Oscar Valladares has dug into his personal vault of cigars inside his Honduran factory to release a limited edition batch of one of his first cigars, the 2012 by Oscar, as an exclusive for Serious Cigars in Houston, Texas.

That cigar was originally released as an acknowledgment of the Mayan calendar, which predicted the end of the world on Dec. 21, 2012. The line became notable as boxes of the original release contained 21 cigars, 20 with a standard cigar band and one wrapped in a tobacco leaf with a band directing the consumer to smoke the cigar on Dec. 21, 2012, making either it your last cigar or the first of a new era. The leaf-wrapped cigar has gone onto become a signature touch of Valladares’ creations.

The 2012 by Oscar Reserva Original is Honduran puro that uses tobacco from six different farms in the region, which overlaps with Mayan civilization, and is a slightly different blend from more recent versions of the 2012 by Oscar, which featured a Nicaraguan binder. Valladares has held onto 1,000 cigars from that first batch for his personal use, but  recently decided to release a portion of them as an exclusive to Serious Cigars.

The cigars are toro vitolas measuring 6 x 52 and come in packs of five priced at $39.50. Just 150 packs are being released, a total of 750 cigars.

Valladares has also created a re-release of the 2012 line that debuted in 2017, expanding it to three blends and then adding additional sizes later that year.

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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.