La Palina Chairman Bill Paley turned 75 years young this year, and at the 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, La Palina Cigars introduced a cigar to mark the occasion. The cigar is called the La Palina 1948 – and it pays homage to the year Paley was born.

The La Palina 1948 is produced at Oliva Cigar’s TABOLISA factory. It’s the second cigar to come out of that factory following the La Palina 125th Años. The blend for the La Palina 1948 features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and filler. The cigar comes in four box-pressed sizes – each presented in ten-count boxes: Robusto (5 x 52, SRP $22.00/cigar), Diadema (6 x 46, SRP $23.00/cigar), Toro (6 x 52, SRP $24.00/cigar), and Churchill (7 x 52, SRP $25.00/cigar). The Diadema is a limited-production cigar and was exclusively made available to those retailers who attended the 2023 PCA Trade Show.

Packaging-wise, there are images on the box and bands of New York (where Paley is from), Estelí (one of the places Paley makes cigars), and Vietnam (where he served in the military and fought in the war).

The La Palina 1948 is expected to reach retailers in the fall.

At a glance, here is a look at the La Palina 1948:

Blend and Origin

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: TABOLISA

Vitolas Offered

Robusto: 5 x 52
Diadema: 6 x 46
Toro: 6 x 52
Churchill: 7 x 52

Photo Credit: Erron Nielsen for Cigar Coop