Somewhere in the trade show dictionary will be the entry “bad idea” and underneath will be something along the lines of: trying to interview Rocky Patel, in the middle of his booth, in the middle of day one. It’s busy, and busy, and busy. There are a handful of people—Rocky included—who probably know every retailer at the show, something that only happens when you travel to as many stores as he does, and as such, there’s a lot of friends. That being said, Patel still took me around the booth personally, showing off not just the three noted additions, but also some other products as well. Hamlet Tabaquero I won’t repeat the story on how Hamlet Paredes and Patel met—you can read that here—but both the famed Cuban roller and his new line were in Patel’s booth. Paredes was actually rolling a massive culebra—which you can see above—as well as speaking to customers. Patel told halfwheel that he would begin events in the U.S. soon, but a specific schedule hasn’t been finalized. As for the cigar, it uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, binders from Brazil and Mexico and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s being made at Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A. (TAVICUSA) in Estelí, Nicaragua. ...
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