In 2012 Reagan traveled down to Honduras to visit the Rocky Patel factory. While he was there he learned all about the tobaccos, growing, and blending. During the trip Reagan had the factory make him a cigar of tobaccos that he picked out that he liked. He chose a Sumatra Oscuro wrapper, with 2 leaves of ligero from Honduras and Nicaragua, with viso from Nicaragua. The cigar smoked great. He asked them to make him a second one to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. He smoked that one and it was just as good. They made some more of them and aged them to smoke later. In 2013 Reagan smoked the cigar again and decided to make his own line of cigars. Later that year Reagan released the Black Warrior Cigar.
The Black Warrior pays homage to the city of Tuscaloosa. Chief Tuskaloosa was a paramount chief of a Mississippian chiefdom in what is now the U.S. state of Alabama. His people were possibly ancestors to the several southern Native American confederacies (the Choctaw and Creek peoples) who later emerged in the region. The modern city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is named for him. They said that Chief Tuskaloosa stood a foot taller than all the Spaniards. Chief Tuskaloosa’s name means Black Warrior. Black Warrior Cigars were released in October 2013 on Reagan’s birthday. The Black Warrior comes in two sizes, Robusto (5.5×50) and a Box Press Torpedo (6.5×52). The Torpedo is box pressed and called the Reagan, since it is his favorite cigar. It would eventually go on to be rated a 91 on Cigar Coop, and has become a local favorite.
After the overwhelming success of the Black Warrior, Reagan had another blend in the works from his visit to Honduras. The sister cigar of the Black Warrior, with the same tobaccos inside as the black warrior with a light Sumatra wrapper, the Casa de las Estrellas is a milder version. The cigar honors Reagan’s family. The band features a family crest of the Starners, with Randy and Debbos and Reagan’s name on the bands. According to Starner family legend, the original Starner was German and Spanish descent. The tale goes that a man had a vision and constant dreams of a beautiful bride and was told to follow the North Star to find her.
The Star led him to Spain where he finally found her and she was exactly as she was in his dreams. He soon made her acquaintance and they fell in love. He was shocked to learn that she was part of the Royal Family. They went before the Queen and asked to be married. His house became called Estrellas de Norte which means, the North Star, which through the years became Starners. The Casa de las Estrellas translates to House of the Stars which is what the Starner family name means.
The Cigar was launched again on Reagan’s birthday in October of 2014. Each size is named after a member of the family. It comes in three sizes, Toro (6×52), Box Press Torpedo (6.5×52), and Lancero (7×40). The Box Press Torpedo is Reagan’s favorite size, the Toro is Randy’s favorite size, they are both named the Randy and the Reagan. Reagan made a special cigar to honor his mother called the Debbos. He wanted to create a cigar that she could smoke, it is a Box Pressed Lancero, which is her favorite size of a cigar to smoke. In 2016 when the University of Alabama Crimson Tide won the National Championship, they smoked the Casa de las Estrellas to celebrate.
