Ezra Zion Extends Tantrum With Passive Agressive

Ezra Zion’s popular Tantrum is getting a big brother. At the upcoming IPCPR convention and trade show the Texas-based brand will launch Tantrum PA, a 6 1/2 x 44 version of the cigar made to answer requests for the company’s consumers.

Brand owners Kyle Hoover and Chris Kelly explained that they fielded two common requests for consumers: a cigar that was a bit longer and one that packed a bit less strength.

“We want every blend to be something that stand on its own,” said Hoover.

As such, the newest version, which is limited to 600 boxes of 28, will be a box-pressed lonsdale with a slightly lighter blend. It remains a Nicaraguan puro, although this year’s version features a corojo 99 wrapper, a corojo binder and corojo and criollo fillers. The cigar is made in Estelí, Nicaragua at the TABSA factory, the same factory responsible for the company’s Eminence line. Pricing is set at $9.95 per cigar before applicable local taxes.

The PA portion of its name is actually made to describe the cigar’s profile.

“To us, the way that it actually performs when it smokes, it starts off strong—a lot of strength,” explained Hoover. “It goes from what people would consider a strong cigar, (but) the second third goes to almost mild in my book and then you expect that strength to be what it is and then the strength ratchets back up.”

The original Tantrum was the top cigar on the 2013 Consensus Awards. Hoover and Kelly told halfwheel they tried to create a cigar that focused around body, particularly how it reacts on the tongue, compared to the original, which the company believes was more noted for its presence through the nose. The company has not decided if Tantrum will become an annual limited release.

Tantrum PA is slated to begin shipping by the end of July. Ezra Zion is distributed by House of Emilio.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.