As many of you know, the announcement was made a short time ago that Meerapfel Companies and Arturo Fuente would be ending their relationship together. Many wondered what this meant for Arturo Fuente’s Cameroon wrapped cigars. Today, the company announced that they would be sourcing their Cameroon wrapper from Universal Leaf.
In a statement on social media, Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. said, “When your family name is on the cigar that represents all you are, you can never rest. I give you my word, nothing but the best tobacco will ever be used on my cigars. I will never compromise my family’s reputation of what you have learned to depend on throughout the generations. Our new and powerful Ally along with the many years of aged Cameroon can bring comfort to you to know that you can continue to depend and enjoy your favorite cigars now and far into the future. I deeply believe…’It’s not about cigars…it’s about the people.’ And this is great news is for you! Thank you!”.
The Meerapfel’s and the Fuente’s had a relationship that spanned multiple decades and had multiple business endeavors together, including distribution of Arturo Fuente cigars outside of the United States by Meerapfel companies. But when Meerapfel announced that all business dealings would be ending, many wondered what that meant for famous lines such as Don Carlos and Hemingway – which were famous for using their leaves. Carlito was eager to put the rumors to bed that they were facing tobacco shortages.
Arturo Fuente posted a video to social media today announcing the ordeal and they mentioned they received a forty foot container of Cameroon tobacco in the Dominican Republic from Universal Leaf that will begin the next generation of Cameroon cigars. Carlito also told Smokin Tabacco there is another forty foot container headed their way in December. In addition, the Fuente’s do have plenty of Meerapfel tobacco stock pilled in storage for years to come, as well as plenty of cigars already rolled resting in the aging rooms. I will say that while the tobaccos are the same seed form the same region, don’t be completely shocked if you notice very slight differences in the cigars once the ones with Universal Leaf tobacco do begin to hit the shelves.
For this who aren’t as familiar with them, Universal Leaf is a subsidiary of the Universal corporation. Universal Leaf deals with a variety of leaf tobaccos and in addition to providing supply chain services to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.
