- Germany’s tobacco tax law was signed on October 19, 2026 and published October 20. From March 1, 2027, cigars pay 2.14 cents each plus 3.83 percent of the retail price, up from 1.4 cents and 1.47 percent.
- Norway suspended its per-product cigar registration fees on October 20, and Spain’s outdoor smoking-ban bill lapsed when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the November 29 election.
- Seven cigars hit U.S. shelves in October, including the La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull 10th Anniversary Maduro at $35, and five more were announced for late October and November, two of them TAA exclusives.
October’s biggest story got settled in Berlin. Germany’s new tobacco tax was signed on October 19 and published the next day, so we finally know what German cigar smokers will pay from March 1, 2027. It’s more than they pay now, but it’s nowhere near what was floated over the summer.
Closer to home, it’s TAA season. The Tobacconists’ Association of America meets in the Dominican Republic starting October 25, and the exclusives are already being announced. Add a couple of Halloween cigars, three new Casdagli blends and a 10th anniversary Andalusian Bull, and it was a busy month.
Germany's Cigar Tax Is Now Law
In the September roundup I covered the Bundestag vote on October 15. The rest went fast. The Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house, let it through on October 16, it was signed on October 19, and it was published in the Federal Law Gazette on October 20. It’s done.
Here’s what changes for cigars and cigarillos on March 1, 2027. The per-cigar tax goes from 1.4 cents to 2.14 cents, then climbs every January until it reaches 2.85 cents in 2030. The other part of the tax, a percentage of the shop price, goes from 1.47 percent to 3.83 percent.
The scary number over the summer was a jump in that percentage to 21.05 percent. That’s about 14 times the current rate, and it’s where all the headlines came from. It didn’t survive, cigarettes got the 21.05 percent instead.
So how big is the real increase? Germany’s cigar makers called it a doubling. I ran the numbers on a €10 cigar, and the tax goes from about 16 cents today to about 40 cents in March. That’s closer to two and a half times, but in real money it’s about 24 cents a cigar.
Under the summer draft, that same cigar would’ve carried more than €2 in tax. Germany’s cigar makers said the worst had been averted, and I’d agree with them.
"That’s closer to two and a half times, but in real money it’s about 24 cents a cigar. — NORM FARRAR, THE CIGAR FOSSIL"
Norway, Spain and the U.K.
Two more European rules went the cigar side’s way in October.
Norway had set a fee for every cigar product registered for sale, plus a yearly fee on top, starting October 1. It was charged per product, so an importer carrying a hundred different cigars was looking at a hundred fees. On October 20, the Health Ministry told the health directorate to stop collecting them.
It’s a suspension, not a repeal. Norway wants to swap the flat fees for a levy based on sales volume in spring 2027, if parliament passes it.
In Spain, a bill that would’ve banned smoking on bar and restaurant terraces, on beaches and at outdoor events is dead for now. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election for November 29, Parliament was dissolved in early October, and the bill lapsed with it. The next government would’ve to start over.
The U.K. is the one still hanging. The government’s consultation on moving cigars into standardized packaging, the same plain packs cigarettes already come in there, closed on October 2. There’s no decision yet.
Tabacalera USA Shuffles Its Top Jobs
Tabacalera USA, the parent of Altadis U.S.A., Casa de Montecristo, JR Cigar and Santa Clara, reshuffled its leadership effective October 16. Three people who each ran one division as CEO now have jobs that cover the whole company.
All three report to Charles Gibb, Tabacalera USA’s CEO. If you smoke a non-Cuban Montecristo or Romeo y Julieta, these are the people making the calls now.
Also new this month, David Garofalo, owner of Two Guys Smoke Shop and United Cigars, launched Cigar Worth on October 12. It’s a website for looking up what premium cigars are worth, built for collectors, retailers, auction houses, estates and insurers. He developed it with Aaron Williams.
The plan includes a way to authenticate individual cigars down the road, based on the cigar itself rather than the band or the box. There’s no timeline on that, so don’t count on it yet. Pricing runs $7.95 for a day pass, $9.95 a month or $99.95 a year.
I like the idea. Anybody who’s tried to put a value on a late relative’s humidor knows there’s nowhere good to look.
Remembering Mike Ditka
Mike Ditka died on October 9 at 86. Most people know him as the coach who took the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl win. Cigar people knew him as one of us, he smoked them openly for decades, his Chicago steakhouse had a cigar bar, and he had his own line of Mike Ditka cigars.
He never hid the cigar, and I always liked him for that.
On the Calendar This Week
Cigar Culture Summit Africa runs October 23 to 25 near Johannesburg. It’s the first African edition of the summit, put on by the same people who run InterTabac in Dortmund.
Then the TAA meets October 25 to 29 at Casa de Campo in La Romana, Dominican Republic. The Tobacconists’ Association of America is a group of independent shops, and every year manufacturers make cigars sold only through its member stores. Those are the TAA exclusives, and a bunch of this year’s were announced in October. Two of them are in the cards below.
New Releases
Twelve cigars shipped or got a date in October. I’ve grouped them by whether you can actually find them yet.
La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull 10th Anniversary Maduro
The original Andalusian Bull came out in 2016, and this is the anniversary version in a darker wrapper. Same 6 1/2 x 52/64 figurado, a shaped cigar that swells from a 52 ring to a 64. Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper over binder and filler from La Flor’s La Canela farm, including 2016 tobacco. 5,000 boxes of 10 at $35. Shipped October 7.
Apostate Death Mask
Apostate’s first cigar made outside the Dominican Republic, rolled at Fábrica Oveja Negra in Estelí, Nicaragua. A 5 1/2 x 48 robusto with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Ecuadorian binder and mostly Nicaraguan filler. Only 250 boxes of 20 at $20, all spoken for before they shipped on October 1.
Tatuaje Skinny Krueger and Skinny Michael
Two cigars from Tatuaje’s Monster Series finally get Skinny versions, both 6 x 38 petite lanceros, which are long, thin cigars, made at My Father. Krueger, the Freddy Krueger cigar, has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper. Michael, the Michael Myers cigar, has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. Both use Nicaraguan binder and filler and sell for $9.50 in 25-counts, shipping the week of October 19.
Casdagli Daughters of the Wind Rosado
Made at IGM in Costa Rica, with a Costa Rican Habano Rosado wrapper from one of the first harvests on IGM’s own farm, plus a Costa Rican binder. Five sizes in boxes of 20, from the 5 x 50 Robusto at $16 to the 6 1/2 x 58/60 Figurado at $25.40. Regular production.
Casdagli Brothers of the Sabre Custodian
Blend five in the series that used to be called The Napoleonic Collection. It’s named for Sir Hudson Lowe, the British governor of St Helena who guarded Napoleon in exile. Made at Kelner Boutique Factory in the Dominican Republic, with filler from the Dominican Republic, the U.S. and Zimbabwe. A 6 x 52 Toro and a 6 x 49 Pirámide.
Casdagli Brothers of the Sabre Flamboyant
Blend six, named for Joachim Murat, Napoleon’s cavalry commander who became King of Naples. Ecuadorian wrapper over Dominican binder and filler, mild to medium. Same factory and the same two sizes as the Custodian.
Perez-Carrillo Battleborn Heroes
This year’s Battleborn is a 6 x 52 toro called Heroes, with a Cameroon wrapper over Dominican and Nicaraguan binders and filler. Boxes hold 21, a nod to the 21-gun salute. 2,000 boxes at $21 a cigar. It honors veterans, active military and first responders, and it’s due in shops nationwide before Veterans Day, November 11.
Crowned Heads Belgian Blue 2026
Third year and the smallest size yet, a 5 1/4 x 54 box-pressed robusto. Same blend as before, a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Ecuadorian binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan filler that’s heavy on ligero, the strongest leaf on the plant. 2,500 boxes of 12 at $12.50, shipping the week of October 26.
Villiger TAA Exclusive 2026
A 6 x 52 box-pressed toro, and Villiger’s first TAA cigar made at its own factory in Estelí. Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder, Nicaraguan filler. 500 boxes of 10 at $13, TAA shops only, expected in early November.
Plasencia Alma Fuerte Colorado Claro Torpedo
A new 6 x 54 semi-box-pressed torpedo for the line, a Nicaraguan puro with a Jalapa Colorado Claro wrapper. It’s a Corona Cigar Co. exclusive, sold through its five Florida stores and website at $26.49 in boxes of 10. The shipping date’s been given as both late October and early November, so don’t be surprised if it’s November.
Espinosa 601 La Bomba Warhead TAA 2026
The first Warhead with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, over Nicaraguan binder and filler, made at San Lotano. A 6 x 55 box-pressed toro, 1,250 boxes of 10 at $16. TAA shops only, shipping in November.
The BLC Take
Over here, if you want one of the TAA exclusives, find out which shop near you is a TAA member now. These runs are small, the Villiger is only 5,000 cigars. And if you’re a Monster Series fan, the two Skinnies are a cheap way to round out the set before Halloween.
Norm Farrar is a four-decade cigar enthusiast, credentialed tobacconist (CCT, CST, CCST), and the founder of Blind Label Cigar. Known in the community as “The Cigar Fossil,” he’s logged enough smoke time to have serious opinions but still approaches every new cigar like the first one.
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