Trash Panda Cigars has announced the release of Grace O’Malley Pirate Queen, a cigar that pays homage to the legendary Irish pirate. It’s the second cigar release for Trash Panda Cigars, the company owned by Kevin Shahan of Cigar Prop.
Trash Panda’s first cigar was Cert Maith Bruscar (Real Good Trash). This cigar honored Shahan’s Irish roots and his ancestor, Cornelius Shahan, who first set foot in the New World in 1678. Now Shahan again pays homage to his Irish heritage with Grace O’Malley Pirate Queen. Grace O’Malley was the only daughter of the Gaelic chieftain Owen ‘Dubhdara’ (Black Oak) O’Malley. O’Malley became a true force in the world of pirates. Astonishingly, she commanded fleets, conducted daring raids, and defended her clan’s territory along the rugged coastline of County Mayo, Ireland. As a skilled navigator and seafarer, she defied the conventions of her time, becoming one of the most formidable pirates in history.
“Though she died in 1603—75 years before my ancestor Cornelius set sail in the same waters she once ruled—I can’t help but imagine that he, too, had his share of encounters with pirates. Perhaps not as dramatic as the tales spun in Hollywood, but the romance of the high seas is hard to ignore,” said Shahan in a press release.
Shahan is working with Riste Ristevski of JSK Cigars to produce the Grace O’Malley Pirate Queen. In alignment with the pirate theme, Shahan utilized rum barrels for aging. Specifically, the selected barrels were Sazerac Rye barrels. These barrels had previously contained Myers’s Rum before reaching Big Storm Distillery, where they finished another rum. Workers placed the cigars in the barrels on November 7, 2024. Subsequently, they stayed in the barrels for 94 days and were taken out on February 9, 2025.
Traditional barrel aging methods often involve tightly packing cigars in an upright barrel. However, Shahan reports that, in the case of Grace O’Malley Pirate Queen, fewer cigars were placed in each barrel. The barrels were then laid on their sides and rotated every two to three days. This approach allowed the cigars to more effectively absorb characteristics from the barrel wood that contained the spirits.
The Grace O’Malley Pirate Queen, blend-wise, features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. Additionally, it has a double binder of Jalapa Seco and undisclosed fillers. Notably, the cigars come in one size known as “Basilisk,” which is a 5 x 52 Robusto. Furthermore, a total of 1,500 cigars were produced. These cigars are available in five-packs priced at $52.99. Each five-pack also includes a 3D-printed pirate cannon cigar rest. Finally, the cigars are being sold on the Cigar Prop website.
Photo Credits: Supplied by Trash Panda Cigars
