PCA 2022: Battleground Cigars

The Battleground Cigars tent is back on the PCA Convention & Trade Show floor this year, complete with lanterns inside and cutouts of Civil War and American history figures on the outside.

Also inside are some cigars making a comeback to the cigar industry, one of which is the result of the company finding and releasing cigars that had been part of an ongoing project but which had never received a release until now, and the other, the return of a cigar from the company’s history that is being paired with one of its current offerings to tell a story about friendship across battle lines.

Beyond that, you could get a number of history lessons about the historical figures featured on the company’s lines, from Civil War generals to World War II heroes.

Battleground Cameroon
The Battleground Cameroon hasn’t been actively on the market for seven years, but it will be making a return this summer after the company found 7,000 cigars that had gone overlooked from a project that was started but never brought to market. There are four sizes, all of which have a 56 ring gauge, with the lengths ranging from 5 inches to 6 1/2 inches, as the company had been testing out which length worked best for the aforementioned project. The longest of the bunch, the 6 1/2 x 56, is a figurado, while the other sizes are parejos. That 6 1/2 x 56,  along with the 5 3/4 x 56, is more limited than the other two sizes, according to Victoria Michalek of Battleground Cigars. Each size will be offered in 20-count boxes and bundles, with a bit of a price difference between the two packaging options.

• Wrapper: Cameroon
• Binder: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
• Filler: Dominican Republic

• Battleground Cameroon 5 x 56 — Bundle of 20, $178; Box of 20, $198
• Battleground Cameroon 5 3/4 x 56 — Bundle of 20, $198; Box of 20, $218
• Battleground Cameroon 6 x 56 — Bundle of 20, $198; Box of 20, $218
• Battleground Cameroon 6 1/2 x 56 — Bundle of 20, $220; Box of 20, $240

Production: 7,000 Total Cigars

Release Date: July 2022

Battleground Cigars Friend to Friend: A Brotherhood Undivided

This is a new project that the company put together just in time for the show, and features the Armistead, one of its current offerings that is also known as The Widow’s Son, side-by-side with the Hancock, a cigar that hasn’t been on the market in about 10 years. If you’ve ever seen or are familiar with the Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial in Gettysburg, Va., or know the story behind it, you’ll understand this project. For those that aren’t aware of it, during the Civil War, Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead was mortally wounded during battle. After learning that he had been injured and was a fellow Freemason, Union Army General Winfield Scott Hancock sent Captain Henry H. Bingham to provide medical assistance. The company is releasing this set as a reminder that even in what seem like divided times in our country, we can still find friendship and compassion.

All that is disclosed about the Armistead’s blend is its Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, but since the Hancock hasn’t been on the market in a decade or so, here is its blend profile:

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Corojo)
• Binder: Ecuador (Sumatra)
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Battleground Cigars Friend to Friend: A Brotherhood Undivided Armistead/Hancock (6 x 54) — $9.50 (Box of 40, $380)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: Late August 2022