Pi Synesthesia Red Debuting at PCA 2023

A year after the original version made its first appearance, Ozgener Family Cigars will show off a new Pi Synesthesia at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show.

The new version is Pi Synesthesia Red, a 6 x 52 toro that uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua. While the original version was made at Tabacalera Pichardo in Nicaragua, the Pi Synesthesia Red will be made by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr.’s Tabacalera La Alianza S.A factory in the Dominican Republic.

Each cigar will have an MSRP of $15, and production is limited to 2,500 boxes of 12 cigars. It is expected to begin shipping in September.

According to a story posted by Cigar Aficionado, Tim Ozgener—founder of Ozgener Family Cigars—wants the cigar to taste like the color red, i.e. spices or peppery things. In an email to halfwheel, Ozgener confirmed the accuracy of the story.

While the two cigars share a similar-looking main band, the secondary bands differ. The original version used a yellow ribbon near the foot; the new cigar uses a red ribbon.

The Pi Synesthesia part of the name references an art series created by the late Cano Ozgener, the father of Tim Ozgener. Cano Ozgener is best known to cigar smokers as the founder of CAO, but after selling CAO, he created OZ Arts, a Nashville-based art institute that occupies the old CAO headquarters. In addition to his work at OZ Arts, Ozgener was a prolific painter.

Pi Synesthesia Red will debut at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show, which takes place July 8-11 in Las Vegas. In the U.S., Crowned Heads distributes Ozgener Family Cigars.