1966 Cigars Debuting at PCA 2024 with Skeletós

1966 Cigars, a fairly new cigar company started by Roberto Argueta, will be making its debut at the 2024 PCA Convention & Trade Show this week with a cigar called Skeletós.

The cigar is a 6 x 52 toro that uses a Nicaraguan habano oscuro blend from Jalapa over a Honduran habano binder and Honduran broadleaf filler. Argueta described the profile to halfwheel as leathery, sugary, chocolaty and black pepper with a great aroma, and a smooth and flavorful after taste.

Skeletós is produced at the La Pequeña Vega factory in Danlí, Honduras, and will be offered in 20-count boxes. Pricing is set at $180.40 per box, or $9.02 per cigar. It’s a regular production line that Argueta is anticipating shipping to retailers on April 30.

“1966 Cigars started as a dream of mine in Argentina while I was studying my degree in college in 2016,” Argueta told halfwheel, adding that he named it for the year his biological father was born, adding that his dad passed away when he was just eight years old.

“I’m a Honduran national, born and raised in Honduras, and when you’re a foreigner in another country, or let me say it correctly, when you’re a Honduran in another country, no one seems to know that your country is in the American continent, so I knew that one of the best coffee in world is exported from Honduras and I’d heard about the Honduran tobacco that it was similar to the Cuban tobacco.” However, he had only heard about Cuban cigar brands, such as Cohiba and Romeo & Julieta, the latter of which he noted was the first cigar he ever smoked.

His family started sending him Flor de Copan cigars, which are made in Honduras as part of the Tabacalera S.L.U. portfolio. But after college, he moved back to Honduras and entered the corporate world, working for the family business, and forgot about his dream of starting a cigar company.

It was 2023 when the dream was revived, sparked by his stepfather being diagnosed with cancer and needing to move to Houston to receive treatment. That change reignited Argueta to pursue his dream, and he began visiting Danlí to learn about tobacco and cigars, the business side of the process and eventually developing blends. He said he initially wanted a very strong, powerful cigar, but changed his mind when his master roller, Jose Bernardino, made the blend that would become Skeletós.

“I’m in love with the tobacco industry, I’m in love with the cigars and I hope that one day we’re able to do great things, maybe when my kid is the ceo of the company,” he added with a laugh.