Once a giant in the cigar industry, Nat Sherman International will be a thing of the past by the Fall of 2020. Altria, the big tobacco company who now owns Nat Sherman, announced it is closing their cigar wholesale operation. This also means that the doors of the world-famous Nat Sherman Townhouse in New York City will also be shuttered. Jessica Pierucki, the General Manager of Nat Sherman, stated the company was trying to find a suitable buyer for their premium hand-made cigar division, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic things were tough and they were ultimately forced to make this decision. “We worked hard to successfully transition Nat Sherman International to a new home. The Covid-19 pandemic created new challenges that were unfortunately too big to overcome,” Pierucki said.
Altria has also said that the Nat Sherman cigarette line, Nat’s, will continue to operate.
The Nat Sherman Townhouse originally began as a store in 1930 on New York’s Broadway, before making several moves and iterations and landing in its current location. Brands that are part of the Nat Sherman International division include Timeless, Epoca, Metropolitan, Metropolitan Tobac and the Ancora accessories line. Altria purchased Nat Sherman from the Sherman family in 2017 and has continued to operate both the cigarette and premium cigar divisions until now. The 90-year run unfortunately comes to an end, but the memories of what once was will live on.
Michael Herklots, the Vice President of Nat Sherman International, has overseen the premium cigar division through the ownership transfer and now the end. “Leading what has become Nat Sherman International’s final chapter these last nine years has been the honor of a lifetime,” Herklots said in a statement regarding the announcement. He goes on to say “hopefully, our premium cigars will live on in the humidors of our greatest fans and be appreciated with fond memories for many years to come.”
If you love Nat Sherman, I would grab your stock now and maybe fill up those humidors, because the once “timeless’ brand is now running out of time.
