IPCPR 2015: Hammer + Sickle

For a company that has a decidedly Russian symbol for its brand, their booth was very Scottish themed this year and quite hard to miss.

Hammer + Sickle Trademark Series Maduro
Before we get to the reason for the Scottish theme though, Hammer + Sickle had its new Trademark Maduro at the show. Formerly known as the Icon Series, the company changed the name after a trademark dispute and not wanting to pursue the costly litigation. The new Maduro uses a San Andrés wrapper and comes in all the same sizes as the regular Trademark line: Robusto (5 x 50, $8.70), Toro (6 x 50, $8.70) and Churchill (7  x 48, $9.10).

All three will come in boxes of 20 and should be shipping in August.

The Caleanoch
The new exciting cigar at the show though was The Caleanoch. It’s the first cigar to use peat fire-cured tobacco and will be debuting in one size, a 6 x 50 toro and retail for $12.50.

 

The first release will feature 25 percent of the filler that is peat fired-cured, giving the cigar a light but mild peat flavor. The blend uses a Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper and corojo for the binder and filler. Future releases planned will have 50 percent and 75 percent of the filler being peat fire-cured, giving the cigar a much stronger flavor.

While release dates for those version weren’t announced, Hammer + Sickle is expecting the extensions to be released within the next year. The first release should ship within the next month and will come in a 12-count tube that looks like the packing used for bottles of scotch.