Thirty Years Of Alec Bradley
It’s been 30 years since Alec Bradly cigars entered the market, and soon an anniversary line will be on its way to retailers. The story started in 1996 when company founder Alan Rubin exited the family fastener business and entered the world of cigars, naming the company after his two sons Alec and Bradley. Over the years, the business grew and its brands received various accolades, including the Cigar of the Year in 2011.
Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) acquired Alec Bradley in 2023. After the sale, Rubin left the business, but his sons accepted positions with STG. Now, the tobacco giant is on course to release a commemorative line called Thirty Years. In a surprise development, the company founder—who’s been ostensibly retired since STG purchased the brand—stepped back into the rolling room and assisted his sons in selecting the final blend.
“Bradley and Alec put the blend together over several months,” Alan Rubin tells Cigar Aficionado. “I was involved in the selection process along the way, sampling several iterations. We all landed on the same blend during the final selection. It was truly a team effort.”
Thirty Years is intended to be medium-to-full in body and consists of a Honduran wrapper from Trojes, two binder leaves (one Honduran Jamastran, one Nicaraguan Jalapa) and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua. It’s made at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras.
“This cigar represents everything we’ve learned over the last three decades,” says brand manager of strategic partnerships Alec Rubin. “Thirty years isn’t ancient in the cigar world, but it’s long enough to understand what matters: great tobacco, great partners and cigars we’re proud to smoke ourselves.”
Thirty Years comes in three sizes: Robusto, measuring 5 inches by 52 ring gauge; Toro, 6 by 54 and Gordo, 6 by 60. All are packaged in boxes of 16 cigars. A fourth size, a 6 3/4-by-54 Perfecto, is also available as a retailer exclusive and ships in 10-count boxes. Production of the Perfecto is limited to 2,026 boxes.
Suggested retail prices range from $9.99 to $12.99 per cigar.
The new cigars will be shown at this weekend’s PCA trade show in New Orleans and are scheduled to ship May 1. Like all Alec Bradley cigars, Thirty Years is distributed by Forged Cigar Co., a subsidiary of STG.
