Just in time for the start of pro football season, Nomad Cigar Co. has completed the initial rollout of its new GB-19, a candela-wrapped cigar that is a not-so-subtle nod to company founder Fred Rewey’s favorite team, the Green Bay Packers. The cigar will mainly be found in Wisconsin cigar shops, but Rewey has said that some exceptions are being made for stores outside the Badger State.

Nomad GB-19

In fitting form, the Nomad GB-19 uses a green Honduran candela wrapper with a gold foot band. It’s the first candela wrapped cigar from Nomad, and Rewey credits James Brown of Black Label Trading Co. and Fabrica Oveja Negra for helping him develop the ideal blend around the distinctive wrapper.

In a press release, Rewey said that “I always wanted to pay homage to my home state NFL team–call it a bucket list item–but was frustrated with the test blends to date. Of course I had to use candela, but did not like the grassiness being too prevalent. I was talking to James Brown and he made some suggestions, essentially ‘cracking the candela code’ when it came to offsetting the candela tobacco in a direction I wanted to take it.”

Underneath the Honduran candela wrapper is an Ecuadorian binder and Nicaraguan filler. It’s being produced in a single 6 x 50 toro size priced at $10 per cigar and packed in 20-count boxes. Rewey said the initial run is about 5,000 cigars, all made at Fabrica Oveja Negra in Estelí, Nicaragua, but said more could certainly be produced should the cigar take off in the market.

Image courtesy of Nomad 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.