Espinosa’s Murcielago de Oro Ships Early to TAA Retailers

Murcielago de Oro, the first cigar that Espinosa Premium Cigars has created for retail members of the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA), is on its way to stores several weeks ahead of schedule.

It’s a 6 x 54 oval-pressed toro gordo, with a blend described as a reworked version of the company’s Murcielago blend. Murcielago de Oro uses a Mexican San Andrés claro wrapper over a binder from Nicaragua’s Jalapa region, while the filler uses Nicaraguan tobacco.

Hector J. Alfonso Sr., operations director of Espinosa Premium Cigars, described the blend as a bit more nuanced version of the regular production Murcielago, noting that he finds it to have more body but not necessarily more strength. In contrast, it doesn’t have the sweetness of the regular production Murcielago line, which uses a Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper.

The cigar is made by AJ Fernandez’s San Lotano Factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua. Alfonso told halfwheel that the factory pleasantly surprised him and the company with the cigar’s early arrival. It was initially slated to ship around the end of May or early June.

The Murcielago de Oro is priced at $12.50 per cigar, with production limited to 1,500 boxes of 20 cigars, a run of 30,000 cigars.

Espinosa’s Murcielago de Oro is one of 20 cigars to be announced for the TAA’s Exclusive Series Program this year, along with cigars from CLE, Crowned Heads, E.P. Carrillo, Ferio Tego, General Cigar Co.’s La Gloria Cubana and Sancho Panza brands, Gurkha, J.C. Newman, Joya de Nicaragua, Kristoff, La Palina, Miami Cigar & Co., My Father, Plasencia, Rocky Patel, Quesada, Tatuaje and Villiger Cigars North America. Quality Importers Trading Co. is also releasing an exclusive design for its XIKAR Xi2 cutter.

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.