How does a cigar line become branded (and expensive)?
Given the volume of different offerings of some high cigar brands, I'm curious how they come to market particular blends, especially when they don't seem to own facilities of their own. By that I mean guys like Alan Rubin and Kaizad Hansotia don't grow any tobacco, yet at some point in the process cigars appear with their bands on them--ready to go out by the thousands often at exorbitant price points. So my question is: how do these expensive lines proliferate? I get the feeling the magnates walk into factories where they don't control production, try some offerings, then contract for as many boxes as they think they can sell. Am I close to the truth here, or way off base?