IPCPR 2019: La Palina
La Palina always seems to have at least one new product to show off at the IPCPR Convention & Trade Show every year, but this was a monster year even by its standards. In addition to the most expensive Goldie ever, a new affordable blend in a 6 x 60 vitola and a rebranding of one of its oldest lines, the company is also adding two sizes to a former TAA exclusive release and sending it to retailers around the country.
There are a number of booths that seem to stay the same for every IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, and I would put La Palina at the top of that list. Extremely good coffee and cold beers are always available and there is plenty of room to show off the products being introduced, as well as comfortable chairs and couches for those who need them. Also, the carpet feels really, really good on your feet after walking around for eight hours straight.
There are now eight different vitolas in La Palina’s Goldie line which was introduced in 2012 and are rolled at El Titan de Bronze in Miami. At 7 inches long, the newest release shares the title of longest vitola with the Goldie Laguito Especial that debuted in 2014 and also happens to be the most expensive release in the line so far at $23 per cigar.
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
- Binder: Ecuador (Habano)
- Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
- La Palina Goldie Julieta (7 x 48) — $23 (Box of 10, $230)
Production: 1,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)
Release Date: August 2019
While 6 x 60 vitolas are not exactly uncommon in the cigar world, La Palina had very few of them in its portfolio until relatively recently. The new Double Digit combines that size with an almost shockingly price point in a release that should start showing up on retailers shelves next month.
- Wrapper: Ecuador
- Binder: Undisclosed
- Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & Undisclosed
- La Palina Double Digit (6 x 60) — $6.99 (Box of 50, $349.50)
Production: Undisclosed
Release Date: August 2019
La Palina Blue Label New Vitolas, Now Available Nationwide
After debuting last year as the company’s exclusive for members of the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA), La Palina is sending the Blue Label to retailers nationwide starting in September. However, there will be two additional vitolas compared to the original release, namely a robusto and gordo.
- Wrapper: Honduras (Habano)
- Binder: Habano
- Filler: Honduras & Nicaragua
- La Palina Blue Label Robusto (5 1/2 x 50) — $8.99 (Boxes of 20, $179.80)
- La Palina Blue Label Toro (6 1/2 x 52) — $9.99 (Boxes of 20, $199.80)
- La Palina Blue Label Gordo (6 x 60) — $11 (Boxes of 20, $220)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: September 2019
La Palina Classic Packaging Update
Finally, one of La Palina’s oldest lines is getting a packaging update. The company’s Classic line will continue to be offered in the same four blends and the same sizes, but the branding is now reminiscent of what La Palina was selling back in the early 1900s. The new packaging is scheduled to ship to retailers starting in September.
Brooks Whittington
I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.
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