Both a new line and a revamped line from La Palina will soon be showing up in humidors, as the company has begun shipping its 125 Años line, while the reimagined KB is slated to ship next week.

As its name implies, the La Palina 125 Años celebrates the brand’s anniversary. In 1896—Samuel Paley, grandfather of Bill Paley—opened the Congress Cigar Factory in Chicago; La Palina was the factory’s first brand, named in honor of Sam’s wife, Goldie Drell Paley. After not disclosing the blend previously, the company has announced that it is a Nicaraguan puro offered in a 6 1/2 x 52 toro vitola with a pigtail cap. The cigars were rolled at one of Oliva’s facilities in Estelí, Nicaragua.

“We felt it only suitable to work with a company with a tenured history as rich as our own,” said Bill Paley, owner of La Palina. “After all, both Oliva Cigar and La Palina memorialize centenarian brand status. I truly feel that the founders of our respective companies– Melanio Oliva and Sam Paley — would be proud with what we have created with this project.”

There are just 300 jars of 37 cigars released, each cigar has an MSRP of $25. The inspiration for the jar was drawn from the packaging that the company used in the 1920s, enhanced with modern graphic and printing technology.

Meanwhile, the new look La Palina KB Series is expected to begin shipping next week. The KB Series, which debuted in 2013 and gets its name from an abbreviation for “Kill Bill” is now made up of four vitolas, each of which uses a Honduran corojo wrapper over a Honduran criollo double binder and Nicaraguan corojo and criollo fillers. They are being produced at Raíces Cubanas in Danlí, Honduras.

  • KB Series Part One (4 1/4 x 40) — $7.50 (Box of 30, $225)
  • KB Series Part Two (6 x 40) — $9 (Box of 30, $270)
  • KB Series Part Three (5 x 52) — $10.25 (Box of 30, $307.50)
  • KB Series Part Four (6 x 54) — $11.50 (Box of 30, $345)

Parts Three and Four, which are new sizes, get a tweaked blend by adding higher primings of ligero, though the company says that all of the sizes share a common profile despite the notable difference in ring gauges.

The packaging is also getting a significant update, with new artwork that brings the “Kill Bill” inspiration from the cigar’s history into a new interpretation. Specifically, La Palina’s founder, Bill Paley, is featured on the front of the boxes with his eyes crossed out, and the back of the bands feature a line that says “he’s almost dead anyway.”

La Palina made the announcement of the cigars shipping via Cigar Aficionado, with the company since confirming the accuracy of the report. Both cigars ship after delays of several weeks; the 125 Años was due in September while the KB Series was originally announced as an October release.

Update — Shortly after this story was published, a representative from La Palina confirmed the report of the cigars shipping.

Images courtesy of La Palina.

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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.