Todd Vance joins Stallone Cigars as the new North America Vice President of Sales. Earlier this year, Vance joined Padilla Cigars in a similar role. Yet the Covid-19 crisis derailed his time with Padilla. In the past, Vance worked in similar positions for A.J. Fernandez Cigars, Cornelius & Anthony, and La Familia Robaina. Vance starts at Stallone Cigars on August 1st.

Stallone Cigars

Cigars and Stallone, a combination that automatically makes you think of Hollywood movie star Sylvester Stallone. Stallone is a famous cigar smoker and even lit cigars on screen. He is seen with a cigar in The Expendables. And in the 1990s, Stallone even had his cigar brand with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris. But Sylvester Stallone is not involved with Stallone Cigars. Stallone Cigars is the brainchild of Tony Barrios, a Texas native with Italian roots.

Stallone means stallion in Italian. Barrios’s Italian grandfather had a ranch and Barrios dreamed of having a stallion. So one day, he got one as a birthday present. But the horse was too wild and too stubborn to be broken in. Many cowboys tried, all failed. When his grandfather said “That horse is very difficult to ride, I was wrong giving it to you. But someday you will conquer and ride many stallions”. And so did Barrios. He’s competing with the best cowboys in the world. And winning many competitions.

Production and blends

All Stallone cigars are made in Nicaragua at an undisclosed factory. There are six different blends available, all under the Cowboy line. Those are the Connecticut Shade wrapped Palomino. The wrapper comes from the USA, with all the other tobaccos hailing from Nicaragua. Then there is the Castaño. This blend is all Nicaraguan except for the Mexican San Andres wrapper. The Alazan comes in two versions. The Habano version has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The binder is Brazilian and the filler Nicaraguan. The Alazan Corojo has a Brazilian Corojo wrapper with an Ecuadorian binder. The fillers are Nicaraguan. The Zaino blend is all Nicaraguan with American grown Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. And finally, there is the Negro, an all Nicaraguan blend, with a Maduro wrapper.

We have to admit, until today we had not heard about Stallone Cigars. And we figure we are not the only cigar nerds who do not know the brand. With Vance as the North America Vice President of Sales, that is about to change. Vance has years of experience in the industry. With his network and connections, he will open many doors for Stallone Cigars.