Expert: James Yee - 1/1/2009

Question
QUESTION: Thank you for your response on the Mendez y Lopez (exclusivos) and the Carbonell (corona's)  but they are no longer sold in the U.S. and I have searched the internet all over the country.  They are a Dominican cigar and no one wants to research as to where to find them or to order them.  How can I find out where to get them from outside the U.S. or a distributor so I can try and find a cigar store to order them?

ANSWER: Hi Andrew,

I don't think these are sold in Canada as well so you will have to find out the name of the parent company/manufacturer of these cigars and find out where you can buy these cigars or if these cigars are still being produced.

It's also very possible that some U.S. cigar stores may have an old supply of these cigars somewhere in their inventory so don't give up on your search.

You should also find out the name of the distributor for the cigar stores in your local area and inquire with them as to whether or not they can special order these cigars for you.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I have already tried to find forgotten or left over inventory and have had no success.  What has been told to me is that the distributor has gone out of business.
How would I find out the name of the distributor for these cigars, or how would I find a store in the Dominican Rep. that I could try to purchase from?

Answer
Andrew,

If the distributor has gone out of business, it will be extremely hard to track these cigars down.  What you should do is search on the Internet for cigar stores/online retailers located in the Dominican Republic and inquire with them as to if and where you can still buy these cigars from.  Even if they don't have these cigars in stock, they may be able to direct you to a local company or retailer that can track some down for you.

What you should also do is visit cigar message boards/forums and post a message about looking for these cigars.  If a forum member has found an old supply of these cigars in a cigar store or from their own collection, they may be able to help you out.

You should also contact "TOBACCIANA" dealers in your local phone book and have them conduct an open search for these cigars.  In addition to tobacco memorabilia, a lot of tobacciana dealers will also deal with vintage, rare and discontinued cigars for private collectors.  Tobacciana dealers can be found in your phone book under "Tobacconists", "Tobacco - Cigars" or "Antique Dealers - Tobacciana".

HOWEVER, because the distributor for these cigars is no longer in business, it will be very hard to track these cigars down so you shouldn't have super high expectations in finding these cigars.

Good luck in your search.

Regards,
James