Alec Bradley
Encyclopedia
Alec Bradley is the name of a popular brand of handmade cigars established in 1996 by Alan Rubin, the son of an importer of hardware supplies. Rubin launched his brand, named after his children, at the tail end of the cigar boom
of the 1990s and entered a clogged market. After failed initial schemes at producing cigars targeted to golf
courses and flavored after-dinner cigars, Rubin managed to carve out a tenuous niche selling budget-priced cigars to tobacconists. In 2007 the company managed to break through to a broader market with the introduction of its full-flavored "Tempus" line. As of 2011 the company was selling between two and three million cigars annually to consumers around the world.
in 1992.
In 1996 the prosperous hardware concern was sold and Rubin used part of his proceeds from the sale to seriously launch the new cigar company he had envisioned and incorporated shortly before. The new company was named Alec Bradley after Rubin's children.
Rubin attended the 1996 Retail Tobacco Dealers of America trade show and eventually found a small manufacturer in Honduras
who agreed to make cigars for him. Rubin later recalled the relationship was one-sided and costly. "It didn't work out very well," he said in a January 2011 interview with Cigar Aficionado
magazine. "He was taking my money and not giving me product."
The first cigars by Alec Bradley were known as "Bogey's Stogies" and were designed to be sold through golf pro shops for golfers to smoke on the course. Manufactured from 1997 to 1999 — the deepest years of the "cigar bust" which followed the faddish cigar boom
of the 1990s — Bogey's Stogies proved an unprofitable venture. By the spring of 1999, Rubin found himself approximately $60,000 in debt and facing failure of his venture.
.
Some 500 sample packs of the new cigars were prepared and mailed out to retail shops, which were followed up with phone calls soliciting business. About 300 new customers were won for the company with this last-ditch gambit, according to Rubin.
The company followed up its low price Occidental Reserve line with a new triangular cigar called the "Trilogy." The unusual new cigar shape was both an attempt to lure consumers with a fresh-looking new product and an attempt to replicate the feel of a 46 ring cigar in the hand with a more weighty 50 ring product.
Rubin remembered:
Rubin followed up his triangular cigar in 2005 with another new line, this time a stout 50 ring gauge called "Maxx." Both of these new releases were well received in the industry, helping the struggling company to survive.
In 2007, Alec Bradley achieved its greatest success to date with the introduction of a new full-bodied line called "Tempus."
Rubin later recalled:
The new Tempus line was produced by the Fabrica de Tabacos Raices Cubana factory of Danlí, Honduras
, known for the manufacture of Cuban-style cigars with triple-capped heads. A special Trojes tobacco from the Jalapa Valley of Nicaragua
was used for the product, which met with critical success from cigar connoisseurs.
. The company sells between two and three million cigars each year.
Over the years a number of manufacturers have been used to make Alec Bradley's various products, including Raises Cubanas of Honduras, Nestor Plasencia
in Honduras and Nicaragua, and Henke Kelner in the Dominican Republic
.
Cigar boom
The Cigar Boom is the name given to the resurgence of cigar consumption in the United States during the years of the middle 1990s. Beginning in 1992, imports and sales of premium cigars began to rise dramatically and manufacturers struggled to keep up with demand, leading to industry-wide shortages...
of the 1990s and entered a clogged market. After failed initial schemes at producing cigars targeted to golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
courses and flavored after-dinner cigars, Rubin managed to carve out a tenuous niche selling budget-priced cigars to tobacconists. In 2007 the company managed to break through to a broader market with the introduction of its full-flavored "Tempus" line. As of 2011 the company was selling between two and three million cigars annually to consumers around the world.
Establishment
Alan Rubin (born circa 1961) was the son of a hardware importer who ran a Florida-based company called the All Points Screw Company, specializing in sales to manufacturers of cabinetry. Alan entered the business immediately after finishing college and helped the firm change its emphasis to the sale of hurricane fasteners, a booming business in the aftermath of Hurricane AndrewHurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew was the first named storm and only major hurricane of the otherwise inactive 1992 Atlantic hurricane season...
in 1992.
In 1996 the prosperous hardware concern was sold and Rubin used part of his proceeds from the sale to seriously launch the new cigar company he had envisioned and incorporated shortly before. The new company was named Alec Bradley after Rubin's children.
Rubin attended the 1996 Retail Tobacco Dealers of America trade show and eventually found a small manufacturer in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
who agreed to make cigars for him. Rubin later recalled the relationship was one-sided and costly. "It didn't work out very well," he said in a January 2011 interview with Cigar Aficionado
Cigar Aficionado
Cigar Aficionado is an American magazine that is dedicated to the world of cigars. Published since September 1992, the magazine is known for its articles about different brands of cigars worldwide, and for the celebrities that have appeared on its cover. It is also noted for its opposition to the...
magazine. "He was taking my money and not giving me product."
The first cigars by Alec Bradley were known as "Bogey's Stogies" and were designed to be sold through golf pro shops for golfers to smoke on the course. Manufactured from 1997 to 1999 — the deepest years of the "cigar bust" which followed the faddish cigar boom
Cigar boom
The Cigar Boom is the name given to the resurgence of cigar consumption in the United States during the years of the middle 1990s. Beginning in 1992, imports and sales of premium cigars began to rise dramatically and manufacturers struggled to keep up with demand, leading to industry-wide shortages...
of the 1990s — Bogey's Stogies proved an unprofitable venture. By the spring of 1999, Rubin found himself approximately $60,000 in debt and facing failure of his venture.
The turnaround
In 2000, Rubin hooked up with cigar industry professional Ralph Montero, who came to work for Alec Bradley and was instrumental in shifting its direction. Rubin and Montero were convinced that they needed to gain space in the retail shops of specialty tobacco sellers and managed to scrape together enough money to launch a new product line called "Occidental Reserve," using Henke Kelner, a maker of cigars for the cigar brand DavidoffDavidoff
Davidoff is a Swiss luxury tobacco goods brand name, which is carried by a range of products including cigars, cigarettes and pipe tobaccos. Its cigarette brand is currently owned by Imperial Tobacco but the company is otherwise independently owned....
.
Some 500 sample packs of the new cigars were prepared and mailed out to retail shops, which were followed up with phone calls soliciting business. About 300 new customers were won for the company with this last-ditch gambit, according to Rubin.
The company followed up its low price Occidental Reserve line with a new triangular cigar called the "Trilogy." The unusual new cigar shape was both an attempt to lure consumers with a fresh-looking new product and an attempt to replicate the feel of a 46 ring cigar in the hand with a more weighty 50 ring product.
Rubin remembered:
"...I didn’t really love box-press or the semi-presado, I didn’t really like that feel, so I went to Home Depot, and they happened to be demo-ing a DeWaltDeWALTDeWalt is a worldwide brand of power tools for the construction, manufacturing and woodworking industries. It is a subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker.- History :...
table saw, and I asked the guy, 'Does this thing cut angles?' he said, 'Yeah,' and I said, 'I’ll be right back.' I went out and I bought wood, I had him cut it on angles, and I bought some wood glue, and I made molds. I used a hand-vice that we had in the back of the office, and I started pressing cigars in a triangular shape.
"I made a V-shaped mold with an open top, and I used a flat top on it. That’s how we started to press them. When everyone would leave the office, I’d put two in there, and the next morning, I’d come in and take them out. It was hard to convince people here that it was what we should do, but once they started smoking it, they realized that it was really comfortable in their mouth and in their hand, and they embraced it."
Rubin followed up his triangular cigar in 2005 with another new line, this time a stout 50 ring gauge called "Maxx." Both of these new releases were well received in the industry, helping the struggling company to survive.
In 2007, Alec Bradley achieved its greatest success to date with the introduction of a new full-bodied line called "Tempus."
Rubin later recalled:
"Every cigar that we did prior to Tempus was mild, mild-to-medium, or medium. Tempus gave us a more full-bodied cigar, a little more strength, a high level of satisfaction in the flavor profile. It was really the next level of cigar for us. Alec Bradley became the [official] brand with Tempus. We felt the cigar warranted it."
The new Tempus line was produced by the Fabrica de Tabacos Raices Cubana factory of Danlí, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, known for the manufacture of Cuban-style cigars with triple-capped heads. A special Trojes tobacco from the Jalapa Valley of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
was used for the product, which met with critical success from cigar connoisseurs.
Company today
Alec Bradley is today based in Dania Beach, FloridaDania Beach, Florida
Dania Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 29,639. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census. Dania Beach is the location of one of the largest jai alai frontons in...
. The company sells between two and three million cigars each year.
Over the years a number of manufacturers have been used to make Alec Bradley's various products, including Raises Cubanas of Honduras, Nestor Plasencia
Nestor Plasencia
Nestor Plasencia, Sr. , is a tobacco grower and cigar maker of Cuban descent whose factories in Honduras and Nicaragua produce over 30 million cigars a year. Contracting out the use of his factories to Rocky Patel and other leading brands, Plasencia remains one of the leading figures in the Central...
in Honduras and Nicaragua, and Henke Kelner in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
.
Alec Bradley product lines
- Bogey's Stogies (1997–1999)
- Occidental Reserve (from 1999)
- Trilogy
- Maxx (from 2005)
- Cuban Spirit
- Tempus (from 2007)
- Prensado (from 2009)
- Select Cabinet Reserve (from 2009)
- Tempus Family Blend (from 2009)
External links
- Alec Bradley official website, alecbradley.com/ Retrieved March 16, 2011.