While last year saw Dean Parson’s Epic Cigars introducing two new lines, the 2017 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show was more of a laid back affair, with the company only showing off one release named the Smoking Shields, a blend which began as a limited edition of only 100 boxes that has since blossomed into a much larger release.

Smoking Shields 

The blend was originally produced as an exclusive for the charity smoking club Smoking Shields Cigar Club, Corp., which raises money for law enforcement and military men, women and their families. While the cigar was first limited to only 100 boxes in November 2016, Parsons decided to expand the release to approximately 1,000 boxes that will be distributed not only in the United States, but also in Canada and Germany.

  • Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca
  • Binder: Dominican Republic
  • Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
  • Epic Smoking Shields (6 x 54) — $15 (Boxes of 10, $150)

Launch Date: November 2016

Davidoff is the official sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2017 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.