In March, Foundry Tobacco Co. announced that it had hired its first independent broker, C.H.I.M.P., Inc. to cover the southeastern United States. As part of that announcement, a new series of cigars called Zodipunk was announced and began hitting stores in the brokerage’s territory, which includes Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington D.C.

The Zodipunk line was destined to have 12 distinct releases, one for each of the signs of the zodiac. Foundry managed to get six of the cigars released in May: Hircus, The Sirens, Portent, Shatteram, Juggernaut and The Conspirator, each with 500 bundles of 20 cigars produced.

While the second half were slated to be released later in 2016, the remaining six lines–Boltarg, Crusher, Gilden, Glint, Scorhex and Vigilis–have officially been shelved, according to Justin Andrews, brand manager of Foundry Cigar Co. He recently told halfwheel that “because of FDA, we have delayed the project,” and then later clarifying that the rest of the releases have been shelved.

 

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.