El Artista Ships Buffalo TEN Connecticut, The Slugger Robusto

The two newest releases from Tabacalera El Artista are on their way to retailers, as this week the company started shipping the Buffalo TEN Connecticut and The Slugger, the latter of which is part of its collaboration with David Ortiz.

The Buffalo TEN Connecticut made its global debut in Norway in June, but now heads to retailers stateside. The blend uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper from El Artista’s farms, a Cameroon binder, and fillers from El Artista’s farms in the Dominican Republic, as well as Nicaragua-grown fillers. It is offered in a 6 x 50 toro vitola, and like the other two cigars in the Buffalo TEN line, it’s designed to be a flavorful, budget-friendly cigar, with an MSRP of $4.50 per cigar and $22.50 per five pack, as well as via 40-count bundle trays that are priced at $200.

Buffalo TEN debuted in 2019, with its original version using a Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper over a Dominican negrito binder grown by El Artista, and fillers from the USA and Colombia, as well as Dominican tobacco grown in El Artista’s fields, namely a T-13 hybrid leaf. In 2020, the company added the Buffalo TEN Natural, which uses an Ecuadorian-grown habano wrapper, Indonesian Sumatra binder, and a blend of Nicaraguan, Dominican and American fillers.

Also heading to store shelves is The Slugger Robusto, a 5 x 50 vitola for the second blend that came from El Artista’s project with former Major League Baseball player and Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz. The line debuted in 2019 in a 7 x 60 vitola as a stronger follow-up to the Big Papi by David Ortiz, which came out in October 2016. The Slugger uses a Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper, Dominican negrito binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and United States.

The new vitola comes with an MSRP of $10.50 per cigar and is offered in 20-count boxes priced at $210. Like the other cigars in the collaboration with Ortiz, it features a silhouette of Ortiz on the box and band, with a red, white and blue color scheme. The Slugger wears a blue ribbon around its foot to help differentiate it from the original Big Papi by David Ortiz, which wears a red foot ribbon.

Both of the cigars were featured in El Artista’s booth at the 2021 PCA Convention & Trade Show.

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 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.