Another Round: Sensei’s Sensational Sarsaparilla II Announced

Cigar Dojo and Espinosa Premium Cigars have ordered up another round of their 2014 collaboration cigar, Sensei’s Sensational Sarsaparilla.

The companies have announced a sequel to that original release, appropriately called Sensei’s Sensational Sarsaparilla II, that will be released on October 21. The follow-up cigar is a 6 x 50 toro that uses the same blend of a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over an undisclosed binder and filler. Like the original it is a limited edition, with 1,000 bundles of 10 cigars being produced for a total run of 10,000 sticks. Each bundle is priced at $89.99 and the cigars are made at Espinosa’s La Zona Cigar Factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

“The original Sarsaparilla is still one of my favorite cigars, and we get begged by folks to re-release it constantly,” said Eric Guttormson of Cigar Dojo via a press release, who goes by the online persona of “Master Sensei.” He added that he wanted a unique experience for the follow-up release instead of just remaking the original, which was a 5 1/2 x 52 belicoso. This new version has updated artwork as well as a new band design to differentiate it from the original release.

Similar to how the original cigar was released in November 2014, a single retailer–Famous Smoke Shop–has been selected to carry the cigar and will offer it via a staggered release to members of the Cigar Dojo online community as well as Cigar Dojo app users on Oct. 21 users before offering it to the general public. The store will also hold a release event at Leaf Cigar Bar in Easton, Penn. that evening which will feature both Erik Espinosa and Eric Guttormson. Famous Smoke Shop also carried the original Sensei’s Sensational Sarsaparilla.

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, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, 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.