ticket to the launch dinner.
For those wondering, this isn’t a new phenomenon. Other athletes with their own cigar lines include Dennis Rodman, Luis Tiant, Gary Sheffield and Sonny Jurgenson.
photo credit: Stogie Guys
Patrick Ashby
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
Patrick Semmens
Co-Founder & Publisher
George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
No mention of the Gary Sheffield signature by Rocky Patel?
That exists? Never heard of it. Is it any good?
Like many (I suspect), I'm leery of cigars endorsed by athletes, celebrities, etc. If you have a good product, why would you need an endorsement to sell it? Most of the time, these cigars are poor. Only exception I can think of is El Tiante, made by Luis Tiant of Boston Red Sox fame.
I don't even consider El Tiante to be a celebrity-endorsed cigar. Rather, he is a celebrity who really liked cigars for a long time, had the money, and wanted to make a brand on his own (instead of just lend his name to someone else). And I think his cigars speak for themselves. Just my 2 cents…
Score on cigar is same as car number….lol. Good thing its not a Dukes of Hazzard cigar (01)!
I can hear it now: "These celebrity endorsements are only serving to encourage more and more middle-schoolers to go out and buy $10.00 cigars in order to emulate their favorite atheletes."
In the sporting goods section of Wallmart