MoyaRuiz kept things fairly simple in the booth this year. While all of the company’s lines were displayed, there was a special focus on its most recent release, Il Ridotto.

Nelson Ruiz said the company is working on a pair of new projects as well, the first of which should be seen around Halloween, and the other tentatively scheduled for the first quarter of 2018.

Moya Ruiz Il Ridotto

The line was shown off last year, but isn’t getting its full national release until this year. Like nearly all of the company’s cigars, Il Ridotto gets its name from the roots of gambling. In this case, it is an Italian term that means the private room.

“Since both of our prior releases have to do with games, playing dominos and poker, we wanted to go back to the roots of gambling,” said Danny Moya, co-owner of MoyaRuiz Cigars, in a press release when the cigar was announced last year. “That’s where the inspiration came from, to really tell the story of gambling, which Americans love so passionately.”

Even the vitola have gambling-related names; Biribi is a game of French origin that is similar to a lottery, while Basetta is a high-stakes card game for wealthy people that originated from Italy in the late 16th century.

  • Wrapper: Brazilian Habano
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Moya Ruiz Il Ridotto Biribi (5 x 52) — $8 (Boxes of 20, $160)
  • Moya Ruiz Il Ridotto Basetta (6 x 52) — $8.20 (Boxes of 20, $164)

Ship Date: July 2017

Production: Regular Production

Davidoff is the official sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2017 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
Avatar photo

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.