Kristoff’s PCA 2022 Signature Series and Guardrail Arrive in Stores

Two of the new brands that Kristoff unveiled at the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show have begun arriving on store shelves, the Kristoff PCA 2022 Signature Series and the Kristoff Guardrail.

The Kristoff PCA 2022 Signature Series is a limited edition of just 750 boxes of 20 cigars—a total run of 15,000 cigars—that was available to retailers who attended the trade show in July. It is a box-pressed 6 1/2 x 60 gordo that uses a Connecticut-grown broadleaf maduro wrapper, a Dominican binder and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. The MSRP is set at $11 per cigar and $220 for a box of 20 cigars.

The Kristoff Guardrail is a regular production addition to the company’s portfolio that comes with quite the backstory, as just over two-and-a-half years ago, Kristoff’s founder and owner, Glen Case, was in a motorcycle accident while in Oklahoma for an event. The company kept news of the crash under wraps until unveiling the cigar and its inspiration.

As Case tells the story, he was going about 65 mph around a curve when the back tire gave way, causing the bike to crash into a guardrail. The crash led to an extensive series of injuries that landed him in the hospital for eight days, followed by time in a wheelchair and ongoing physical therapy. Now, the event and the subsequent road to recovery has turned the accident into the inspiration for a new line, with the band incorporating a guardian angel theme.

The blend uses a Brazilian wrapper, a Dominican binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Zimbabwe, the latter of which is not well-known for producing premium cigar tobacco. Case declined to go into much in the way of specifics, other than to say he was excited to utilize the tobacco in a new cigar.

The Kristoff Guardrail is offered in three sizes:

• Kristoff Guardrail Robusto (5 1/2 x 54) — $10.20 (Box of 20, $204)
• Kristoff Guardrail Churchill (7 x 50) — $10.40 (Box of 20, $208)
• Kristoff Guardrail Matador (6 1/2 x 56) — $10.60 (Box of 20, $212)

Both cigars are produced at the Charles Fairmorn factory in the Dominican Republic.