Alec Bradley Kintsugi

Alec Bradley, the famous brand founded in 1996 by Alan Rubin, is above all, a family story. After learning the secrets of cigar making from a very young age, with their father Alan, the two Rubin brothers announced in March 2020, the launch of their 3rd creation. This collection joins the secondary brand "Alec & Bradley" named after their own first names.

Planned for the beginning of 2020, this new line will only appear in December of the same year, delayed by the global pandemic. They will decide to call it Kintsugi, a name that refers to a Japanese art form that consists of repairing broken porcelain, deliberately highlighting the cracks with gold, before using lacquer to bind the pieces together again. This tribute refers to cigars, which like gold, are a bonding agent. They bring together people from all walks of life through a common passion. In this way, Kintsugi vitolas celebrate comradeship.

In terms of blend, these cigars are composed of a Honduran wrapper grown in the region of Trojes, which carefully wraps both a Nicaraguan and a Honduran double binder and filler. They are hand-rolled at the Raíces Cubanas factory in Danlí, Honduras. The range is composed of 5 modules, 4 in regular production and one in limited edition.

Small review of the different cigars:

Let's start with the Kintsugi Robusto (50 x 127 mm): it is a medium-bodied cigar offering a 1-hour smoking time. Its dense smoke shows an easy combustion, whose strength remains constant, while delivering aromas of spices and forest.

Let's continue with the Kintsugi Corona Gorda (46 x 143 mm). Visually, it is wrapped in a very smooth Maduro Claro wrapper that shows some veins. The construction which is excellent, lets out a dense and cedar, cinnamon and dark chocolate flavored smoke, reminiscent of Japanese sweets.

The Kintsugi Toro (52 x 152 mm) is a medium-bodied cigar whose Honduran and Nicaraguan filler delivers notes of sweet hay, leather, then a milder flavor of chocolate and honey. The draw is relatively pleasant.

Next, the last vitola in regular production, the Kintsugi Gordo (60 x 152 mm). Its golden-brown wrapper shows some veins and is very slightly oily. The hay aromas are enhanced by a hint of citrus. The smoking time is close to 1 hour 20 minutes.

Now we'll move on to the Kintsugi Chunk (60 x 108 mm). This rather unusual format, more commonly known as "Small Gordo", has already appeared in different lines of Alec Bradley as the Black Market or the Gatekeeper. The latter made its appearance in May 2022, for a total production of 4000 cigars distributed in samples of 2 vitolas, it is thus particularly rare. The aromas which emanate from it are those of barnyard, sunflower seeds and honey.

The modern and refined box of Kintsugi includes 24 pieces, it is of a bright white decorated by blue and golden shards that remind Japanese ceramics. Asian lettering appears on both the box and the rings, which show a particular attention to detail. Indeed, the cigars are adorned with a double blue ring embellished with gold patterns that are also supposed to reproduce the look of pottery.

About the brand:

Alec Bradley's story begins with a simple cigar enthusiast with no previous experience in the field. Through ambition, thirst for knowledge and hard work, Alan Rubin eventually learned all about the history, blending and culture of tobacco. He then realized his dream by creating the Alec Bradley Cigar Company, named after his sons, Alec and Bradley, in 1996.

Only 2 years later, the tobacco industry was heavily impacted by the decline of the tobacco boom and the company had to fight for its survival. However, Alec Bradley's future will take an unexpected turn thanks to an encounter with Ralph Montero, a tobacco industry professional.

In the 2000s, in order to face this crisis, Ralph proposed to join forces with Alan to change the direction of the company: they now have to make a name for themselves in the tobacco specialized retailer stores. To do so, they created a new line called "Occidental Reserve" with the help of Henke Kelner, a Davidoff cigar manufacturer.

500 samples of this new cigar were sent to different retail stores, it allowed them to gain new customers and thus, to bounce back in the industry thanks to this last chance. Then, Alec Bradley continued to develop new products such as the triangular cigar "Trilogy" which became a hit cigar, or its new line "Maxx".

The company started to experience a dazzling success, especially from 2007 when the brand experienced its greatest triumph with the introduction of a new full-bodied line called "Tempus".

Once they graduated, Alan's sons Alec and Bradley began working for the company full time while learning the business's ropes. The first works in marketing, promotions and sales support, while the second is involved in marketing and social media development. After several years of training, they developed their own blend with "Kintsugi," launched in December 2020, through a secondary line named "Alec & Bradley". In addition of creating new lines, they bring a fresh twist to the company by working on a new project that would give them the creative control of a regional exclusive to be released in their own territories.

At the end of the day, what's important to Alec Bradley is making lives a little better, during the time of a cigar, and offering to aficionados an unforgettable experience through their products. With a reputation the Rubins have spent more than two decades building, the company is truly family-oriented: "You can't imagine how proud I am. There are no words to describe how being able to work with my boys brings me joy. And my father, at 91, comes in every day, so we have three generations in the office every day" said Alec Bradley's founder, Alan Rubin , before his father's passing in 2019.

> Discover other premium standard cigars. 

ALEC BRADLEY - Kintsugi Robusto - Box of 24
Vitola: Robusto (50 x 127 mm)

ALEC BRADLEY - Kintsugi Corona Gorda - Box of 24
Vitola: Corona Gorda (46 x 143 mm)

ALEC BRADLEY - Kintsugi Toro - Box of 24
Vitola: Toro (52 x 152 mm)

ALEC BRADLEY - Kintsugi Gordo - Box of 24
Vitola: Gordo (60 x 152 mm) 

ALEC BRADLEY - Kintsugi Chunk - Box of 24
Vitola: Petit Gordo (60 x 108 mm)

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