Ex NASA Employee Launches a Burning Rocket

What do you do when your Dominican Republic pro-basketball career is terminated by injuries, the MBA degree you earned has no pull into any particular direction and your position at NASA is no longer interesting enough? Why not jump into an old love/new career and try to make money at the same time.   Do what Omar de Frias did – quit the office grind and start your own cigar company!  And he gave it an Italian name – Fratello – to stand apart from the pack.

Launched at the 2013 IPCPR, Fratello offers four vitolas: the 5 ½ X 46 Corona, 5  ½  X 52 Robusto, 6 ¼ X 54 Toro and the 6 X 60 Timacle.  Fratello cigars have a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and a blend of Nicaraguan and Peruvian fillers. I met Omar at the IPCPR and I look up to him, literally. Affable and confident, Omar is seeking to carve out a niche for his company in the cigar market.  He gave me the Corona as a sample to review.

The corona was slightly firm with no blemishes. The pre-smoke flavor was earthy and the stick light easily enough. The smoke volume was very good as was the draw. The initial flavor was a fairly strong pepper that continued into the aftertaste. I could discern a hint of leather and some spice. This cigar is on the borderline between medium and full bodied. The cigar lasted 39 minutes with an even burn. At an MSRP of about $7.60 for a single I consider the Fratello corona slightly overpriced and rate it a 3.5 out of 5.  ALSO,  Omar quit the office grind to sell his own grind – specially blended coffee to have with his or any other cigar – the Fratello Cigar Blend.  I did not review it but it is available at about $17 for a 10 ounce bag.