Black Label Trading Co. is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its Bishops Blend limited edition this year, and after releasing a limited edition lancero vitola about six weeks ago, the company is continuing the celebration with the shipment a pair of more familiar sizes.

Today, the company released two additional vitolas:

  • Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend Corona Larga (6 1/4 x 46) — $11.50 (Box of 20, $230)
  • Black Label Trading Co. Bishops Blend Robusto (5 x 48) — $11 (Box of 20, $220)

The two sizes are the same that were part of the line’s debut in 2016 and have been used for every subsequent release.

The Bishops Blend features an Ecuadorian habano maduro wrapper, Ecuadorian habano binder, and fillers from Nicaragua and Connecticut, as well as Pennsylvania-grown broadleaf. It is made at Fabrica Oveja Negra in Estelí, Nicaragua. Production is limited to 450 boxes of each size, which will be distributed among U.S. retailers and the company’s German distributor. It’s a bigger release than the Lancero, which came out at the end of March and was limited to just 150 boxes of 12 cigars produced, a total run of 1,800 cigars.

This year’s release also comes with a modified design that features the number 5 in celebration of the line’s fifth release.

Image courtesy of Black Label Trading Co.

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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, 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.