PCA 2023: Battleground Cigars

If there’s one sure sign that I’m at the PCA Convention & Trade Show, it’s seeing the Battleground Cigars tent on the show floor. It’s been the company’s booth since we first covered them in 2016, and while the side walls have come up to give it a more open feel, it has largely stayed the same. Inside, there are some comfortable seating areas and displays that don’t quite look like they’d be found in a battlefield tent, but the lanterns and some vintage touches do contribute to the feel.

This year, the Tarnowicz family—which runs Battleground Cigar and its related retail shop, Connecticut Valley Tobacconist—decided to bring back a cigar that debuted just under a decade ago but hasn’t been on the market for several years.

Cigars from the company’s portfolio were displayed in the corners of the booth as well as on additional tables in the middle of the space. That includes some of the new releases that debuted at last year’s trade show but only recently began shipping, as well as some new vitolas that the company added over the winter months.

Battleground Cigars OPK Fire (2023)

After being unavailable for the past several years, the company has decided to bring back the OPK Fire, a line that debuted in 2014 as an offshoot of the Old Powder Keg line but with a fuller profile, highlighted by notes of orange peel, spice and pepper, according to the company. It will debut in three box-pressed sizes, including the torpedo-shaped Blaze, with more in the works, according to the company.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Criollo)
• Filler: Nicaragua

• OPK Fire Ninfa (5 x 42) — $9.40 (Box of 20, $188)
• OPK Fire Ignito (5 x 56) — $9.90 (Box of 20, $198)
• OPK Fire Blaze (6 x 52) — $10.40 (Box of 20, $208)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: Fall 2023