Kristoff’s PCA 2023 Signature Series Arrives in Stores; Nicaragua & Tres Compadres Shipping This Week

One of the three new cigars that Kristoff launched at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show in July has just arrived in stores, while the other two cigars are being boxed up to head to shelves this week.

The Kristoff PCA 2023 Signature Series is a 6 1/4 x 54 vitola that uses a Brazilian maduro wrapper, Dominican binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. It is only available to retailers who attended the trade show, making this the second year that Kristoff has offered a PCA exclusive, though it is a different blend from the 2022 version, which uses a Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper, a Dominican binder, and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

Pricing is set at $12 per cigar and $240 for a box of 20 cigars. Production is limited to just 1,000 boxes of 20 cigars.

Set to arrive at stores in the coming week or so are a pair of cigars, both of which are Nicaraguan puros. The first, the Kristoff Nicaragua, is described as being a 4-out-of-5 on the flavor and intensity scale, highlighted by a corojo binder that gives the blend a more pronounced spiciness.

It is being offered in three sizes, all of which are regular production:

• Kristoff Nicaragua Robusto (5 x 50) — $9.50 (Box of 20, $190)
• Kristoff Nicaragua Toro (6 1/4 x 54) — $10.50 (Box of 20, $210)
• Kristoff Nicaragua 6 x 60 — $10.75 (Box of 20, $215)

The other cigar, the Kristoff Tres Compadres, pays tribute to the friendship between Glen Case, the founder and owner of Kristoff, along with Rolando Villamil, the factory manager at the Charles Fairmorn factory where Kristoff produces its cigars, and Chuck Finch, Case’s best friend since high school. Both Villamil and Finch passed away fairly suddenly in the last year-and-a-half, and Case created this new blend to pay tribute to them.

The company isn’t saying much about the blend other than that it is a Nicaraguan puro, but does describe it as being a 2-out-of-5 on the strength and intensity scale, making it the mellower of the two new Nicaraguan lines.

It is offered in the same three sizes as the Kristoff Nicaragua and is also a regular production line:

• Kristoff Tres Compadres Robusto (5 x 50) — $9.50 (Box of 20, $190)
• Kristoff Tres Compadres Toro (6 1/4 x 54) — $10.50 (Box of 20, $210)
• Kristoff Tres Compadres 6 x 60 — $10.75 (Box of 20, $215)

All three lines are produced at Tabacalera von Eicken S.R.L. in Santiago, Dominican Republic.