Surrogates Big Ten and L’Atelier Racine ERB Head to Stores

The first batches of the Surrogates Big Ten and L’Atelier Raince ERB, a pair of limited editions, are on their way to stores.

The Surrogates Big Ten is being released in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Surrogates brand, which is part of Tatuaje’s portfolio. The cigar debuted at the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, and will be the first size in a new line for the brand. It uses Ecuadorian habano oscuro wrapper atop Nicaraguan binders and fillers, and debuts in the Britanicas Extra size, a 5 3/8 x 48 perfecto that can be found in several lines across the Tatuaje and L’Atelier portfolio. The Surrogates Big Ten is priced at $11 per cigar and $220 for a box of cigar. Production is limited to just 500 boxes.

The Britanicas Extra size was also used for the L’Atelier Racine ERB, another limited edition of 500 boxes of 20 cigars. The size was selected by K.C. Johnson, and uses the L’Atelier Racine blend that debuted in 2013, with a Nicaraguan criollo wrapper, and Nicaraguan Sancti Spiritus used for one of the two binder leaves, as well as in the filler. The L’Atelier Racine ERB is also priced at $11 per cigar and $220 per box of 20 cigars.

Pete Johnson told halfwheel that of the 500 boxes being released for each cigar, about 70 percent, or 350 boxes have been received and are now shipping. The remainder have been delayed by a minor issue with the boxes, with Johnson hopeful that they will be ready to ship in a couple of months.

Both cigars are produced by My Father Cigars S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Update (August 24, 2022) — The wrapper of the Surrogates Big Ten was listed as a Nicaraguan leaf based on information from the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show. That has since been corrected by the company to be an Ecuadorian habano oscuro leaf. Additionally, while there are plans for the Big Ten to expand into a full production line, the company is not formally referring to this first vitola as the Big Ten Britanicas.