Room101 OSOK Returns As Store Exclusive

Cigar Inn in New York City has taken delivery of the Room101 OSOK 212, a store exclusive re-issue of a cigar that made its debut in January 2012. It is being made available in four sizes:

• Room101 OSOK 212 Chingonazo  (6 x 60)
• Room101 OSOK 212 Pedaso  (6 1/2 x 54)
• Chingon  (8 x 44 x 60)
• Room101 OSOK 212 Filero (4 1/2 x 52 x 42)

The Filero and Chingon vitolas were part of the original Room101 OSOK production, while the Chingonazo and Pedaso are unique to this release. Each comes with a foot band that prominently displays 212 on it, the original area code for New York City, as well as Exclusive One Shot One Kill Cigar Inn NYC.  The cigars come in 10-count boxes which feature a red silhouette of the Empire State Building.

Matt Booth of Room101 quoted a total production of about 3,000 cigars across the four sizes.

As for the blend specifics, Booth said it is “basically the same blend” as the original OSOK, but acknowledged that there was one component which made it impossible to continue production of the original OSOK. He did hint that this new blend, or a slightly tweaked version, may become a new Room101 release in 2013. However, it will not be under the OSOK name. According to Booth, this will be the last usage of that mark.

The original OSOK used an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Honduran Corojo binder and filler blend of Honduran Corojo and Dominican Republic Piloto Ligero. He wouldn’t go into specific details about which portions of the blend had to be changed for this release.

Edgar Hoill, the Los Angeles-based photographer whose moniker One Shot, One Kill was used for the release, will not be involved with the release of the OSOK 212. Booth told halfwheel Hoill will not be involved with any tobacco projects going forward. They do remain friends, however.

The Room101 OSOK Filero was reviewed on halfwheel in January 2012.

(Photos via Cigar Inn’s Facebook.)

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.