Patriot, a new Dominican cigar. Well, more than just a cigar. It is a lifestyle brand with the main focus on cigarettes. But to support the cigarettes, there is also a Patriot cigar line, and electronic cigarettes. The man behind Patriot started working on the concept in 2017, even though the idea was much older.

 “We started with an idea from 2001,” describes the founder Eric van Duyn. “At the time, I was working on a new brand that would be added next to “Pirveli”, an emotional brand we had launched and made market leader over the past 2 years. My time in the cavalry and later air force (for the Royal Netherlands Army) inspired to combine a military theme with a brand name that would provoke sentiments for the homeland: Patriot. Due to unforeseen consequences, this portfolio expansion ceased to take place. Patriot was set aside. 15 years later my wife uncovered the drawings in an old storage unit. After a few weeks of strategizing, with the help of my son Florian, we decided to take on the challenge of building up our own family legacy.”

Patriot was originally developed to become a cigarette brand, but the idea came about to create some brand extensions within the same industry sector. Eric based this idea on 25 years of experience working for MNC’s. Diversification was one angle, but the other entailed premiumization of the brand. This decision resulted in the addition of hand-made cigars and electronic cigarettes. This will be further expanded by cigarillos in the near future.

INTERCIGAR

Eric van Duyn found a manufacturer and blender for his cigars in the Dominican Republic. Fellow Dutchman Maurice Koks owns and operates Intercigar. Koks is a third-generation cigar manufacturer, as his grandfather and father produced cigars in The Netherlands. Koks blended a 6×52 Toro with a Mexican San Andres wrapper for Patriot. The binder comes from the Dominican Republic and the fillers are Dominican and Nicaraguan. The blend includes medio Tiempo leaves. The cigars all have the famous triple cap. To capture the patriotic feel of the brand and the armed forces, the cigars are packed in boxes that look like ammo crates.

The focus of the Patriot brand is on the Duty-Free markets. It’s already available in five Duty-Free shops in Africa, and two Diplomatic shops. The distributor for those markets is Flemingo Duty-Free. But Patriot is open to expanding distribution to other markets than just distribution as well.

Reference: https://ministryofcigars.com/patriot-a-new-dominican-cigar/