Ventura Cigar Company’s Project 805 line will be getting smaller this spring, as the company is preparing to launch a new 4 x 40 vitola in the coming months.

Kevin Newman, brand manager for Ventura Cigar Co., told halfwheel that the new line will come in 35-count boxes with a single stick MSRP of around $4. It will be a regular production release, joining the line’s existing four vitolas: the 5 x 50 805R robusto, 6 x 50 805T toro, 6 1/4 x 52 805F figurado and 7 x 50 805C Churchill.

The Project 805 line was released at the 2013 IPCPR Convention and Trade Show and became known for using Andullo tobacco as part of the filler, which the company describes as being “a unique tobacco never before used in cigars…naturally flavored, aromatic, and so utterly different it is a disruption to the Industry.” It is a Dominican tobacco that gets its name from the fermentation process, not the specific variety of leaf. As the company explained on its blog:

Tobacco leaf from the Rabito and Quin Diaz tobacco plants is harvested and piled into a series of palm seed pods called Yagua. When filled, the palm seed pods are wrapped in a thick, natural rope compressing the Andullo into a dense, rigid, 6-foot long bar nearly 5-inches in diameter. Stacked in a barn, and rotated at regular intervals, the Andullo ferments in the yagua for up to 2 years. When fermentation is finally complete, the resulting product is a leathery, dark, aromatic, earthy sweet all-natural tobacco leaf.

The name for Project 805 comes from the area code where Ventura Cigar Company is located, Moorpark, Calif. The new size is being made at La Aurora’s E. León Jimenes Tabacalera factory in the Dominican Republic, who has handled production for the Project 805 line since it launched.

Ventura Cigar Co. recently announced a new corona vitola for their PSyKo SEVEN line that is expected to be released in June.

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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.