Ortega Cigars

Eddie Ortega is half of EO Brands — E for Espinosa, O for Ortega —, the house that launched the 601 and the Cubao at Don Pepín García's in the 2000s. The two partners split in February 2012: Erik Espinosa kept 601, Murcielago and Mi Barrio, and this atlas tells it at his entry; Ortega kept Cubao, REO and Vibe, and founded Ortega Premium Cigars. His first line, the Serie D, came out the same year from My Father, the Garcías' factory, whose entry this atlas carries; the Wild Bunch followed in 2013, twelve cigars in a year, one character a month.

In 2016, Quality Importers — a distributor Ortega had briefly worked for — took over distribution, and the following lines came out of TACASA, Carlos Sánchez's factory in Estelí, which also makes their Cult brand. That is where the Cubao returned, on the same blend as the original — Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, fillers from Estelí and Jalapa —, with the Jalapa and the M3.

After that, the trade press fell silent. What this atlas can say from 2021 to today fits in retailers' catalogues and an enthusiast's blog: the cigars sell, the factory is named, the house no longer makes news. The entry exists for the story of EO Brands, which none other told from Ortega's side, and it says where what it knows ends.

Range Depth

• Cubao

  Wrapper Ecuadorian Sumatra · Strength Medium-Full

  Born at Don Pepín's in the EO Brands days, kept by Ortega in 2012, back at TACASA on the same blend.

• Serie D

  Wrapper Undisclosed · Strength Full

  2012 — the house's first line on its own, at My Father; Natural and Maduro.

• Wild Bunch

  Wrapper Undisclosed · Strength Medium-Full

  2013 — twelve cigars in a year, one character a month, inspired by friends in the trade.