Rebranded Asylum 867 Heads to Stores

The cigars formerly known as Deadwood Tobacco Co. Chasing the Dragon are now returning to stores as the Asylum 867.

There are three different lines—Auntie, Midnight Oil and Zero—all of which are staying the same both blend- and size-wise. What’s changing is the name and packaging, the result of a legal dispute between Drew Estate, Vaughn Boyd—former owner of Deadwood Tobacco Co.—and the current owners of Deadwood Tobacco Co.

All three lines are made entirely of Honduran tobacco, but the differences between the lines are the sizes and the flavoring. Asylum 867 is described as a steeping technique to add flavoring as well as a sweetened cap.

• Asylum 867 Auntie Corona (5 x 46) — $9.50 (Box of 20, $190)
• Asylum 867 Auntie Petite Corona (5 x 44) — $9.50 (Box of 20, $190)
• Asylum 867 Auntie Lancero (7 x 38) — $11 (Box of 20, $220)

• Asylum 867 Midnight Oil The 54 (6 1/4 x 54) — $12 (Box of 20, $240)
• Asylum 867 Midnight Oil The 60 (6 x 60) — $12.50 (Box of 20, $250)
• Asylum 867 Midnight Oil The 70 (7 x 70) — $14 (Box of 20, $280)

• Asylum 867 Zero Robusto (5 x 50) — $10.50 (Box of 20, $210)
• Asylum 867 Zero Toro (6 x 50) — $11 (Box of 20, $220)
• Asylum 867 Zero Churchill (7 x 48) — $11.50 (Box of 20, $230)

Previously, all nine of the SKUs were sold as Deadwood Tobacco Co. Chasing the Dragon plus their respective names. The cigars were introduced at Deadwood Tobacco Co., a retail store in Deadwood, S.D., last year and then got a national release at TPE 2023 in February. CLE Cigar Co., through the Asylum brand, was credited for helping to develop the cigars and is handling the national distribution of the brand.

In June, a lawsuit was filed that claimed a 2016 licensing agreement made between Boyd and Drew Estate—before Boyd sold her shares in Deadwood—grants Drew Estate the exclusive rights to use the Deadwood name for cigar lines. As such, the plaintiffs—Boyd and Drew Estate—argue that this line is in violation of the agreement.

Days after that lawsuit was filed, Christian Eiroa, founder of CLE Cigar Co., announced that the cigars’ branding would change, dropping the Deadwood Tobacco Co. Chasing the Dragon and replacing it with Asylum 867. The updated packaging was shown off at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show in July but is just now beginning to ship.

CLE Cigar Co./Asylum has not been named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

As for the lawsuit, it remains active. Last month, the two sides met for mediation and failed to come to a settlement.