PDR雪茄的品牌所有人安倍·弗洛雷斯（Abe Flores）一直在關注和評估他的雪茄產品線。最近，他將目光投向了康涅狄格河谷珍藏產品線（ Connecticut Valley Reserve ），決定將這個系列的煙葉混合做出調整，讓口味變得更勁道一些。

康涅狄格河谷珍藏最初是2015年發布，當時歸屬于PDR旗下的弗洛雷斯和羅德里格斯品牌（Flores y Rodriguez），現在屬于安倍弗洛雷斯（A. Flores）品牌下的產品線。每年以限量版的形式發售兩次。

今年的限量版有兩個版本，茄衣不一樣。一款是Azul。西班牙語是“藍色”，茄衣用的是淺色的康涅狄格闊葉煙葉。弗洛雷斯將這種茄衣顏色歸類為克拉羅（claro）。還有一款是 Roja，西班牙語是“紅色”，茄衣用的是顏色較淺的康涅狄格闊葉煙葉，歸類為馬杜羅（maduro）。這兩款的茄套都是尼加拉瓜煙葉，茄芯都是尼加拉瓜、多米尼加的混合煙葉。

在煙葉品種方面，升級后的混合物基本一致。主要區別是種植煙草的農場和比例。弗洛雷斯在茄芯里加入了更多的多米尼加科羅霍煙葉，還有一些雷耶斯家族種植的利格羅（ligero）煙葉，減少了一些尼加拉瓜煙葉。

尺寸也做了一些調整。以前的產品線有金字塔（Figurado）和比力高（Belicoso）。如今變成了丘吉爾（Churchil）、長矛（ Lancero）。丘吉爾是50環徑，7英寸。長矛是42環徑，7英寸。產品線里還有大公牛（Gran Toro）、羅布圖（Robusto）。單支的建議零售價從20美元到26美元不等。每盒都是10支包裝。

在為中國市場專供的產品里，還保留了比力高的型號。每盒15支裝。

和其他產品線一樣，康涅狄格河谷珍藏也是在多米尼加的PDR雪茄廠生產的。預計4月下旬到5月初向零售商發貨。

附參考文章：

PDR Cigars brand owner Abe Flores has been looking over his portfolio and reassessing some of his cigar lines. Recently, he set his sights on the Connecticut Valley Reserve lines and decided to update the packaging and punch up the blends for a little more power.?

Originally released in 2015, the Connecticut Valley Reserve lines were sold under PDR’s Flores y Rodriguez series but are now part of the A. Flores brand, and will be produced in limited runs to be released only twice per year.?

The A. Flores Connecticut Valley Reserve comes in two versions: Azul and Roja. Azul (“blue” in Spanish) has a lighter Connecticut broadleaf wrapper that Flores categorizes as “claro,” while the Roja line (“red” in Spanish) has a darker Connecticut broadleaf wrapper classified as “maduro.” Both lines are made with Nicaraguan binders and a filler blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobacco.?

In terms of tobacco varietals, the updated blends are largely the same. The main difference is in the farms where the tobaccos are grown, and the proportions. Flores has added more Dominican Corojo filler (including some ligero grown by Leo Reyes) and decreased the amount of Nicaraguan filler.

The size chart has been changed a bit as well. Where the lines previously had a Figurado and Belicoso, they’ve been replaced with a Churchill (7 inches by 50 ring gauge) and Lancero (7 by 42). The Gran Toro and Robusto are still part of the line. Suggested retail prices range between $20 and $26 and all come in boxes of 10.

The Belicosos, however, are not completely gone. They’re now made exclusively for the Chinese market and come in boxes of 15.

Like all other PDR cigars, Connecticut Valley Reserve is made in the Dominican Republic at the PDR Cigars factory. Retailers can expect first shipments of the new smokes sometime between late April and early May.