Viva La Vida Connecticut Churchill

Among the annual activities that I am neither fond of nor good at doing is gift giving. If someone tells me they want something specific, perfect. But if it’s buying a gift that fits into a theme or something for someone I don’t know well, or even for family members, it brings out a special kind of stress in my life. So much so, that I have started just asking people to tell me what they want, what they will enjoy, and what they will make use of, because I don’t want to give them something that will be relegated to a closet or junk drawer, or that creates a burden for them to find a new home for.

I bring this up because I really believe that sometimes, you just have to ask what people want. Which is exactly what Artesano del Tobacco did in 2025 when it asked customers what they would like the newest sizes of its Viva La Vida Connecticut to be.

The company said that it received responses from nearly 700 people, with the voting results as follows:

• Churchill — 43 percent
• Lancero — 21 percent
• Corona Gorda — 9 percent
• Salomon — 8 percent
• Corona — 6 percent
• Culebra — 6 percent
• 6 x 60 — 3 percent
• 3 1/2 x 54 (NUb) — 2 percent
• 7 x 70 — 1 percent
• Torpedo — 1 percent

“It is clear from these results that the Churchill and Lancero sizes received the highest votes,” said the company in an email announcing the results. “We are excited to announce that we will be collaborating with AJ Fernandez in Nicaragua to develop these sizes for next year’s launch.”

Interestingly, the company didn’t disclose specific dimensions for some of the cigars, and while the lancero ended up measuring a fairly standard 7 x 38, the Churchill measures 7 x 54, notably thicker than the 47 ring gauge used in the Cuban cigar system. Both cigars are offered in 10-count boxes, with the Churchill priced at $16 and the lancero at $17, another interesting difference given the drastic size differences. While the Churchill began shipping in early July, the lancero is slated for later this year, with no specific date confirmed as of yet. At the 2026 PCA Convention & Trade Show, the company said it would be shipping in September, though over the summer, told halfwheel that it’s planning to release the lancero toward the end of the year.

The blend for the two new sizes remains the same, with an Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The line is made by AJ Fernandez in Nicaragua, and continues to be offered in a 5 x 54 robusto and 6 x 54 toro. All four sizes are regular production.

• Cigar Reviewed: Viva La Vida Connecticut Churchill
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut-seed)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $16 (Box of 10, $160)
• Release Date: July 2, 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The Viva La Vida Connecticut Churchill has a familiar shade for a Connecticut wrapper, a lightly tanned, matte shade that works well with the colors of the band. All three cigars are fairly firm, with the first cigar a tick or two firmer than the others, though none are problematic, and given the general fragility of Connecticut-seed wrappers, I’m not going to over-inspect the cigars. Beyond that, the cigars don’t have an overly noticeable vein structure, and only a slight change in color reveals the seam lines. The first cigar has a decently peppery aroma, followed by some buttered popcorn, before shedding the topping on subsequent sniffs. The second cigar tones down the pepper a bit and gives it a creamy secondary smell, while the third is led by a light, slightly sweet creaminess. The first cigar’s cold draw is great, smooth without being open, and with a flavor that is mellow and light, again making me think of popcorn, but this time very light with no butter and a more airy texture, with a little bit of kettle corn and pepper on the finish. The second cigar feels a touch more open than the first, but I wish I could compare them to confirm that, while the flavor reminds me of dry Cheerios. The third feels a touch firmer than the others, though again, possibly selective memory at play without being able to do a side-by-side. The flavor is the mellowest of the bunch, offering whispers of what I’ve tasted in the other two.

The Viva La Vida Connecticut Churchill starts much like many modern Connecticut-wrapped cigars: toasty, a bit peppery, with some well-microwaved popcorn, and then a slight imbalance among the components that makes me wish for a bit more harmony. I’ve often found a bit of disconnect in the flavors of a cigar that uses a Connecticut-seed wrapper over seemingly fuller tobaccos as companies try to make this current iteration of the profile. The first and third cigars exemplify this familiar experience, while in the second cigar, there are a handful of puffs that suddenly get very light in body and flavor, almost an airy, vanilla dessert flavor. Some creaminess joins the profile next, and with it comes something that reminds me of a smoked peppermint sensation. It’s nowhere near as crisp as a candy cane or an Altoids mint, but like someone took some peppermint bark and figured out a way to get some wood chip smoke into it. While I wouldn’t want to say that the profile gets sharp, it does develop a bit of a peppery edge. Flavor is medium-plus, body is medium-plus and strength is mild. Construction is very good, with smoke billowing off the cigars at points, providing plentiful amounts to take in.

Creaminess leads the start of the Viva La Vida Connecticut Churchill’s second third, with a little black pepper on the finish and in the retrohales, but this is now an experience driven by thick, creamy smoke. After that, I start getting a little bit of earth, and that flavor begins to wrest some of the control from the creaminess. As it continues to develop, it gets a little bit of a soft char, not quite the hard char of a pepper-crusted steak. That said, pepper begins to really develop, especially through the nostrils, where it absolutely lights up my nose at the midway point. After the pepper does its thing, the profile begins switching to a mellower profile, turning down the pepper, thinning out the creaminess, and just turning the overall intensity for a few puffs. But around the midpoint, things change once again as the black pepper returns and now has a bit of sharpness to it; not a bad flavor, but not the palate-coating pepper found in heartier cigars. The flavor also dries out as the creaminess exits, and the cigar now tastes like very dry crackers. The flavor intensity swings enough in this section that it doesn’t fit neatly into one descriptor, so I’ll call it medium-minus to medium-full. The body of the smoke is medium if not medium-full, while strength is medium-minus. The cigars have some of the most abundant amounts of smoke I’ve had recently, plentiful enough that I feel it merited mention. The ash has a tendency to be a bit fragile in this section, seemingly breaking under its own weight, which has me a bit more attentive when it comes to making sure it ends up in the ashtray and not on my desk or elsewhere. Otherwise, the burn line, draw and combustion are very good.

The final third of the Viva La Vida Connecticut Churchill starts with a bit more creaminess but also a bit of dry popcorn, and some black pepper, creating a profile that feels like I’m being brought back to earlier puffs, but also being pulled in a couple of different directions. That pepper gets quite granular on my palate, as instead of a general sensation, it feels like individual grains have been tasked with latching onto individual taste buds. The flavor has a tendency to get quite dry, while the smoke turns mouth-drying, changes that seem to make the pepper stand out more, and my taste buds a bit more sensitive to each sensation. A bit of heat sharpens up the profile in the final inch or so, and given some of the core flavors, it creates in more familiar flavors such as overcooked popcorn and sharp pepper. Flavor sits around medium-plus with occasional moves up the intensity scale, body is medium-full and strength is medium-minus. Construction remains very good and I have no combustion issues. Smoke continues to pour out of the cigar, while the burn line remains even and the draw stays smooth.

Final Notes

• While I might have shuffled the order just a touch, I was quite pleasantly surprised by the results of the fan voting for the new sizes.
• Given how common the gordo size is, as well as how much demand I’m told there is for the size by people in the industry, I’m also a bit surprised that the 6 x 60 finished below a culebra. While I understand the appeal of the rarity of a culebra, sometimes I wonder how many consumers actually know what it is, especially by name only.
• I would be fascinated to see what other companies would be told by their consumers. Some brands have made their names on big ring gauge cigars, and some proudly proclaim they excel in small ring gauges, so I’m curious if their fans would want more of the same or to experience a cigar on the other end of the size spectrum.
• I’d also be interested to see if companies would get different results from line to line, or if their consumers tend to like the same size regardless of the blend.
• It’s refreshing to smoke three cigars in a row that don’t need multiple relights. I have to think some of this is due to lighter, thinner tobacco leaves in the blend, which tend not to hold as much moisture and oils, and thus burn more easily than thicker leaves.
• I didn’t find there to be any significant amount of nicotine strength in the three cigars I smoked.
• Charlie Minato reviewed the robusto vitola in June 2025.
• It’s known that there are very few, if any, hard-and-fast guidelines when it comes to what sizes a cigar must be based on the common name it uses. In the Cuban system, there are two names, the vitola de galera, or factory name, and the common name. The vitola de galera has specific measurements, while the common name has some flexibility.
• I bring this up because in the case of a Churchill, its vitola de galera is the Julieta No.2, and it has to be 178mm, or just a hair over 7 inches long, with a 47 ring gauge. So the thought of calling a 7 x 54 a Churchill goes against the rule-following part of my personality.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• The company lists these as a 7 x 54 Churchill. The numbers above are the measurements we found for the three cigars used for this review.
• Don’t get me started on the Alec Bradley Texas Lancero.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 10 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., and Small Batch Cigar carry the Viva La Vida Connecticut Churchill.

Artesano Del Tobacco
Churchill
Nicaragua
Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
Viva La Vida
Viva La Vida Connecticut
Viva La Vida Connecticut Churchill