Launched immediately following the 2025 PCA Convention & Trade Show, the Viva La Vida Connecticut by Artesano del Tobacco is not the sort of cigar one might expect to see from this boutique powerhouse.

Created by former tobacco shop owners, Gus and Billy Fakih, and crafted down in Estelí, Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez, Artesano del Tobacco has made a name for itself for producing powerful cigars with deep flavor profiles. Here at Klaro, we found both the maduro known as El Pulpo and its tiny offspring, El Pulpo "The Fry" to be utterly brilliant. In a very different way, we also found ourselves enjoying the rollercoaster of a smoke that is Viva La Vida, which serves as the backbone for Artesano del Tobacco's latest creation.

Tobacco Nerd Note: Shipments of Viva La Vida Connecticut were initially hampered by a fire at the AJ Fernandez factory down in Nicaragua, which coincidentally occurred just prior to the 2025 PCA Trade Show. Fortunately, Klaro orders have remained consistent, and full box purchases are now possible. 

Unlike the original version, which has an extremely oily, ruddy red habano oscuro wrapper, the Viva La Vida Connecticut relies upon a supple, light khaki-colored Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade leaf on the outside. Intriguingly, the insides of the cigar are currently labeled as undisclosed; so how much of the original Viva La Vida blend's Criollo '98 and Corojo '99 innards remain intact remains a mystery. All we know is that it contains leaf that has been aged for at least 6-years and that it comes from AJF farms.

What we do know is that like any other cigar sporting the Artesano del Tobacco badge of authenticity, this blend promises to provide plenty of flavor and performance. Marketed for having hints of cedar, roasted almonds, sweet cream, and white pepper in its cigar flavor profile, this medium-bodied blend looks to be the next big thing from one of our favorite small-scale boutique cigar brands.

Need a little more convincing? Check out our interview with Billy and Gus at PCA 2025, where we got our first glimpse of this stunning smoke and learned a little bit more about its formation.