MBombay has released at least one new cigar at every IPCPR Convention & Trade Show it has attended and this year’s event was no exception. In addition to a brand new line, the company was showing off a new extension based on a blend it debuted during last year’s show, one that happens to be the most expensive cigar the MBombay has ever released.

Although it was the same size at this year’s show, MBombay made one noticeable change for this year’s booth: the backdrop features a lineup of single cigars showing off each of the company’s lines as opposed to a general backdrop with the company’s name and a few random cigars. I walked by a number of times during the four days of the show, and while I would never describe the booth as slammed, it stayed consistently busy with plenty of foot traffic.

M.Esteli

On the low end of the spectrum pricing-wise, MBombay showed off new M.Esteli line, which is a three vitola line being sold in bundles of 30. Ironically, while the name of the line references the Nicaraguan city famous for producing cigars, the M.Esteli is actually produced in Costa Rica and includes tobaccos from three different countries, namely the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Nicaragua.

  • Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano 2000 Ventanas)
  • Binder: Dominican Republic
  • Filler: Dominican Republic (HVA & Piloto Cubano) Nicaragua (Pelo de Oro)
  • M.Esteli Robusto (5 x 54) — $6.95 (Bundle of 30, $208.50)
  • M.Esteli Toro (6 x 54) — $7.95 (Bundle of 30, $238.50)
  • M.Esteli Torpedo (6 x 54) — $7.95 (Bundle of 30, $238.50)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: September 2019

MQBA Mayura

Last year, MBombay debuted MQBA—pronounced em-kyoo-bha—a four-vitola line rolled with tobacco planted in 2009 on a 70-acre farm. While that blend was an Ecuadorian puro, the Mayura—which translates to peacock in Sanskrit—features filler tobaccos from Paraguay, Peru and Nicaragua. In addition, both the toro and robusto violas will be packaged in boxes of 24 with each cigar individually placed in tubes.

    • Wrapper: Ecuador (HVA)
    • Binder: Nicaragua
    • Filler: Paraguay, Peru and Nicaragua
  • MQBA Mayura Robusto (5 x 54) — $25.95 (Box of 24, $624)
  • MQBA Mayura Toro (6 x 52) — $26.95 (Box of 24, $648)

Production: 1,041 Boxes of 24 Cigars (25,000 Total Cigars)

Release Date: September 2019

Update (Aug. 30, 2019) — The original version of this post indicated the M.Esteli binder is from Nicaragua, it is from the Dominican Republic.

Overall Score

Davidoff is the official sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2019 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
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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.