El Pulpo Octo Ocho Culebra

Description

The El Pulpo Octo Ocho Culebra is one of the most visually unusual cigars in the entire premium market — three long panatelas hand-twisted together while still moist, resembling entwined snakes or, fittingly, the tentacles of an octopus.

Construction & Origin

Each Octo Ocho consists of three 7 x 38 panatelas, finished in a Mexican San Andrés Maduro wrapper over all-Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos grown on A.J. Fernandez’s own farms, hand-rolled at his San Lotano factory in Nicaragua. Owners Billy and Gus Fakih of Artesano del Tobacco spent seven years developing the underlying El Pulpo blend before finally introducing this culebra format in September 2023 — a genuinely rare structure in modern cigar-making, since culebras are seldom produced commercially. Each set of three is nested in its own wooden coffin to preserve the twisted shape, and despite the unusual presentation, every cigar is smoked individually just like any standard vitola.

Flavor Profile

Full-bodied and rich, this cigar delivers dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, leather, pepper, and earth, with an underlying thread of sweet almond and a distinctly meaty depth. Reviewers note the round, non-box-pressed shape burns a bit hotter than El Pulpo’s other sizes, giving Octo Ocho a more robust character than the rest of the line.

Why It’s Sought After

Three of the El Pulpo line’s earlier vitolas scored above 90 points in a Cigar Aficionado vertical tasting, and the Octo Ocho brings that same acclaimed blend into a genuinely rare culebra format most smokers have never actually seen in person, let alone smoked. Because a single Octo Ocho covers three full smoking sessions, it’s also a favorite for sharing among friends — a real conversation-starter as much as a serious smoke.