The brand names for Avanti products include the DeNobili and Parodi lines, Kentucky Cheroots, the bourbon-flavoured Ram Rod and Ram Rod Longs (featuring Tony Suraci, Jr. as the cowboy on the package). On the West Coast they are marketed under the Petri label.
While the Parodi, DeNobili, and Petri brands have enjoyed a largely regional popularity, the anisette- and bourbon-flavored cigars have national followings. This phenomenon was by design. Marc Suraci, another third generation family member, notes, "With the pleasant flavored cigars, we looked to reach a man in his 30s, like me, who wants to look good while, at the same time, exude a nice aroma from his cigar. These days, we have cigar smokers of both sexes taking advantage of the cordial aroma of bourbon RamRods and anisette Avanti."
The dark-fired tobacco that is used for both wrappers and fillers in the Avanti products is grown in eleven counties in Kentucky and Tennessee. Anthony Suraci, Sr., president and son of one of two brothers who originally founded the company in the early 1900s, is the chief tobacco buyer. He was in the middle of buying his share of the 1997 crop when we spoke. "We buy the wrappers directly from the farmers," he says. The Italian government's cigar-making monopoly and a Swiss manufacturer are the only other entities that buy wrapper from the dark-fired crop.
"Our representatives follow the crop all the way from the fields through the curing barns," notes Suraci Sr. "We choose the wrapper after the crop is cured and partially stripped. We buy the filler at auction."
Dark-fired tobacco is grown almost exclusively on family farms. The dark-fired process consists of hanging the green tobacco leaves in barns and smoking them over select hickory logs to cure.
Including wrapper and filler, Avanti currently buys well over half a million pounds of the crop annually. The bulk of the 38- to 42-million-pound annual crop goes to U.S. snuff manufacturers and European cigarette companies.
Suraci Sr. makes at least 10 trips annually to the 11-county tobacco growing region. There, he attends auctions and grades the leaf purchased. Tony Jr., his brother Marc, and cousin Dominic Keating also make regular trips to the region. This hands-on approach allows the family to produce a product with consistent taste and quality.
Suraci Sr.'s father and his uncle started out rolling and selling cigars on these shores in the early years of this century. By 1925, they were able to purchase the Parodi Cigar Company of New York, which became their primary brand name. "The Parodi Ammezzati is still our leading-selling brand," says Tony Jr.
After the Second World War, the family bought out the DeNobili Cigar Company. By 1952, the Suraci family had cornered 75% of the market for Italian-style cigars. The Petri brand, a family-owned wine and cigar concern on the West Coast, was their only competitor.
In 1954, Suraci Sr., an Annapolis graduate and Korean War veteran, joined the family business. At that time, all their cigars were still hand rolled. Growing product demand, and an attempt by the Petri Company to grab a larger market share through mass production, led the Suraci family away from handrolling.
