PCA Magazine Fall 2019

PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019 | PCA The Magazine 23 Of course, amild Dominican was no novel concept in the cigar spectrum. Even so, Sterling’s mellow, balanced profile immediately won plenty of fans who are partial to the light-and- creamy style of cigar expression. Herklots says with evident pride, “It remains a welcomed and warmly embraced offering not only within our portfolio but within the humidors of tobacconists throughout the country.” Initially Sterling was released in 4 x 40, 5 x 42, 6 1/2 x 43 and 5 3/4 x 46. Later a 4 x 52 Short Robusto, 4 3/4 x 50 Robusto and 7 x 48 Churchill were added—“all very classic representations of traditional vitolas,” says Herklots. He adds, “While tastes and preferences evolve, the entirety of the Timeless brand truly embodies themeaning of the word. None of the blends are particularly trendy. All of themare unique expressions of their blend: the Prestige, Dominicanmade with six tobaccos from three countries; the Supreme, box-pressed Nicaraguan puros with flavor over ferocity; Panamericana, incredibly complex and rich; and then the Sterling, which is, again, a truly elegant, sophisticated cigar.” We all know that cigar lovers don’t tend to get too hung up over labels and names. Phil Ledbetter, co-owner of UpDown Cigars in Chicago, confirms that experience. He says his shopmoves a lot of Nat Sherman cigars, and his customers didn’t react at all to the name changes: “As long as they get the cigars, they’re happy,” he observes. So, if it is true that the cigar- buying public is mainly interested in flavor and value, why all the rebranding work? Herklots says the Nat Sherman organization saw a chance to reexamine the entirety of its premium cigar portfolio, and the equity each blend (subbrand) contributed, in order to create a clearer picture of how the blends T H E B L E N D relate to one another. “We offer three brands today under the Nat Sherman International umbrella,” explains Herklots. “There’s the Metropolitan, which is a classic collection of premium cigars that embody themost traditional expressions of their origins. Many of these blends were created more than 20 years ago, yet are painstakinglymaintained year after year, and remain some of our best-selling premium cigars. Then there is the Epoca, the first brand that Nat Sherman [theman] owned even before Nat Sherman became a brand.” (Epoca was originally crafted inNewYork City using Cuban tobaccos and a domestic wrapper.) “And finally,” “It’s important to note that the cigars have existed with unwavering consistency from the moment they were released. Sterling, despite the new packaging, is absolutely the same experience today under the Timeless brand as it was when we released it in 2013.” Herklots continues, “we come to Timeless, which is a very diverse collection of Nat Sherman’s most complex and inspired blends, each combiningmultiple countries of origin and seed varieties, vintages and leaf positions, to offer elaborate complexity with deliberate development of strength, flavor and aroma from shape to shape and start to finish.” As for Sterling itself, as mentioned above, it had been a Nat Sherman subbrand, but now all of the company’s blends fall within the threemain brands. Sterling found its place in the Timeless line. But through it all, Herklots says, “It’s important to note that the cigars have existed with unwavering consistency from themoment they were released. So Sterling, despite the new packaging, is absolutely the same experience today under the Timeless brand as it was when we released it in 2013.” Herklots, who has borne responsibility for all product development since 2011, says: “That’s not to claim I did all of this alone. The blending process, whether creating a blend or maintaining an experience year after year, requires countless palates and endless feedback. Sterling was a very interesting project as it was one of the few blends that I wrote on paper first, from scratch, and we tasted. We made oneminor tweak, and the Sterling Corona Gorda Sterling Dalias Sterling Marevas Sterling Perlas Sterling Robusto Sterling Short Robusto Sterling Super Lancero