There will be a brand new, limited edition line added to Black Label Trading Co.’s portfolio at the 2019 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, as today the company announced Last Rites Viaticum.

It’s a 5 x 54 box pressed robusto, using an Ecuadorian maduro wrapper, Honduran habano binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras, with production handled by Fabrica Oveja Negra. It is scheduled to arrive at retailers in the fall, and the only retailers who will be able to carry it will be those who attend the trade show.

“We wanted to release a cigar exclusively for IPCPR attendees as a way of showing our appreciation for the retailers who come to support our brands and the show,” said James Brown, creator of Black Label Trading Co. and partner at Fabrica Oveja Negra, via a press release. “Last Rites has always been a special cigar to me. It was the first cigar I blended on my own, and I blended it to my personal tastes. It’s everything I wanted out of a cigar and a perfect representation of Black Label Trading Co. To celebrate our sixth anniversary, I wanted to do a special edition of the Last Rites. The Viaticum is an evolution of the Last Rites blend. It uses most of the same tobaccos but in different proportions and primings. It’s rich, dark and elegant just like Nicaraguan tobacco. We also box pressed the cigar like the original 2013 release.”

The cigar will be priced at $15 and come in 20-count boxes. The company is producing 500 boxes of Last Rites Viaticum and expects to have it shipping to retailers in September.

Shortly after this story was published, Black Label Trading Co. confirmed the number of boxes being produced and a more specific shipping timeframe.

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Davidoff is the official sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2019 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
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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.