At this years IPCPR/PCA tradeshow an old face reemerged on the floor, Eddie Tarazona. You may remember Tarazona cigars from a few years ago with his 305, 305 Guerrilla, Revolution 305, and XTC cigar lines.
Something New
After his hiatus, Eddie is back with a vengeance and this year he brought with him some new offerings.
I ran into Eddie while walking the floor and sat down for a brief chat to catch up with what his has been working on and he introduced me to the new Caraballo 828 line which is named after his business partner Mario Caraballo.
The new Caraballo 828 line comes in 3 different blends, with the Claro and the Oscuro being full production and the EL being a limited production with only 200 boxes made. Unlike the core 305 line, the 828 is being made in Nicaragua by Juan “Pepito” Alberto Gomez-Pacheco. Eddie is thinking money with this new line as each vitola is named with a monetary reference.
Something Old
We also spoke about the core 305 line and he mentioned that he had to re-blend that slightly as they were not able to get the original tobacco used in the blend a few years ago. For this year the company has released the 305 and the 305 Guerrilla lines. He plans to re-release the Revolution 305, and XTC cigar lines in 2020.
Caraballo 828 Claro
The blend is described as:
- Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut)
- Binder: Ecuador (Sumatra)
- Filler: Nicaragua (Condega, Estelí & Jalapa)
The Caraballo 828 Claro comes in 3 vitolas each packaged in 20-count boxes:
- Greenbacks (5 1/2 x 44) – MSRP $7.20
- Shekel (5 x 52) – MSRP $8.20
- FFOD (6 x 54) – MSRP $9.20
Caraballo 828 Oscuro
The blend is described as:
- Wrapper: Nicaragua (Habano)
- Binder: Ecuador (Sumatra)
- Filler: Nicaragua (Condega, Estelí & Jalapa)
The Caraballo 828 Oscuro comes in 3 vitolas each packaged in 20-count boxes:
- Pocket Change (4 1/2 x 42) – MSRP $7.40
- Shekel (5 x 52) – MSRP $8.40
- Dead Presidents (6 x 52) – MSRP $9.40
Caraballo 828 EL
A limited production of only 200 boxes are being made.
The blend is described as:
- Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
- Binder: Nicaragua (Jalapa)
- Filler: Nicaragua (Condega & Jalapa)
The Caraballo 828 EL comes in 2 vitolas each packaged in 10-count boxes:
- EL Silverback (5 x 50) – MSRP $100.00/ten-count box
- EL Benjamins (6 x 52) – MSRP $125.00/ten-count box
Tarazona Guerrilla 305 EL
Lastly, the company also showcased a limited edition Guerrilla 305 line that includes 2 vitola. These will be limited to just 200 boxes of 10.
The blend is described as:
- Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
- Binder: Connecticut
- Filler: Dominican Republic
The Tarazona Guerrilla 305 EL comes in 2 vitolas each packaged in 10-count boxes:
- EL LIBER8 (6 1/2 x 52) – MSRP $13.00
- EL BLKSHP (BlackSheep) (6 1/2 x 44) – MSRP $13.00
Did he just read what his blends were off a piece of paper?? I see why he was away for a long time!