Portrait of cigar: Bossner

Articles

	Quick navigation

			Bossner There’s a Russian proverb to the effect that nothing works out the way you think it will. When Konstantin Bossner (Loskutnikov), formerly a Russian and now a German citizen, got the idea of creating his own cigar brand, he hadn’t fully realized the kind of problems he would come up against. In search of a tobacco that would suit his new cigars, he travelled to many countries and visited dozens of factories. Eventually, after several months, he found what he was looking for. For the filler and binder he selected a certain mixture of Dominican tobaccos, and for the wrapper he chose Connecticut. Konstantin Bossner was just as careful about his choice of the factory, where the cigars would be made, and finally settled on one in the Dominican Republic. Bossner’s first cigars appeared in European tobacco shops in the year 2000. Ten of the most popular types – churchill, robusto, torpedo, corona, double corona and panatela – were produced first. Then, in 2002, the Bossner Churchill Spezial gift box – containing three cigars of a special format in a fine wooden box – was introduced. In 2003 the Bossner range was supplemented with another two lines that brought the brand new devotees. Bossner Baron and Bossner Admiral were both produced in Nicaragua. Both the binder and the filler were made from local, Nicaraguan, tobaccos, while the maduro wrapper was Ecuadorian. Just the appearance of these cigars – with a pigtail at one end and uncut wrapped leaf at the other, giving the cigar a sealed look – attracted attention. This year more new lines were added: a new cigar – Henry Torpedo, rolled in Nicaragua and three new cigars in the Rolando line – Robusto, Double Corona and Torpedo – all produced in the Dominican Republic. These new lines were made especially for the RTDA Trade Show in Las Vegas. Despite the fact that the brand is fairly new, it has become fairly popular in Europe. This is largely due to the fact that the company has been aggressively promoting its cigars on the market and holding cigar-tasting events in various European countries. Bossner cigars are made today at five factories in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. In 2003 the company produced 250,000 cigars. 100,000-120,000 of these reached cigar shops in Russia and Ukraine; the rest were sold in Europe. In Germany, for example, some 60,000 Bossner cigars are sold a year. Konstantin Bossner’s future plans include the building of his own cigar factory. He is also holding talks with interested parties on the possibility of producing Bossner cigars in Cuba. by ANNA ARANOVSKAYA