Over 20 years ago, the impresario composer of hand-rolled concertos that we’ve come to know as Paul Stulac commissioned very special bands for what he envisioned at the time would eventually be the launch of his first cigar. Still so early in his journey at that point, it was impossible for Stulac to have known at the time the significance that these bands would eventually become imbued with. How significant? Of all the cigars we’ve ever bought, smoked, stored and enjoyed bearing the Stulac name over all these years…none of them have ever been dressed in those very first bands. Almost nobody outside Stulac himself and the employees of the print shop have ever even seen them…until now!
Gold on gold, these simple but elegant bands carry not only the logo Stulac first envisioned nearly 22 years ago, but also the very weight of his legacy. His first blend came and went without using the bands, as did the many others that followed. He wanted to keep them for something really, really special. For years, the bands remained safely in storage. Time, however, as well as distance and fate would conspire with one another to work against Stulac…and the bands would eventually be lost. Every last one, like a whisper, was gone – but the things we lose sometimes wait until we’ve learned to live without their presence to return to us…and a very small number of them have recently resurfaced! A total of 1,022 bands have been found and at just the right time, because now there is finally a blend that Paul deems worthy of the dream that set this decades-long journey into motion.
Expected to be available later this fall, Paul shares that the 10th Anniversary Stulac y Pena is all about “celebrating and showing appreciation for all the Pena family has done for me. It’s been a tremendous relationship.” In the 10 years he’s worked with Pena, they’ve produced some of Stulac’s most iconic blends. On the subject of blends, this one uses Ecuadorian Habano Rosado as its wrapper and showcases Nicaraguan filler bound with Nicaraguan Habano 2000. “It’s a newer style of cigar for us,” Stulac notes, “as it is more of an old world style.”
For the initial limited release, there are only enough of the original bands left to make 1000 available to the public. As such, 100 sets of 10 will be sold. Shortly after, more of these cigars will be made available, adorned with new bands that are currently being designed to live up to the legacy of the 1,022 that preceded them. The 10th Anniversary will be available in two formats at launch, both Perfectos. The Big Style Petit Perfecto is 5×52 and the Big Style Grand Perfecto is 6×60. Not even Stulac himself is keeping a box of these, which means one more cigar head now gets the chance to hold a piece of cigar history in their humidor. I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as these storied cigars are made available for you and me to enjoy and discuss!
Do you have a favorite Paul Stulac cigar? Would this be your first? I’d love to hear about it all in the comments below!