Two weeks ago, Tabacalera El Artista and Rene Pená announced the first release of Artista Studio Works. A limited-edition series of humidors and art with El Artista’s Buffalo Ten and Big Papi as inspiration. Peña is an accomplished Dominican painter who describes his styles as, “simple realism, abstract and colorful”. He is the first of hopefully many Dominican artists to collaborate with Tabacalera El Artista under the Artista Studio Works label.

International reach

Ram Rodriguez from Tabacalera El Artista told us that the humidors are going international. The distributors for Tabacalera El Artista in Austria, Germany, and Norway are getting the humidors soon. All three countries are getting the Buffalo Ten humidors, but Norway and Austria also want the Big Papi humidors. Rodriguez also says that a group of cigar enthusiasts from an undisclosed Asian country ordered humidors through a group buy. It might open the doors for Tabacalera El Artista to get a distributor for the cigars in that country.

There are only 400 humidors available. 200 of each design. 50-CT humidors will be signed by the artist. They are available for sale to retailers on December 1, 2020. Humidors are limited to 200 pieces and are priced at $150 MSRP for the Buffalo TEN and $190 for the David Ortiz. But those are the manufacturer suggested retail prices in the United States. What the prices in Norway, Austria, and Germany are is up to the individual retailers.

Artista Studio Works

Artista Studio Works is a collaboration between Tabacalera El Artista and different Dominican artists. Artists from all areas of the island, and all mediums. The goal of Artista Studio Works is to bring the life and culture of the Dominican Republic to the rest of the world. Through works of art and inspiration

“We make tobacco and cigars,” says Radhames “Ram” Rodriguez, President of El Artista Cigars. “That is our art. But there is so much artistic expression around us here on the island. I want to create an opportunity to share that with anyone curious about the Dominican Republic. We are so much more than just tobacco”. “Artista Studio Works aims to discover talent. To bring the artist into the Studio. And allow them to interpret the factory and our brands. Or the general cigar lifestyle,” states Kevin Newman Director of Marketing & Sales for El Artista Cigars. “In that way, we hope to support, uplift, and generate interest in the artist and the wonderful community of artists here on the Dominican island.”