Citing the increasing costs of tobacco, Foundation Cigar Co. has announced that it will be increasing the prices of its The Tabernacle Broadleaf and The Tabernacle Havana Seed CT 142 lines as of April 1.

The change works out to an increase of 25 cents for the MSRP of the cigar, something that Nicolas Melillo, Foundation’s founder, said was a very minimal increase when compared to the increased prices of tobacco coming from the Connecticut River Valley. It is the first increase since the original Tabernacle line debuted in 2016, with Melillo telling halfwheel that he has absorbed the change in raw material costs along the way. However, he noted that it has reached a point where he is forced to increase the retail price.

Both lines will share the same pricing structure:

  • The Tabernacle Broadleaf/Havana Seed CT #142 Corona (5 1/4 x 46) — $9.50 (Box of 24, $228)
  • The Tabernacle Broadleaf/Havana Seed CT #142 Robusto (5 x 50) — $11 (Box of 24, $264) per box
  • The Tabernacle Broadleaf/Havana Seed CT #142 Toro (6 x 52) — $12 (Box of 24, $288)
  • The Tabernacle Broadleaf/Havana Seed CT #142 Doble Corona (7 x 54) — $12.50 (Box of 24, $300)
  • The Tabernacle Broadleaf/Havana Seed CT #142 Lancero (7 x 40) — $13 (Box of 24, $312)
  • The Tabernacle Broadleaf Torpedo (4 1/2 x 52) — $11 (Box of 24, $264)

The Tabernacle blend features a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, a binder from Mexico’s San Andrés region, and fillers from Nicaragua and the Jamastran region of Honduras. The Tabernacle Havana Seed CT 142, which was released in 2018, uses a Connecticut-grown, havana seed wrapper, while keeping the binder and filler the same, at least on paper.

Pricing will not change on the Tabernacle David and Goliath vitolas, nor on any of the company’s other lines.

The following chart is a live look at what companies have announced price increases or no price increase for 2021.

CompanyPrice Increase
A.J. FernandezNo
Alec BradleyNo
Altadis U.S.A.Yes
Arturo FuenteYes
AshtonYes
AsylumYes
BattlegroundNo
Black Label Trading Co.No
Blackbird CaldwellYes
Casa CuevasYes
Chinnock CellarsNo
CLEYes
Crowned HeadsNo
CubariqueñoNo
CurivariYes
E.P. CarrilloYes
El ArtistaNo
Esteban CarrerasYes
FaltoNo
FoundationYes
General Cigar Co.Yes
Global Premium CigarsYes
Gran HabanoNo
GurkhaNo
HVCNo
J.C. NewmanYes
Jas Sum KralNo
Jeremy JackYes
JRE Tobacco Co.Yes
KristoffNo
La BarbaYes
La Flor DominicanaNo
La Galera/Indianhead TobaccoNo
Los CaidosNo
Maya SelvaYes
Miami Cigar & Co.No
Mombacho Cigars S.A.No
MoyaRuizNo
My FatherNo
OlivaYes
PadillaYes
PadrónNo
PatoroNo
Paul GarmirianNo
Paul StulacNo
PDR CigarsYes
PerdomoYes
Plasencia 1865No
Pure Aroma Cigars/D'CrossierNo
QuesadaNo
RoMa Craft TobacNo
RVGN RauchvergnügenNo
Sans Pareil/La InstructoraNo
SinistroNo
Southern DrawNo
StalloneYes
Overall Score

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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 MLB.com, 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.