Plasencia Triunfal

Ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Doha, Qatar, Plasencia announced that it had created a new limited edition to celebrate the global sporting event: the Plasencia Ehtëfal.

So, in early April, as cigar companies were announcing new releases ahead of the 2026 PCA Convention & Trade Show, it was no surprise to see Plasencia announce a new limited edition for the then-upcoming 2026 World Cup.

The new cigar is the Plasencia Trinufal. It uses tobaccos from Plasencia farms in Honduras and Nicaragua. The wrapper is from Finca La Tradición in the Jamastrán Valley of Honduras, the binder from Finca San Agustín from Olancho, Honduras, while the fillers come from Finca La Tradición and Jalapa, Nicaragua.

Plasencia says there are two things that make this release unique. First, a single pair of workers—one roller and one buncher—made all 50,000 cigars. Second, this is the first time the company has created a cigar using certified organic tobacco from both Honduras and Nicaragua.

“Trinufal represents much more than a cigar,” said José Luis Plasencia, fifth-generation member of the Plasencia cigar family, in a press release at the time. “It reflects unity, resilience, and celebration—values that resonate deeply with our family’s heritage. We believe cigars are meant to accompany life’s most memorable moments, and Trinufal honors one of the most powerful shared celebrations inspired by the game that unites the world.”

• Cigar Reviewed: Plasencia Triunfal
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Tabacos de Oriente
• Wrapper: Honduras (Jamastrán Valley)
• Binder: Honduras (Olancho)
• Filler: Honduras (Jamastrán Valley) & Nicaragua (Jalapa)
• Length: 6 1/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $59.99 (Box of 10, $59,90)
• Release Date: May 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: 5,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (50,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The most notable part about how the Trinufal looks is that this is the first cigar that has Plasencia’s new logo and branding, things that will be coming to the rest of the company’s portfolio later this year. The wrappers are on the lighter side of the non-Connecticut-seed options. There’s not much oil, and the texture lets me feel the relatively few veins. All of the cigars appear well-rolled, though the third cigar has some dark spots. The aromas from the wrappers are similar: medium-full with aged leather, a varying amount of barnyard and some scents that remind me of tobacco sweating in the pilónes. The feet are even more identical: full scents with freshly rained-on soil over chocolate and something that reminds me of the smell of a neutral oil like avocado oil. Cold draws are surprisingly semi-open but unsurprisingly nearly identical. There’s a unique dry and crisp flavor—not quite a macadamia nut—along with some potting soil. A very detailed one-two punch that lands at medium-full.

Each Triunfal starts with a medium-full mixture of all sorts of woodiness atop toasty tobacco, burnt earth, and some pretzel. The draws are a bit loose and smoke is pouring off the foot of the cigar. Throughout the first third, the profile shifts between leading flavors of woods, earth and hard pretzels. Because the other types of flavors—sweet, sour, bitter, spicy—aren’t all that strong, the profile doesn’t scream that it is regularly changing, but it’s not static. There is more underlying sweetness than there is spiciness, though the sharpness can pick up at times. The finish of the first two cigars is similar: the main flavors get an added crispness and become slightly drier, allowing for the pepper to have more room to shine. The third cigar is much sweeter with some different types of bread flavors, reminding me a bit of frozen waffles. Those flavors are more present on the retrohales of the first and third cigars, though the second cigar is quite salty, reminding me of the flavor of salt water. Whereas the first two cigars go through a reduction during the finish, making the black pepper and sharper flavors stand out, the third cigar has lots of corn tortilla flavors. Flavor is full, while body and strength are medium-plus. The slightly loose draw doesn’t seem to be causing any issues, though each cigar has uneven burns that require at least one touch-up. The largest difference is that the third cigar is burning at a rate that might be half as quick as the other two cigars.

There aren’t many dramatic changes for the second third. The existing flavors stay, but there’s a shift in the overall accent of the flavors: sharper and drier. That’s not my favorite direction for most cigars, but I can still taste the core combination and even some milder notes like lemon. The third cigar continues to perform differently, more earthy but, compared to the other two, not as strong overall. During the finish, the sharper and drier trend continues. There are some differences: the first cigar has a flavor that reminds me of the smell of newspaper, the second has a heartier pepper, while the third isn’t as dry and has more sweet and tart undertones. If I weren’t taking notes, I think the only change I’d really notice is the third cigar not tasting as dry. Retrohaling delivers rich and layered wood flavors over the earthiness, black pepper, creaminess and some meatiness. The third cigar’s tartness has morphed into a lemon-lime sparkling water-like flavor, adding some complexity to that particular cigar. The finish continues to get sharper, though there’s also more of the hard pretzel flavor joining the black pepper. Flavor is full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium or medium-plus. While the first cigar avoids any construction issues in the second third, the second and third cigars need corrections for uneven burn lines.

The final third is drier than the first third, though not as dry as the second third. Bread flavors move to the forefront of the cigar, the first time the main flavor has really changed. It’s a bit of a different expression for each cigar: richer multigrain for the first cigar, a more defined dinner roll flavor for the second, and dry cracker for the third. In addition, the secondary notes have also turned to a new page: dry creaminess, saltiness, white pepper and earth. The most interesting flavor is a banana peel sensation in the second cigar. The flavors are layered in a way few cigars are able to achieve. The finishes are a mixture of nuttiness, bread, creaminess and pepper, though each cigar has a different ordering of intensity. The first Triunfal’s retrohale is sweeter with the lemon-lime flavors joining sweet crackers over a less dynamic combination of woodiness, earthiness, pretzel and chili. The second cigar is a less impressive version of that, and the third cigar is an even more basic version of the second cigar. Each retrohale produces really long-lasting flavors that take an abnormally long time to depart, while there’s some added black pepper and grittiness. Flavor is full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium-plus. Construction-wise, the third cigar continues to need touch-ups for uneven burn, but the other two cigars avoid any issues.

Final Notes

• Triunfal is the Spanish word for triumphal.
• Takes from a gringo: I think Honduras is the only major cigar-producing country where soccer is clearly the top sport. In the Dominican Republic, it’s baseball. In Cuba and Nicaragua, it’s baseball, though with boxing not too far behind.
• OZ Family Cigars is the only other company I know of that created a new cigar for the 2026 World Cup. Oliva had a special soccer ball-inspired packaging option and Les Fines Lames released some exclusive colorways of its Le Petit.
• Despite the uneven burns, the ash formation was oftentimes quite pretty. Dion Giolito of Illusione once told the halfwheel team that he aimed to have the ash look like a stack of dimes. Each cigar was able to achieve that, though if I rotated the cigar, the other side might not be burning.
• From a construction standpoint, this wasn’t a great cigar, but it also wasn’t a cigar that seemed to suffer. The Triunfal’s flavor didn’t seem to be all that impacted by not burning evenly, and when a touch-up was made, it seemed to correct the issue for a good half hour. That said, if not for some uneven burns, this cigar would have scored higher.
• Early on during both the second and third cigars, the top part of the cap came loose. Oddly, it never unraveled.
• Plasencia advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• Plasencia lists the Triunfal as a 6 1/4 x 54 toro extra. Above are the dimensions for the three cigars I smoked for this review.
• The final smoking time was just under two hours for the first two cigars, but more than three hours for the third. I’m unsure why two cigars smoked quicker than average, but the third one was slower than average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co. and Small Batch Cigar carry the Plasencia Triunfal.

Honduras
Plasencia Cigars
Plasencia Triunfal
Tabacos de Oriente
Toro Extra