Neya is one of three new brands launched by Roberto P. Duran Cigars at the 2014 IPCPR Trade Show. It was a year ago where the company made its debut and released three blends under the Azan brand of cigars. The addition of these new brands has been one part of an aggressive expansion effort by the company. Over the past month, the company has also expanded its sales force including adding former Toraño Family Cigar employees Miguel Schoedel (as National Sales Manager), Jack Toraño (as Florida / Caribbean Sales Manager and Marketing), and Frank Cuden (Sales). This expansion will no doubt expand distribution on some very good products being produced by the company. The Neya brand is positioned as a premium offering in the portfolio. It has two blends, Neya Classic and Neya F8. Today we take a look at the Neya Classic in the Cañonazo. Overall I considered this to be an excellent cigar and one that provides some great value to the consumer.

Roberto P. Duran Cigars is named for its owner and founder, Roberto Pelayo Duran. Originally from Cuba, Roberto started out as a cigar production supervisor in that country. He then went on to assemble and manage all Cuban cigar brands for The Pacific Cigar Company, Ltd. He has also served as consultant to British American Tobacco working on their global brand strategy. As for Duran's company, he has established a vertically integrated model. The company owns their own factory in Nicaragua called Fabrica NicaTabaco. The company also owns a plantation in Ecuador called Finca Azan. This puts the Roberto P. Duran Cigars in a unique position where they grown much of their own Ecuadorian wrapper as opposed to sourcing it... Read More

Today we take a look at the Azan Burgundy Short Campana, from Roberto Duran Cigars. Sized at 4 3/8" x 46 this Burgundy may be small, but don't let that fool you, it's crammed full of big flavors. Let's take a look at the flavors first. Testing cold aromas, from the foot, there were notes of wheat straw and the free cold draw tasted like sweet over ripe tree fruit. Once the Azan Burgundy was burning ,the initial mild bodied flavor mix was oak, white pepper and caramel. It was nice, but that's just the beginning. Soon to follow were notes of sweet cream, sugar, toast leather and brown sugar, all of this took place in the first inch. As it burned on, the sweet cream with sugar came back plus other nuances of, sweet tea, nuts and earth The cigar finished with a medium bodied mix of sweet cream and mild black pepper.

Looking back at the construction, this little stick was well put together. The claro colored wrapper was seamless, nearly vein free and it was packed tightly from head to foot. At thirty-five minutes,smoking time was a bit shorter than expected, but in the acceptable range, and the burn line was razor sharp full length. Overall, the Azan Burgundy Short Campana was a fantastic stick with it's complex mix of flavors, top-notch construction and a price right around $4.00. These still might be bit hard to track down, but if you find one, don't pass it up... Read More

The first time I ever heard of Azan was when I was gifted one by Rene Castaneda at an event in Miami. We recently reviewed the Burgundy Line, and today we look at the Azan White Premium Line. According to Cigar Aficionado, “Azan, an old, privately owned Cuban brand started by a Chinese immigrant before Fidel Castro nationalized the industry. It disappeared after the Revolution, but is now back as a Nicaraguan brand, restarted this year by Roberto Pelayo Duran. Azan officially debuted at the 2013 IPCPR. “This must have been the only Cuban cigar brand started by a Chinese immigrant,” said Pelayo Duran, whose wife is a descendant of Azan’s original founder. The new Azan line was first launched in Hong Kong last April but now has distribution in the United States. Pelayo Duran was formerly employed by Pacific Cigar Ltd. and Havana House, both of which are major Habanos S.A. distribution hubs, bringing Cuban cigars to the Asia Pacific and Canadian regions.”

Appearance & Construction: The Corojo wrapper from Ecuador that covers the Azan White Premium Line has an evenly colored hue to it with a lot of thin veins throughout. The cigar has a firm roll and a nice weight to it. Looking at the cigar there is a nice sheen to it from the oils of the leaf. The foot reveals a well packed cigar where the Mata Fina is visible to the eye. The band denotes Azan in gold, over white with the words “Est. Cuba 1928″ and the back denotes Made in Nicaragua... Read More