The Espinosa Premium Cigars booth houses not just the Espinosa brand, but Cubariqueno Cigar Co. and Pier 28, two of the brands that are produced at the La Zona Cigar Factory in Nicaragua. The walls feature numerous images of all of the brands and cigars that fall under that header, and given the added personnel and a steady stream of retailers, makes for a fairly well-visited space.

In the Espinosa half of the booth, there was a pair of featured cigars, while a third cigar was featured on its own as the fourth installment of a series the company began several years back. The rest of the company’s portfolio was also on display throughout the booth in a mix of display windows built into the walls and the aforementioned wall graphics.

Espinosa 20th

Erik Espinosa has been in the cigar industry for 20 years, and that means a celebratory cigar. It’s technically been 21 years, Espinosa said, though he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it last year, finally relenting at the request of his son, Erik Espinosa Jr. It’s a limited production that comes from La Zona and is said to be what he prefers in terms of size and profile.

  • Wrapper: Nicaragua (Habano Rosado)
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Espinosa 20th (6 x 46) — $10.90 (Boxes of 20, $219.80)

Production: 500 Boxes of 20 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)

Launch Date: July 2018

Espinosa Las 6 Provincias LHB

The LHB is the first of six limited editions that Espinosa Premium Cigars calls its “reminiscent tribute to Cuba, before its post-revolution decline.” Each of the lines will pay tribute to Cuba’s six original provinces, with La Habana being the first. The debut installment is being released in two formats, 10-count dress boxes and a limited edition 20-count swing box, which Erik Espinosa Jr. said was an attempt to do something different but that wasn’t simply a traditional jar release.

Both packages bear incredible artwork depicting some of the classic images of Cuba, and if the artwork of the first release is any indication, this should be one beautiful series of cigars. Almost amazingly, there’s no premium to get the swing box option, other than that it contains 20 cigars instead of 10 in the standard box. It’s being produced by A.J. Fernandez in Nicaragua.

  • Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano 2000
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Espinosa Las 6 Provincias LHB (6 x 54) — $16.50 (Boxes of 20, $330; Boxes of 10, $165)

Production: Regular Production*

Launch Date: July 2018

*There is a limited edition box of 20 that is limited to 300 boxes. An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the wrapper as a Connecticut broadleaf; it has been corrected to an Ecuadorian habano 2000 wrapper.

601 La Bomba Warhead IV

The 601 La Bomba Warhead series debuted in 2013 and has become a semi-regular release, with the fourth installment now arriving at stores in the five years since its debut. An offshoot of the 601 La Bomba line, it is designed to be a bit stronger with a more potent binder and filler, and the use of a Connecticut broadleaf maduro binder as opposed to a Nicaraguan habano leaf found on the regular 601 La Bomba.

  • Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro)
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • 601 La Bomba Warhead IV (6 x 48) — $10.99 (Boxes of 10, $109.90)

Production: 1,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)

Launch Date: July 2018

Davidoff is the official sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2018 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
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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.