Tiny Tim's Cigar World!: LA Cigar Collective releases “Le Flambeaux”

LA Cigar Collective’s third exclusive blend pairs New Orleans tradition with an unexpected full-bodied expression from Kelner Cigars.

METAIRIE, LA -Some cigars tell stories. Some are born from tradition. Others from innovation.

Le Flambeaux began with a challenge.

For its third exclusive cigar, LA Cigar Collective (LACC) turned to Klaas Kelner of Kelner Family Cigars with a specific request: create a cigar that pushes beyond the strength profile smokers might traditionally associate with a Kelner blend while preserving the complexity, balance, and refinement that have defined his work.

The challenge from LACC was simple:

“Build us a cigar that’s full-bodied. Push beyond the strength profile people expect from a Kelner blend without sacrificing the complexity and balance that define your work.”

The objective was never strength for strength’s sake. Instead, LACC wanted to explore another dimension of one of the cigar industry's respected blending talents.

The result is Le Flambeaux.

Carrying the Torch

The name draws its inspiration directly from New Orleans and the historic flambeaux carriers of Mardi Gras.

Before modern street lighting transformed nighttime parades, flambeaux carriers walked the routes bearing flaming torches, illuminating the procession for those gathered along the streets. Derived from the French word for “torch,” flambeau has become an enduring symbol of New Orleans tradition.

For LACC, that history became an appropriate metaphor for the project.

Le Flambeaux is about shining a light on a side of Klaas Kelner’s blending talent that many cigar smokers may not have experienced.

Rather than abandoning the characteristics associated with Kelner's blending, Le Flambeaux expresses them through a richer, bolder, and more commanding profile.

At the heart of the blend is a filler composition containing 60% ligero, providing the strength and intensity LACC challenged Kelner to achieve.

A Mexican San Andrés wrapper surrounds an Ecuadorian Habano binder and Dominican filler tobaccos. The cigar is produced in the Dominican Republic at Kelner Family Cigars.

Throughout the smoking experience, Le Flambeaux delivers transitions of dark brownie chocolate—particularly the rich, caramelized character of the brownie’s outer edge—leather, raisins, and underlying sweetness.

Despite its considerable strength, the intention remains balance and complexity rather than sheer power.

A Collaboration Built on Creative Trust

Le Flambeaux represents more than LACC's third exclusive release. The project demonstrates what can happen when retailer and manufacturer are willing to challenge one another creatively.

LACC presented Kelner with an opportunity to step outside expectations. Kelner answered by creating a cigar that maintains his blending identity while exploring a decidedly more powerful expression.

For LA Cigar Collective, that willingness to experiment is precisely what an exclusive cigar should represent.

“This project stands as a testament to creative trust—when a retailer challenges someone at the top of their game, and they answer with something extraordinary.”

LA Cigar Collective invites cigar smokers to experience the result of that experiment and extends its appreciation to Klaas Kelner and Kelner Family Cigars for accepting the challenge—and carrying the torch. Production of 10,000. Available on LACigarCollective.com and SmallBatchCigar.com as well as select Brick and Mortar stores.