PCA 2023: Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Co.
Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Co.’s booth feels like it has evolved a little bit every year, with modified layouts, some new graphics, and of course, new products. This year is no different, as the company rolled out a trio of new products.
The space itself has a pleasant openness to it. When I stopped by, there was a good-sized group of retailers looking for some time with a representative from the company, either to place orders for the coming months or learn about the brand.
One of the pleasant surprises was spotting “Island” Jim Robinson, the creator of the Leaf by Oscar line. More on the cigar that brought him here in a moment, but seeing him was a pleasant reminder of some great times I’ve been fortunate to have with him.
The first commercially available line from Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Co. gets a new blend variation this year, bringing the line to five options. This one, the Oscar Sumatra, uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and joins the 2012 by Oscar Corojo, the 2012 by Oscar Maduro, the 2012 by Oscar Connecticut, and the 2012 by Oscar Barber Pole.
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
- Binder: Honduras
- Filler: Honduras & Nicaragua
- 2012 Sumatra Box Pressed Short Robusto (4 x 52) — $6.80 (Box of 20, $136)
- 2012 Sumatra Box Pressed Toro (6 x 52) — $9.30 (Box of 20, $186)
- 2012 Sumatra Box Pressed Sixty (6 x 60) — $10.20 (Box of 20, $204)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: July 2023
Leaf by Oscar 10th Anniversary Criollo
It’s hard to believe that the Leaf by Oscar has been available for a decade, but it has, and Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Co. is celebrating it with a new criollo-wrapped line that joins the existing Connecticut, Corojo, Maduro and Sumatra options. In addition, the line is being offered in dressed-up boxes, and the bands on the cigars are made of plantain leaves that have been processed by local artisans in Honduras into usable paper. You might recall that the bands on other Leaf by Oscar releases did something similar, but they used the stems from tobacco leaves.
- Wrapper: Honduras (La Florida Jamastran)
- Binder: Honduras
- Filler: Honduras
- Leaf by Oscar 10th Anniversary Criollo Toro (6 x 52) — $11.50 (Box of 20, $230)
- Leaf by Oscar 10th Anniversary Criollo Sixty (6 x 60) — $12.50 (Box of 20, $250)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: July 2023
The Oscar line gets its third variation, this time using a Honduran-grown Connecticut-seed wrapper to give a lighter profile than the other two blends. Like the original The Oscar Habano that debuted in 2016 and The Oscar Maduro that debuted in 2017, this new blend comes with a candela leaf covering its lower two-thirds, and is packaged in boxes designed to look like cigar molds.
- Wrapper: Honduras (Connecticut)
- Binder: Honduras
- Filler: Honduras & Nicaragua
- The Oscar Connecticut Robusto (5 x 50) — $11.80 (Box of 11, $129.80)
- The Oscar Connecticut Toro (6 x 52) — $12.90 (Box of 11, $141.90)
- The Oscar Connecticut Sixty (6 x 60) — $14 (Box of 11, $154)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: July 2023
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 Major League Baseball, 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.
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