Sancho Panza Limited Edition Heads to Stores

A new limited edition from the Sancho Panza brand is on its way to stores today.

The cigar was blended by Matt Booth, creative director for Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG), and Justin Andrews, business development manager of STG’s North American Branded and Rest of World divisions, in a collaboration with the blending team of Oliva Cigar Co.

“We have always had both a respect and an adoration for the products that come out of the Oliva facility,” Booth and Andrews said in a press release. “And we felt it appropriate to produce with them because their signature direction to cigar composition aligned perfectly with what we were looking to achieve for Sancho Panza. We are also enchanted by Cory Bappert, president of Oliva USA, and were looking for any and all reason to remain close to him…related to production of course.”

The blend uses an Ecuadorian habano-seed wrapper, an Ecuadorian-grown Sumatra binder, and fillers from Nicaragua’s Condega, Estelí and Somoto regions. A press release calls the cigar medium-bodied with hints of spice. In a press release, Booth described the cigar as “an episodic adventure in taste and transition” that “upon ignition, will take the smoker in a vice-like grip of enhanced enjoyment.” He added that the “hyper-sexual blend provides both pleasure in the combustion experience and depth to the brand’s overall offering,” in what he refers to as a meaningful “next installment” and “responsible addition” to the Sancho Panza brand franchise.

The Sancho Panza Limited Edition is presented in a 6 x 52 toro vitola priced at $12.99, and offered in 10-count boxes. As the name implies, it is a limited edition, though Forged Cigar Co., which distributes the Sancho Panza brand, is not disclosing how many cigars are being produced by Oliva’s TABOLISA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

“Following the big news around Sancho Panza last year, we agreed the brand deserved a heightened level of focus this year,” said Matt Wilson, senior brand manager of Sancho Panza, via a press release. “So we developed a special blend to continue the dialogue around Sancho. By releasing a limited-edition blend of this caliber, we’re anticipating that Sancho loyalists and newcomers alike will spread the gospel of this great brand, as they expand their humidors with a new smoke to collect and enjoy.”

Update — A company representative told halfwheel that the production numbers are not being disclosed, a note that has been added to the story. Additionally, the original version of this article stated that the cigars came in 20-count boxes; it has been corrected to 10-count boxes. We regret the error.

Update (Sept. 26, 2023) — Forged Cigar Co. announced that the cigars are being produced by Oliva Cigar Co. at TABOLISA in Nicaragua, a detail that was not previously confirmed.

Images courtesy STG/Forged Cigar Co.

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.