January 31, 2012 — Effective immediately, Eddie Ortega has stepped down as president of EOBrands Cigars. His former duties will be taken over by his partner Erik Espinosa. Espinosa will officially take over operations on February 1.

EOBrands cigars are produced in Nicaragua and include the 601, Cubao and Murcielago brands.

Ortega has formed a new cigar company called Ortega Cigars and will manufacture and distribute cigars under the Ortega name. Ortega Cigars will be headquartered in Sunrise, FL.

“I’ve wanted to do this for quite some time and now is the right time,” said Eddie, who also said “Ortega will focus on developing long lasting brands at affordable prices. I have no interest in the so called limited release market, plenty of those are around. I’d much rather build solid brands that consumers enjoy and will be around for years to come,” said Eddie.

Ortega has been working with the Garcia Family, owners of the My Father Factory in Esteli, Nicaragua developing the blend for the first Ortega line the “Ortega Serie D”. Ortega plans to officially launch the line by March of this year.

Eddie has already met with various tobacco brokers who have expressed interest in distributing the company’s brands. “The brands will only be available to 300 authorized retailers nationwide. This will allow me to better serve and support those retailers who support my products, I don’t want to be the next cigar mogul, I just want to make great cigars that are reasonably priced and consumers enjoy,” said Eddie.