Espinosa Cigars Ships The Alibi

Espinosa Cigars gave a small group of retailers a special Christmas present recently, as the first cigar in the company’s The Backroom Series began shipping to the three Espinosa-branded lounges across the country on Dec. 22. The cigar was formally released on Dec. 20 at Smoke Inn VI in Margate, Fla.

The Alibi was announced in early December as the first cigar in the series, a 6 x 48 Small Churchill that features a dark Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper over an undisclosed binder and filler. It comes with a price tag of $9 per cigar and $90 per box of 10, with just 200 boxes produced. The cigars are made at Espinosa’s La Zona factory in Nicaragua.

The three stores carrying The Alibi are Casa Belicoso (925-979-9330) in Walnut Creek, Calif., Cordova Cigars (850-473-0080) in Pensacola, Fla. and Smoke Inn VI (954-970-0001) in Margate, Fla. That list of retailers could grow should more Espinosa-branded lounges be established before supplies are exhausted.

While the next release in The Backroom Series has yet to be determined, a spokesperson for Espinosa Cigars told halfwheel that the company expects to release at least one new cigar in the series per year.

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.