Epicurean Cigars Ships Gonzo Santeria

The latest creation from Steven Ysidron of Epicurean Cigars, the Gonzo Santeria, is finally headed to retailers six months after the project was first announced.

The Gonzo Santeria is based on the original Gonzo blend but with more strength that is designed for the American cigar connoisseur. It used a vintage Mexican San Andrés wrapper, double binder with Nicaraguan Jalapa and Mexican San Andrés leaves, and a filler blend from Nicaragua’s Jalapa and Condega regions that has a pair of additional ligero leaves added to it.

The project was slated to be launched on Nov. 1, 2013, but a shortage of cedar in Nicaragua prevented the boxes from being finished on time. The boxes weren’t delivered until early January, and Ysidron told halfwheel at the time that he hoped to have them shipping in two to three weeks.

The Gonzo Santeria will come in three sizes, a 6 x 60 vitola Padrino, a 5 x 42 petit corona vitola called Ruca and a 6 x 52 toro called Heina. Each will come in 50-count boxes, with 50 boxes of each size being produced for a total run of 7,500 cigars in the line. They are being made at the Plasencia factory in Nicaragua and were expected to have a suggested retail price of $10.50 and $11.50 per cigar before taxes.