For the sixth consecutive year, Crowned Heads will create an exclusive cigar for retail members of the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA).

As in the past, the cigar is called The Angel’s Anvil, based on a story created by Crowed Heads co-founder Jon Huber. The Angel’s Anvil 2019 uses a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper over an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and fillers from Nicaragua. This year’s size is 6 1/8 x 50.

Production is capped at 1,000 boxes of 20 cigars, priced at $11.75 per cigar. Huber told halfwheel that he expects the cigars to ship in May.

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.

It is set to take place March 17-21 at Casa de Campo in La Romana, Dominican Republic.

In recent years, the TAA has become known for exclusive releases for its members. So far, CLE and Tatuaje are the only other companies to announce a TAA 2019 release.

The story behind The Angel’s Anvil is as follows:

Legend has it that there was one fallen angel, in particular, who fell to Earth from the heavens, finding himself alone and lost. Unlike other fallen angels who were content to wander the earth in a soulless state of purgatory, this angel became bound and determined to find his way back to Heaven.

The angel soon realized that his only way back would be for him to forge a new set of wings by which he could ascend back to the heavenly skies. He walked the countryside for days and days, until he came upon a blacksmith. The blacksmith gave the angel a hammer and an anvil, and said to him, “With these tools you will forge your new wings. With these wings, you will announce the words, ‘Ascend Word He,‘ and you will find your way home.”

The Angel’s Anvil 2019 will be produced by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr.’s Tabacalera La Alianza S.A.

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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.