It’s the First Friday of the month, which means it’s LCA Day for the Limited Cigar Association! Established to champion brick-and-mortar shops nationwide, the LCA offers exclusive releases on the first Friday of every month in collaboration with more than 400 small, family-owned businesses across the country. For the third consecutive May in a row, and the final time ever, the sought-after BBQ Pig by Quesada Cigars has returned as the featured cigar. The last of the original production run, once these are gone, they’re gone for good. The LCA Plus selection is the 2nd release from the unknown master blender behind the “Mr. Robot” alias – Mr. Robot Fumador V2. Use the LCA store locator to find out where your nearest shop is, find out more in this week’s coverage and check out the release video!
Asylum’s latest project – the super-premium Sensorium – has been the topic of many conversations since it was first revealed last year when brand co-founder Tom Lazuka was interviewed at the 10th Annual Brew City Cigar Festival. Produced in Honduras, using only Honduran tobaccos, two sizes of a brand new cigar have been crafted by the skilled rollers at the C.L.E. factory in Danli. Those familiar with the Camacho portfolio, especially as far back as their pre-Davidoff days, will recognize the signature “11/18” format of the new Asen 18 – a 6 x 52 Figurado with an MSRP of $50. The new Asen 60 is a 6 x 60 Gordo with a suggested retail price of $60. Launching in boxes of 20 – priced at $1000 and $1200 – both variations could begin appearing in person and online as early as next week. The first in what will likely be an annual release moving forward. a total of 20,000 Sensorium will be made available each year – 10,000 of each vitola. A
Christian Eiroa, President of C.L.E. Cigar Company, explains that “The Asylum brand of cigars allows us to keep pushing [the] boundaries. This is what the consumer expects from us. Such was the case this time, with the Asylum Sensorium. We used some first-generation Piñareno seed from Cuba, my father grew in Jamastran. He has had this seed for decades, but had not grown it since 1979, when blue mold swept through Honduras in 1977. Any attempts to grow it in Honduras have yielded continuous losses of 25 – 40% on the field, due to its susceptibility to everything.” Sharing that he’s all-in on the special tobacco, they’re only providing it to shops who have time to be visited by Lazuka and Eiroa in-person to learn about the cigar.
The DC Blendz Experience – just announced today – offers a unique opportunity for cigar enthusiasts to explore the elements that go into producing a cigar. By sending a box of 6 fumas directly to customers, renowned industry veteran Christian Eiroa and viral content creator Adam Guard have made it so that cigar lovers of every experience level can experiment with various tobaccos and vote on their favorites. Eiroa and Guard will guide participants through the entire process, culminating in a final blend that will be assembled based on customer ratings before being made available for purchase in packs of 5. After reaching more than 100 million views in just four months across his channels, Adam’s main focus with this project is to further educate the next generation of cigar aficionados. Priced at just $29.99, the fumas are available now on DCDeals.co. When you visit the site you’ll also see options for a 5-pack of the completed cigars at $49.99, as well as a bundle for the full experience set at $74.99. Spots are still available, but won’t be for long.
United Cigars is excited to unveil their new flagship lounge, The Red Anchor Lounge at Two Guys Smoke Shop Nashua. This 2,500 square-foot lounge, featuring burgundy walls and anchor decor throughout, can accommodate up to 60 guests in a comfortable setting. A standout offering is the airplane drink cart, which enables trained staff to deliver cocktail service directly at your table. The decision to honor the Red Anchor legacy was easy for David Garofalo, the owner of Two Guys Smoke Shop, as the brand quickly became a customer favorite. Established in 1772 by Albertus Hillen Sigarenfabriek in Delft, Holland, the Red Anchor brand was revived in 2022 by United Cigars and the Kelner Family in the Dominican Republic. There are two other United Cigar lounges in the U.S. – Atabey Lounge in Frisco, Texas, and Byron Cigar Lounge in Schaumburg, Illinois. The Red Anchor Lounge, open daily, can be found at 15 Spit Brook Rd, Nashua, NH.
After being announced nearly a month ago, the new 5 x 54 size of the HVC 10th Anniversary, simple named “54,” is being made available. Having reached a powerful milestone in the history of any business, a full decade in operation, Reinier Lorenzo released the HVC 10th Anniversary in 2021. Produced in a single size – 6.5 x 50 Toro – the original blend featured a Jalapa Corojo 99 wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a combination of Corojo 99, Corojo 2012, and Criollo 98 filler tobaccos. The 54 is crafted at HVC’s own Fabrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. in Esteli, Nicaragua using tobacco grown by Aganorsa Leaf. Already listed as a pre-order item at some shops, boxes have been appearing at HVC retailers all week. Launching at a suggested retail price of $13.90 each, the 54 is being placed on shelves and sites in boxes of 10.
Previously scheduled for a November 2022 release, it looked like we might get to obtain the new El Pulpo line of cigars from Artesano del Tobacco back in February. After a long and uncertain journey, the much-anticipated lineup with intense “Hail Hydra” vibes is now available. Like the popular Viva La Vida line, El Pulpo is produced by A.J. Fernandez in Nicaragua. Produced in three formats, “the Octopus” features a San Andres wrapper over Nicaraguan binder/filler. Each vitola – Robusto Grande, Toro Grande, and Belicoso Grande – is packaged in boxes of 10 cigars. Individually, El Pulpo has an MSRP between $15 and $17 depending on your state.
A historic cigar is now available for your to experience. For the first time since 2020, Scandanavian Tobacco Group and subsidiary General Cigar Co. have added a new regular production line to their Cohiba portfolio. The Cohiba Riviera, unveiled earlier this month, marks many firsts for the brand. Not only is the Riviera the first box-pressed Cohiba ever released by the Denmark, Copenhagen based STG, but it is also be their only Cohiba to have ever featured Mexican wrapper leaf. Riviera gets its name from an area of the Tuxtla valley in Mexico where the wrapper leaf is grown. The complete blend – produced at STG Esteli – is listed as San Andres Tuxtla wrapper, Honduran Connecticut binder, and filler tobaccos from 4 different regions across Honduras and Nicaragua. The Honduran Jamastran and La Entrada filler tobaccos are proprietary to STG, and the Nicaraguan filler tobaccos were selected from Condega and Estelí. Launching in 20 count boxes, the 5 x 52 Robusto format is priced at a suggested $19.99, with the 6.5 x 52 Toro retailing for $21.99. The line’s third vitola, a 6 x 60 Perfecto, is packaged in boxes of 10 cigars each, at an SRP of $23.99 per cigar.
Crafted at Fabrica de Puros Aladino S.A. – the Eiroa Family’s JRE factory in Honduras – a new regular production collaboration with Scandanavian Tobacco Group is now available. The new Punch Golden Era has arrived at shops across the country in three formats: Robusto, Toro, and Churchill. Punch Brand Manager John Hakim says that “The Eiroa family has perfected Corojo tobacco and we are excited to bring it to life with Punch Golden Era. This tobacco delivers a silky, golden wrapper, a binder with ideal combustibility and a filler that produces unique spicy notes and a spectrum of nuances.” Suggested retail price ranges from $9.99 to $10.99 depending on which size you select.
Wishing you all another great weekend full of your favorite cigars and your favorite people. Keep on sending in your favorite cigar related news stories, posts and video. If anything from this roundup catches your attention, let everyone know in the comments below!