MLB Cigar Ventures has announced that the second line under its David P. Ehrlich brand, the PLM Series,.will gets its national release in June.

It’s a maduro version of the company’s David P. Ehrlich Tremont line, using a Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper in place of that line’s Ecuadorian sumatra wrapper. The Nicaraguan binder from Estelí remains the same, as does the filler blend that is primarily Nicaraguan tobacco from Estelí and Condega, with some tobacco grown on the La Canela farm in the Dominican Republic.

It is being launched in the same five sizes as the Tremont, each packed in 20-count boxes and with production handled at E.P. Carrillo’s Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. in the Dominican Republic:

  • David P. Ehrlich PLM Series Corona (5 1/2 x 44) — $9.20
  • David P. Ehrlich PLM Series Robusto (5 x 52) — $10.40
  • David P. Ehrlich PLM Series Toro (6 x 50) — $11.20
  • David P. Ehrlich PLM Series Gordo (6 x 60) — $11.80
  • David P. Ehrlich PLM Series Churchill (7 x 47) — $11.60

The PLM Series gets its name as a tribute to Paul L. Macdonald, who owned the David P. Ehrlich Tobacconist for more than 40 years, according to a press release issued by the company. He is also the father of Barry McDonald, national sales manager of MLB Cigar Ventures.

“I’m extremely excited to begin to widely distributing this incredible cigar to fine tobacco stores all over the U.S.,” said Mike Bellody, founder and ceo of MLB Cigar Ventures. “I’m very proud of this blend and believe it’ll be a cigar that gains immediate widespread accolades throughout the market. As with the original David P. Ehrlich Tremont, Barry and I are honored to have once again worked with Ernesto Perez Carrillo on the creation of this cigar blend.”

The line will be unveiled on June 9 during an event at Underground Cigar Shop in Fort Worth, Texas.

Bellody debuted the David P. Ehrlich brand in the summer of 2016 as a tribute to a historic pipe and tobacco manufacturer as well as prominent Boston retailer. Ehrlich began working in the pipe business in 1881 under the tutelage of a man named Ferdinand Abraham, who in 1868 opened a pipe and tobacco shop in Boston, which also makes 2018 the 150th anniversary of the original store. Ehrlich would eventually marry Abraham’s daughter and take over the now family business, renaming it eponymously along the way. His retail store became a fixture in Boston until its closure around 2011, and it is where Bellody himself began smoking cigars. For many years it boasted of being the second-oldest continuously operating tobacconist in the United States.

The Ehrlich family sold the business to the Macdonald family approximately 40 years ago. In addition to his work with MLB Cigar Ventures, Barry Macdonald had been both sales manager and general manager for the David P. Ehrlich Company. Additionally, Paul Macdonald was one of the first retailers in the country to bring in the La Gloria Cubana brand, which was made Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Jr. before its sale to General Cigar Co.

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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.