Since Aug. 2014, there’s been Aging Room Bin No. 1. This spring, there will be Bin No. 2.

Rafael Nodal has announced the upcoming release of his latest cigar via a story on CigarAficionado.com. It’s a Nicaraguan puro that is built around tobaccos from Ometepe, a volcanic island in Lake Nicaragua that is home to a relatively small amount of tobacco but that has become noted for its distinctive flavor, due in large part to the fact that the region sits between a pair of volcanoes, Volcán Concepción and Volcán Maderas. It is tobacco that comes from the Plasencia family and is used for the binder and part of the filler. Additionally, tobaccos from Estelí and Condega were used in the blend.

The cigar is made at Plasencia Cigars S.A. factory in Nicaragua and is being released in three sizes, all packed in 20-count boxes, and with some names that draw from music:

  • Aging Room Bin No. 2 C Major (5 3/4 x 54)
  • Aging Room Bin No. 2 B Minor (5 x 52)
  • Aging Room Bin No. 2 Grande (6 x 60)

Pricing has not yet been announced, and Nodal has so far not commented on the story or its accuracy to halfwheel. E-mails to Altadis U.S.A.’s marketing department have not been returned.

It’s a departure from the Bin No. 1’s blend, which was centered around Dominican tobaccos, particularly aged tobacco from Jochy Blanco at Tabacalera Palma, the factory that has produced many of Aging Room’s lines. The tobacco for Bin No. 1 dates back to Blanco’s early days of growing Cuban seed tobacco in the Cibao Valley of the Dominican Republic, with the binder and filler tracing back to 1999 and 2001. The wrapper on that line is an Ecuadorian habano leaf.

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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.