Artista Cigars, China National to Collaborate on New Line

At last week’s InterTabac 2026 trade fair, Artista Cigars and China National Tobacco Corp., the world’s largest tobacco company, announced that the two companies had signed a new cooperation agreement that includes the creation of a new line called Taishan · Artista.

Unlike most cigars, Taishan · Artista will be produced in two different factories. El Artista will produce a toro in the Dominican Republic, while China Tobacco Shandong Industry Co., Ltd. will produce a pyramid version. The latter will only be sold in China, though the toro will be offered for sale in other markets.

The two companies collaborated on the blend, which is made entirely of tobaccos supplied by Tabacalera El Artista. That includes an Ecuadorian habano wrapper, a Dominican binder and fillers from three countries in Latin America.

Taishan · Artista is expected to debut in December in Hong Kong and Macau, with a China National subsidiary handling distribution. The toro is expected to arrive in other markets in late Spring with distribution via the Artista-affiliated TCD Logistics and Tobacco & Cigar Distribution. Then in the summer, the cigar is expected to arrive in mainland China and duty-free locations in Asia.

Kevin Newman, vp of Artista Cigars, told halfwheel that other details, such as dimensions, pricing and box-counts, will be announced closer to the cigar’s launch.

Taishan is a brand of the Shandong factory.

Multiple companies informed halfwheel that they were approached by China National with deals that sound, in part, remarkably similar to this arrangement. The deal was described as including purchasing raw tobacco and a unique dual-continent manufacturing agreement like this. In exchange, China National—a government-owned monopoly—was said to be offering to increase the amount of cigars that the collaborating company could import into China, a number that is highly restricted.

When asked about whether Artista signed a deal like that, Newman declined to comment.

Artista Cigars
China National Tobacco Corporation
China Tobacco Shandong Industry Co. Ltd.
InterTabac 2026
Tabacalera El Artista
Taishan
Taishan · Artista