Warzone Short Churchill Shipping to Stores on Nov. 16

There’s now a ship date for the newest size of the Warzone line, and it’s Nov. 16.

The cigar will head to retailers on Monday following Espinosa’s La Zona Palooza event where it is being released to attendees, though due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic the event has gone online instead of being held at the company’s headquarters in Hialeah, Fla. As such, the company shipped the cigars to ticket holders, with consumers who purchased the event’s packages receiving the cigars earlier this week.

As for the cigar, it is a 6 1/2 x 48 box-pressed Short Churchill vitola that is priced at $8.99 per cigar, before taxes. It’s also a limited edition, with 2,000 boxes of 20 cigars produced. The blend remains the same, with General Cigar Co. supplying the Cameroon wrapper, while Espinosa supplies the Honduran binder along with the Nicaraguan habano and Colombian tobacco used in the fillers. Espinosa is producing the cigar at the La Zona Cigar Factory in Estelí, while General Cigar Co. is handling sales and distribution.

“Warzone was a success right out of the gate and we wanted to celebrate the brand’s one year anniversary by bringing out an additional size,” said Erik Espinosa via a press release. “Justin Andrews and I tested the blend in a bunch of different formats and we both agreed that the Churchill really allowed the Cameroon wrapper and the blend to come through. We’re looking forward to making Warzone available in time for the holidays.”

In addition to the new size, an additional 500 boxes of the 5 1/2 x 52 robusto vitola will be released, with individual cigars priced at $8.49 per cigar. The robusto vitola, along with a 6 x 52 toro, were the two sizes in which the Warzone line debuted.

The project was created by Espinosa along with his son Erik and the company’s director of operations; Hector Alfonso Sr.; along with Justin Andrews of General Cigar Co. It gets its name and imagery from the Ten Years’ War, fought between 1868 and 1878, and the first of three wars that eventually led to Cuba’s independence. The artwork for the project was created by Cuban artist Edin Gutierrez, who also did the art for the company’s Las 6 Provincias line, which currently has two releases, LHB and MTZ.

Update: General Cigar Co. originally announced the cigar as measuring 7 x 48, however they corrected that information on Thursday afternoon and the story has been updated accordingly.