Espinosa Cigars to Relaunch Murcielago at IPCPR (Update)
Espinosa Cigars has announced plans to bring back the Murcielago brand, which traces its history back to 2009 and United Tobacco/EO Brands, the company owned by Erik Espinosa and Eddie Ortega. This new incarnation will be made at Espinosa’s La Zona factory in Estelí, Nicaragua and debut at the 2015 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show in July.
When United Tobacco/EO Brands was dissolved in July 2012, Espinosa kept the Murcielago name, but the blend remained with the García family, as the original Murcielago came out of their factory, also in Estelí. In Oct. 2012, Espinosa told halfwheel that both 601 and Murcielago would be made at La Zona as well as Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A. (TAVICUSA), the factory owned by Amilcar Perez-Castro and Rocky Patel.
The company has not released official details on the new Murcielago yet, but Espinosa told Cigar Insider that he never knew the exact blend but believes he has recreated it through reverse engineering with the assistance of Perez-Castro while also giving it a new presentation and packaging. The new version will still use a Mexican San Andrés wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. Perez-Castro previously worked for the García family, who was responsible for producing the original Murcielago.
The line is reported to be returning in three box-pressed sizes, the Noir (5 x 52), the La Lune (6 1/2 x 54) and the Nocturne (5 1/2 x 56). Pricing has yet to be announced.
Update (May 22, 2015) — Added graphics released by the company. This story was originally published May 13.
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.
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