Eiroa Dark 11/18 Begins Shipping to TAA Stores

A new size of the Eiroa Dark line is heading to stores this week.

CLE Cigar Co. has announced that it has begun shipping the Eiroa Dark 11/18, a 6 x 48/54/48 perfecto, that is made entirely of Honduran corojo tobaccos. This vitola is a new size of the Eiroa Dark line and this size will only offer to retailers that are members of the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA), a membership group that contains roughly 80 independent cigar retailers.

The Eiroa Dark 11/18 will have an MSRP of $16.70 per cigar. Production is limited to 500 boxes of 20 cigars for 2023, seemingly opening the door up for a subsequent batch in future years.

The TAA is a membership group, which also includes approximately 40 manufacturers, that gathers annually to discuss issues facing the industry and retailers, as well as to have its annual trade show, a unique event that works on a group buying format in order to secure exclusive deals for these generally high-volume merchants.

During the event—which took place March 26-30 at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic—the organization holds two selling events, one known as the Dream Machine, where the retailers collectively order to secure larger discounts, while the other is a more traditional trade show. Typically, around a dozen manufacturers release new exclusive cigars for the retail members of the organization under the TAA Exclusive Series Program banner. Those manufacturers agree to give a portion of the proceeds to the organization, a minimum of 50 cents per cigar.

TAA 2023 exclusive cigars from Espinosa Premium Cigars, Ferio Tego, Joya de Nicaragua and Miami Cigar & Co. have already begun shipping. In addition, Crowned Heads, E.P. Carrillo, Forged Cigar Co., General Cigar Co., Gurkha, J.C. Newman, Kristoff, La Palina, My Father, Plasencia 1865, Rocky Patel, Quality Importers Trading Co., Quesada, Tatuaje and Villiger Cigars North America have announced their TAA 2023 releases.