Sam Leccia is officially back in the cigar business, as his Leccia Tobacco White began shipping to retailers this week, and the Leccia Tobacco Black is not far behind.

Jack Toraño, Marketing & Customer Relations Manager for Toraño Family Cigar Co., confirmed that the Leccia White began making its way to store shelves as of yesterday and the Leccia Black will begin shipping in a couple of weeks. Toraño Family Cigar Co. is handling the distribution for Leccia Tobacco.

The release of the Leccia White is ahead of the announced schedule, as both cigars were slated for May releases according to a press release that the Toraño Family Cigar Co. issued in early April. Toraño said that the pre-sales for both cigars have been “fantastic.”

The story of Leccia’s return to the cigar industry is one that has been well-chronicled on halfwheel, from his departure from the Oliva Cigar Co. at the end of 2010 to his first attempt at a return to the cigar industry in 2011. In February, we broke the news that Leccia was nearing a return to the cigar world, news that was confirmed in early April.

Sam Leccia will be at Cigars International’s CIGARfest this Friday in Hamburg, Pa. to celebrate the release of his new line.

Update: Shortly after this story was posted, the Toraño Family Cigar Co. Facebook page was updated with this photo of the Leccia Black.

Leccia Tobacco Black - April 2013

That photo follows up this photo of the Leccia White posted on Monday:

Leccia Tobacco White - April 2013

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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, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, 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.