CLE Looks Back to Move Forward with 1916 Tabacalera Eiroa at PCA

For CLE Cigar Company, the 2026 PCA Show in New Orleans is an opportunity to honor where the Eiroa family came from—and to make a case for where it’s headed. The centerpiece of its PCA showing is the 1916 Tabacalera Eiroa, a new line developed by fourth-generation tobacco man Santiago “Santi” Eiroa, with the name nodding to the year his great-grandfather Generoso first began cultivating tobacco—a tradition now 110 years in the making.

The blend draws on tobaccos that have been part of the Eiroa family story for generations, most notably Original Corojo and the exceedingly rare Pinareño seed—a Cuban-origin varietal that the family has carefully preserved and grown for decades. Both the wrapper and binder are made from five-year-aged Habano leaf, reflecting a commitment to patience and craft that runs through the entire project. Santi has described the blend as landing somewhere between the lighter preferences of his grandfather and the fuller-bodied palate of his father—a generational middle ground in cigar form.

The 1916 Tabacalera Eiroa will be offered in five vitolas, each packaged in 18-count boxes: Robusto (5 x 50, $16), The Personal (5 ½ x 44 $16.50), Toro (6 x 52, $17), Belicoso (6½ x 50, $18), and El Gordo (5½ x 60, $19). Shipments are expected to begin in May or June 2026.

Steve Ross is a writer, editor, photographer and communications specialist who has enjoyed a career in the premium cigar industry for more than 23 years. Steve enjoyed his first handmade cigar when he was a freshman at Purdue University, and he entered the premium cigar industry shortly after obtaining his Masters Degree in History from North Carolina State University in 2001. Since then, Steve has traveled extensively in Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Europe, telling countless stories about cigars, the people who make them and the men and women who enjoy them. A lifelong fan of motorsport, Steve is most passionate about IndyCar racing and the Indianapolis 500, which he has attended every year since 1987.


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