Maria Lucia’s New Sizes Head to Stores

Just about a month ago, as a ramp-up to the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Luciano Cigars announced that its Maria Lucia line would be returning and becoming a regular production line after debuting as a limited edition in 2022. Now, the line and its new sizes are on the way to retailers around the country.

“Our team is absolutely thrilled by the enthusiastic reception that Maria Lucia received at the PCA,” said Luciano Meirelles, co-founder and CEO of Luciano Cigars, via a press release. “We are excited to have prepared our production in advance so that our retail partners can have Maria Lucia on their shelves so soon after the PCA trade show.”

The blend remains the same, with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper over Ecuadorian Sumatra and habano 92 binders, while the fillers come from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Peru. The company calls it a medium to full-strength profile, but one that is “unashamedly bold.” It is produced at Luciano Cigars’ Maria Lucia factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, which opened earlier this year. As part of the return to the market, the box sizes are increasing from the 12-count of the original to a new 24-count format.

It is now being offered in four box-pressed sizes:

• Maria Lucia Corona Gorda Box Pressed (5 5/8 x 46) — $11.50 (Box of 24, $276)
• Maria Lucia Double Robusto Box Pressed (6 1/2 x 50) — $12.50 (Box of 24, $300)
• Maria Lucia Cañonazo Box Pressed (5 7/8 x 52) — $12.80 (Box of 24, $307.20)
• Maria Lucia Magnum Box Pressed (5 1/4 x 54) — $12.96 (Box of 24, $311.04)

Luciano Meirelles named the line in honor of his mother, who passed away when he was just 12 years old. When the line was announced last year, he said that it took him many years before considering blending something inspired by his mother and that it was only recently that he was able to fully understand and know her complicated life’s story.

“It’s been overwhelming to see how much this cigar has started to mean to people,” said Meirelles in a press release. “I get messages every week…truthfully, I’m just grateful for the opportunity to honor my mother, to let her legacy grow and her story be known through this cigar.”

The artwork for the project was created by Meirelles’ daughter, Deborah, and is based on a woman she saw in a dream and felt compelled to create a drawing of upon waking. When she showed it to her father, it immediately reminded him of his mother, which he found fascinating given that his daughter had never met the woman, nor even seen a photograph of her. “It was almost supernatural the way things happened. It’s hard to believe it was only a coincidence…and now years later, when I decided to finally create this cigar, naturally, in a full-circle kind of way, we thought there would be no better idea than to use my daughter’s drawing for the box.”

Images courtesy of Luciano Cigars.