With one exception, the Tatuaje TAA Series has been defined by a familiar band on a dark Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. But not this year.

The Tatuaje TAA 51st will be a 5 x 52 box-pressed robusto with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. With the exception of the wrapper change, many of the details will remain the same as last year. It’s priced the same, $11.95 per cigar, and production will be limited to 60,000 cigars, 10,000 more cigars than last year.

As the name implies, the release is an exclusive to retail members of the Tobacconists’ Association of America. The 51st is a reference to the organization’s anniversary.

The TAA is a fairly small group of some of the country’s top tobacconists, about 80 retailers, as well as 40 or so manufacturers. The association gathers annually to discuss issues facing the industry and retailers, as well as to have its annual trade show, a unique event that works on a group buying format in order to secure exclusive deals for these generally high-volume merchants. This year’s meeting begins March 17 in Casa de Campo, the Dominican Republic.

Over the last decade, Tatuaje has been the most notable brand as far as TAA releases are concerned. This year marks the ninth consecutive year the company has released a TAA exclusive.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.