Casdagli Second Half Football Series Limited Edition

Casdagli Second Half Football Series Limited Edition

The Casdagli Second Half Football Series Limited Edition is a boutique, small batch cigar wrapped in a smooth Ecuadorian Light Habano leaf over a Dominican Monte Plata binder grown on the Kelner family’s private farm and a four tobacco filler blend of Dominican Criollo 98, BVS African tobacco, USA Broadleaf, and Dominican Corojo long fillers, handcrafted at the Kelner Boutique Factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Only 800 cigars have been produced, each aged over a year before release. The Second Half completes the Football Series that began with the First Half, mirroring the two act structure of a football match where the second half is where games are decided, tactics shift, and intensity peaks. The blend is the same four nation construction as the First Half: the Ecuadorian Light Habano wrapper delivers golden, creamy elegance; the Monte Plata binder from the Kelner family’s own farm adds a proprietary, terroir driven depth; and the multinational filler blend crosses three continents with Dominican Criollo 98 providing spice and body, BVS African tobacco delivering exotic, floral complexity, USA Broadleaf adding dark, earthy sweetness, and Dominican Corojo rounding out the blend with pepper and richness. Collectors who secured the First Half now have the opportunity to complete the set with its companion release.

• Ecuadorian Light Habano wrapper with a golden, luminous appearance and a smooth, refined texture that delivers cream, cedar, and mild pepper while allowing the complex filler blend to express itself.
• Dominican Monte Plata binder grown on the Kelner family’s private farm, a proprietary tobacco from the Monte Plata province east of Santo Domingo, adding a terroir driven depth and sweetness unique to Kelner produced cigars.
• Dominican Criollo 98 filler, a versatile, spice forward seed variety developed in the Dominican Republic, providing backbone, body, and peppery complexity.
• BVS African tobacco filler, a rare inclusion in premium cigars, adding an exotic, floral, and spicy dimension that distinguishes this blend from anything else in the Casdagli portfolio or the broader market.
• USA Broadleaf filler, Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco placed in the filler position rather than its typical wrapper role, contributing dark, earthy sweetness, cocoa, and rich, fermented depth.
• Dominican Corojo filler adds peppery spice, oiliness, and full bodied richness that complements the lighter Ecuadorian wrapper and balances the exotic African tobacco.
• Aged over one year before release, allowing the four nation filler blend to marry and integrate into a unified, cohesive smoking experience.
• Limited to 800 cigars worldwide, completing the Football Series two part limited edition alongside the First Half.
• Handcrafted at the Kelner Boutique Factory (KBF) in Santiago, Dominican Republic, by Hendrik Kelner Jr., son of Hendrick “Henke” Kelner, Davidoff’s legendary Master Blender.

Completing the match

In football, the second half is where everything changes. Managers adjust tactics. Substitutions shift momentum. Tired legs reveal character. The decisive goal, the comeback, the dramatic finish: all of it happens after the interval. The Casdagli Second Half Football Series captures that energy. Where the First Half introduced the blend, the concept, and the story, the Second Half brings it to completion. The two releases are designed as a matched pair, the same blend presented as companion limited editions that together tell the full story of a match from kickoff to final whistle.

For collectors, the Second Half is the release that makes the First Half more valuable. A single installment is interesting; the complete pair is a finished narrative. At only 800 units per release, the total worldwide production of the Football Series is just 1,600 cigars across both halves, making the complete set one of the most exclusive limited edition pairings in the boutique cigar market.

The Kelner family connection

The Kelner Boutique Factory (KBF) was established in 2012 by Hendrik Kelner Jr. in Santiago, Dominican Republic. His father, Hendrick “Henke” Kelner, is Davidoff’s Master Blender, one of the most respected figures in the cigar industry. The younger Kelner built KBF as a small, artisanal operation focused on precision blending and boutique production runs. Casdagli has been KBF’s anchor client since 2013, when Jeremy Casdagli discovered the newly opened factory after his previous roller, Cuban master Carlos Valdez Mosquera, retired. The partnership has since produced four core Casdagli lines at KBF: the Traditional Line (2013), Club Mareva Line (2014), Basilica Line (2015), and Cabinet Selection (2016), along with limited editions like the Football Series.

The Dominican Monte Plata binder is one of the most distinctive elements of this cigar. The Kelner family grows tobacco on their own farm in the Monte Plata province, located east of Santo Domingo in a region not typically associated with premium cigar tobacco. The terroir of Monte Plata produces a leaf with characteristics that differ from the more commonly used Cibao Valley tobaccos, and the family farm’s private cultivation means the tobacco is exclusive to Kelner produced cigars. This proprietary binder gives the Football Series a flavor component that cannot be sourced or replicated by any other manufacturer.

Casdagli Cigars

Casdagli Cigars was founded in 1997 by Jeremy Casdagli, a British entrepreneur whose family has been involved in grain, tobacco, cotton, and horse breeding since the 1800s. The brand was originally known as Bespoke Cigars before being renamed Casdagli Cigars in 2018. From the beginning, Jeremy Casdagli’s vision has been to create European influenced cigars that emphasize elegance, complexity, and storytelling over brute strength. The Casdagli portfolio is produced across two factories: the Kelner Boutique Factory in the Dominican Republic and Tabacos de Costa Rica in Costa Rica. Each line tells a story, from the Daughters of the Wind to the Brothers of the Sabre to the Villa Casdagli line. The Football Series continues this tradition by connecting cigar culture to the passion and heritage of European football.

The four nation filler blend

The Football Series filler blend is unusually international for a Dominican made cigar. Most KBF produced Casdagli cigars use Dominican and occasionally Nicaraguan fillers. The inclusion of both BVS African tobacco and USA Broadleaf alongside the Dominican Criollo 98 and Corojo creates a four nation blend (Dominican Republic, Africa, USA, and Ecuador via the wrapper) that brings together tobacco traditions from three continents.

The BVS African tobacco is the most unusual component. African grown tobacco is rare in premium cigars, most commonly encountered as Cameroon wrapper leaf. Using African tobacco in the filler position is a blending choice that very few cigar makers attempt, and it delivers a floral, aromatic, and subtly spicy quality that reads as exotic and unfamiliar alongside the more conventional Dominican and American tobaccos. The USA Broadleaf in the filler is equally interesting: Broadleaf is overwhelmingly used as a wrapper leaf, and placing it in the filler brings its dark, cocoa rich, fermented sweetness into the core of the blend rather than on the surface. The combination of these two unconventional filler choices with the more traditional Dominican Criollo 98 and Corojo creates a cigar that tastes like nothing else in the Casdagli lineup.

Smoking experience

The Ecuadorian Light Habano wrapper is golden brown with a smooth, silky texture, minimal veins, and a refined appearance that reflects Casdagli’s commitment to aesthetic elegance. The pre light aroma presents cedar, light floral notes, mild spice, and a faint sweetness from the wrapper. The cold draw brings cream, cedar, mild pepper, and a subtle nuttiness.

The opening puffs deliver the Ecuadorian Light Habano’s signature creaminess and cedar, with the Dominican Criollo 98 and Corojo fillers providing an immediate but measured pepper and spice. The BVS African tobacco’s floral and aromatic qualities emerge early, adding an exotic top note that distinguishes the Football Series from conventional Dominican blends. The USA Broadleaf contributes a dark sweetness and cocoa undertone from the filler position. With over a year of aging, the blend is well married, with smooth transitions and no rough edges. The Monte Plata binder adds a proprietary depth underneath the wrapper that grounds the more exotic filler components.

As the cigar progresses, the Broadleaf’s earthy sweetness and the African tobacco’s floral spice build against the Criollo 98 and Corojo backbone. Leather, earth, and dark chocolate emerge as the cigar warms and the fuller bodied fillers assert themselves. The Ecuadorian Light Habano wrapper continues to contribute cream and cedar throughout, keeping the blend balanced and preventing any single filler component from overwhelming the profile. The over one year aging period produces a rounded, integrated finish with a lingering sweetness and spice on the palate.

First Half and Second Half

The First Half and Second Half share the same blend, the same factory, the same aging, and the same 800 unit production count. Together they represent a total production of just 1,600 cigars worldwide across the complete Football Series. The two releases are designed as companion pieces, and collectors who secured the First Half will want to pair it with the Second Half to complete the narrative.

Pairings

The Football Series’ Ecuadorian Light Habano wrapper and creamy, spiced, exotic filler blend pairs naturally with a café cortado, where the espresso’s intensity and the steamed milk’s creaminess mirror the cigar’s own balance between bold filler and elegant wrapper. A Belgian wheat beer matches the floral, citrus qualities contributed by the BVS African tobacco. For spirits, a cognac or aged armagnac draws out the Broadleaf’s dark sweetness and the Corojo’s peppery warmth, while a single malt scotch aged in sherry casks complements the cigar’s earthy, chocolatey depth. Port pairs with the dark fruit and cocoa qualities of the Broadleaf filler, and the sweetness of the wine echoes the Monte Plata binder’s proprietary character.

Summary

• Production: 800 cigars
• Region: Dominican Republic
• Strength: Medium (estimated)
• Binder: Dominican Monte Plata (Kelner family farm)
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Light Habano
• Filler: Dominican Criollo 98, BVS African, USA Broadleaf, Dominican Corojo

What is the Casdagli Second Half Football Series?

It is a limited edition cigar from Casdagli Cigars that completes the two part Football Series. It shares the same blend as the First Half: an Ecuadorian Light Habano wrapper, Dominican Monte Plata binder from the Kelner family’s private farm, and fillers from the Dominican Republic (Criollo 98 and Corojo), Africa (BVS), and the USA (Broadleaf). Only 800 cigars were produced, each aged over one year before release.

Is the Second Half the same blend as the First Half?

Yes. The wrapper, binder, filler, factory, aging, and production count are identical. The two releases are designed as companion limited editions that together complete the Football Series narrative. The combined worldwide production is just 1,600 cigars across both halves.

What makes the Football Series unique?

The four nation filler blend combines rare BVS African tobacco and USA Broadleaf (typically used as a wrapper) alongside Dominican Criollo 98 and Corojo. The Dominican Monte Plata binder is grown on the Kelner family’s own farm. At only 800 cigars per release, the Football Series is one of the smallest production runs Casdagli has ever produced.

What is BVS African tobacco?

BVS African tobacco is a rare inclusion in premium cigars. African grown tobacco is most commonly encountered as Cameroon wrapper leaf, and using it in the filler position delivers a floral, aromatic, and subtly spicy quality that reads as exotic alongside more conventional tobaccos.

Who makes Casdagli Cigars?

Casdagli Cigars was founded in 1997 by Jeremy Casdagli. The Football Series is produced at the Kelner Boutique Factory (KBF) in Santiago, Dominican Republic, founded in 2012 by Hendrik Kelner Jr., son of Hendrick “Henke” Kelner, Davidoff’s legendary Master Blender. Casdagli has been KBF’s anchor client since 2013.

What is the Monte Plata binder?

The Monte Plata binder is grown on the Kelner family’s private tobacco farm in the Monte Plata province, east of Santo Domingo. This proprietary tobacco is exclusive to Kelner produced cigars and delivers a terroir driven depth that differs from the more commonly used Cibao Valley tobaccos.

Do I need both the First Half and Second Half?

The two releases are designed as a matched pair that together tell the full story of a football match from kickoff to final whistle. Each cigar stands on its own as a complete smoking experience, but collectors seeking the full Football Series narrative will want both halves.

How many cigars were made?

800 cigars per half, totaling 1,600 cigars worldwide for the complete Football Series. Each cigar was aged over one year before release.