The past several years have witnessed numerous collaborations between cigar manufacturers.
But what is a collaboration, actually? The dictionary defines collaboration as “the action of working with someone to produce or create something.”
This leaves a lot of room for interpretation as to the nature of the enterprise. It can be as varied as a desire to feature tobaccos from a different country, working with a smaller, more specialized factory (or a larger, well-resourced facility), or even a pooling of talents to create a hybrid product unique to each of the parties involved.
The recently debuted La Gloria Cubana Los Gloriosos is a case study unto itself. It is not so much a joining of forces of two manufacturing facilities as it is a coming full circle for a legacy brand with its creator.
The concept for Los Gloriosos originated with the current owner/manufacturer of La Gloria Cubana, Scandinavian Tobacco Group, and specifically its Forged Cigar Company division. Former brand manager Corey Beardsley thought it would be a natural idea to enlist Ernesto Perez-Carrillo to conceptualize and blend the latest iteration of what was once his boutique cigar brand.
John Hakim, who is currently brand manager for La Gloria Cubana at STG, recalls how the project took shape: “It came up last year that we should make a cigar with Ernesto. Corey Beardsley had reached out to Ernesto and started the process. As a consumer, I have a long history with La Gloria Cubana. I had seen that original 90 rating for the Wavell, and after that the Wavell became my favorite cigar. When Corey conceptualized this project he said I should come with him to the initial meeting with Ernesto. I smoked all the test blends and helped with the blend that became Los Gloriosos. When we sat around smoking the samples, we all said ‘this is the one!’”
The concept was to have Ernesto make a cigar as if he were first creating the La Gloria Cubana line now, but with all the knowledge and experience he has acquired over the past four decades. A La Gloria for the 21st century, geared toward today’s consumer, while staying true to the original spirit of the brand. Hakim adds, “It was a very conscious decision by our company to try to be responsive to both retailers and consumers, seeing what is going on in the market and the economy. There is a thirst to have very good, reasonably priced cigars.”
Los Gloriosos seems to have threaded that needle. The full-bodied, balanced blend is available in three shapes: a 6 x 50 Toro with an MSRP of $8.99, a 6 x 60 Gigante at $9.99 and the 7 x 58 Grandioso, Master Blender Perez Carrillo’s favorite shape, at a surprisingly low $10.99. These are premium cigars at approachable prices.
The line has a few unique features compared to the original La Gloria blend. An Ecuador habano wrapper replaces the original Sumatra cover leaf. Fillers are Nicaraguan and Dominican, as in the blend Perez-Carrillo first produced, but with somewhat more of an emphasis toward the Nicaraguan leaf. Most unusual, particularly for a cigar from STG, is the use of a double binder, one from Jalapa and one from Estelí. There’s enough similarity with the previous version to be familiar, with the updated twist bringing the cigar in line with today’s market preferences.
“This came up because they were going to do a project with La Gloria,” says Perez-Carrillo, “and they wanted it to be from outside the factory. I made the initial blend, actually four blends, and they liked one but they wanted it to have a little more strength. So I made a change in one of the tobaccos, and that’s the blend that people are now enjoying.”
When asked what the concept for the cigar was, Perez-Carrillo explaines the STG team was looking for an up-to-date version of the original brand.
On that basis he began creating “tweaked” simulations of his original line. He recalls, “There were two in the running, and one had the basic profile, the character they were looking for. I remember the old La Gloria was a cigar that had character, a little bit of spice. When they said we love the cigar, we just want a little bit more, I knew exactly what I had to do.”
As to whether Los Gloriosos is true to the La Gloria concept, Perez-Carrillo adds thoughtfully, “The old La Gloria was basically a Dominican blend. We used Dominican and Nicaraguan tobacco, which is what we did with this one. But the proportions are different. You wanted to keep the character and taste profile but use tobaccos that are more modern. We used more Nicaraguan tobacco and more ligeros.” The proof of concept is revealed in a quote from a promotional video for the brand, which can be viewed on the La Gloria Cubana website. In it, the master smiles broadly and states, “You’re going to be seeing me smoking this cigar a lot!”
Hakim reports that not only is the cigar selling extremely well, with the Toro size already in a backorder situation, the reviews have been extremely favorable, with the Gigante scorning 90 and 92 point ratings. He’s not surprised, given the degree of collaboration between his team at STG and the level of enthusiasm the Perez-Carrillo family has poured into the creation of this cigar.
Musing about the cigar’s evolution, Hakim states, “It was exciting for Corey and me to get to work with him. We’re celebrating the glory of his brand, the glory of Ernesto and his family, the glory of the heritage.”
Read more about Los Gloriosos at lagloriacubana.com.
– Photos courtesy of Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG). Article by Larry Wagner.
This story first appeared in PCA The Magazine, Volume 1, 2026. To receive a copy of this magazine, you must be a current PCA member. Join or renew today at premiumcigars.org/membership.