CAO Flathead American Muscle and LFD Chapter III Headline the Newest 2026 TAA Exclusives

The Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA) is wrapping up its 2026 meeting at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic this week, and the two newest exclusives might be the most interesting of the bunch. CAO is mashing two of its best-known lines into one cigar, and La Flor Dominicana is finally writing a third chapter in a series that’s been quiet for 12 years.

On Monday we covered the TAA exclusives already shipping, including Fuente’s Black Pink, Casa Carrillo and Brick House. Today is about what comes next: the two latest announcements, plus a quick guide to the rest of this year’s field so you know what to ask your TAA shop about.

CAO Flathead American Muscle

Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) announced on October 26 that its 2026 TAA release is the CAO Flathead American Muscle. The idea is simple. Take the CAO America blend and its striped barberpole wrapper, then press it into the chunky, box-pressed shape of a Flathead.

According to halfwheel and Cigar Aficionado, here’s what’s inside:

• Size: 6 x 60, box-pressed
• Wrapper: Connecticut broadleaf and Connecticut shade, wound together barberpole style
• Binder: Brazil
• Filler: Dominican Republic, Italy, Nicaragua and the U.S.
• Factory: STG Estelí, Nicaragua
• Packaging: boxes of 12
• Price: $12.99 per cigar ($155.88 per box, per halfwheel)
• Production: limited to 48,000 cigars, per halfwheel

There’s a nice bit of history here. Cigar Aficionado notes that CAO America debuted at the TAA trade show nearly 20 years ago, and Flathead arrived in 2013 with its hot-rod theme. halfwheel points out that CAO already makes a round 6 x 60 America called the Landmark, so you can think of this one as a box-pressed Landmark.

“CAO’s Flathead and America cigars have always shared a certain attitude,” CAO brand manager Cory Beardsley said in the company’s press release, as quoted by halfwheel. “It feels familiar to fans of both lines, but also owns a lane of its own.”

As for timing, halfwheel lists the release date as October 29, while Cigar Aficionado, Cigar Dojo and the Premium Cigar Association all say it ships to TAA retailers in November. Our read: it’s unveiled this week, and you’ll see it on shelves next month.

La Flor Dominicana Chapter III

LFD fans have been waiting a while for this one. Chapter One came out in 2013 and Capitulo II followed in 2014. On October 27, La Flor Dominicana announced Chapter III as its 2026 TAA exclusive, halfwheel reports.

Like the first two, it uses LFD’s signature Chisel, a box-pressed torpedo whose head is flattened into two angled slopes instead of the usual cone. What’s changed is the wrapper. Chapter One used a Brazilian wrapper and Capitulo II used a Nicaraguan one. Chapter III goes with Mexican San Andrés over binder and filler from the company’s own farm in La Canela, Dominican Republic.

• Vitola: Chisel, 58 ring gauge, box-pressed
• Packaging: boxes of 10
• Price: $20 per cigar ($200 per box)
• Production: 3,000 boxes (30,000 cigars) offered to TAA retailers
• Exclusivity: one year for TAA accounts

Here’s the part collectors should pay attention to. Litto Gomez Jr. told halfwheel that the TAA gets Chapter III exclusively for one year, which signals there will eventually be more than those first 3,000 boxes. He also said the company hopes to have it on shelves in December. So if you miss the first round, it may come back.

If San Andrés wrappers and La Canela tobacco are your thing, our look at LFD’s Andalusian Bull is a good refresher on what that farm can do.

The Rest of the 2026 TAA Field

halfwheel counts 10 companies with 2026 TAA Exclusive Series releases. Here’s a quick guide to the ones we haven’t covered yet, all per halfwheel:

• Espinosa La Bomba Warhead TAA 2026: 6 x 55 box-pressed toro, Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and filler, made at San Lotano in Ocotal. 1,250 boxes of 10 at $16 per cigar.
• Joya de Nicaragua Cuatro Cinco Edición Americana: back after a two-year break. A 6 x 54 box-pressed belicoso with a Jalapa criollo wrapper and some filler aged in rum barrels. 500 boxes of 10 at $16.50, scheduled for November 2.
• Rocky Patel Matrix: 6 x 50 toro with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Jamastrán Valley filler. 750 boxes of 20 at $14. No ship date yet.
• Kristoff TAA 2026 Exclusive: 6 x 52 toro, Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper, made in the Dominican Republic. 500 boxes of 20 at $15.
• Villiger TAA Exclusive 2026: back after a year off and made at Villiger’s own Nicaraguan factory. A 6 x 52 box-pressed toro with an Ecuadorian habano rosado wrapper. 500 boxes of 10 at $13, due in early November.
• Gurkha TAA 2026: 6 1/2 x 54 toro extra with a dark habano wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler. $13 per cigar in 10-count boxes that double as humidors, shipping in early November.

And if you missed Monday’s post, J.C. Newman’s Brick House Beginnings Ciento por Ciento is already shipping at $12, as Cigar Snob also reported this week. Casa Carrillo’s entry is out too, fresh off its Battleborn Heroes Veterans Day release.

The Cigar Guys Take

Box presses are everywhere this year. CAO, LFD, Espinosa, Joya and Villiger all went pressed, and seven of the eight cigars above are 52 ring gauge or bigger. If you like a big, flat cigar in your hand, this is your year.

The Flathead American Muscle is the easy pick for value. $12.99 is the second-lowest price on this list, behind only the $12 Brick House, and 48,000 cigars means you have a real shot at finding one. Chapter III is the collector’s pick. At $20 it’s the priciest cigar on this list, but it’s also the first new Chisel chapter in over a decade, and San Andrés is a new direction for the series.

Aged and limited releases have been the story of the fall, as we wrote in our aged-tobacco roundup. Want the bigger picture? Our 2026 new releases guide covers the rest of the year. Call your local TAA shop, ask what they ordered at Casa de Campo and tell us which one you’re hunting first.

Sources: halfwheel: CAO America, Flathead Come Together for New TAA Exclusive · Cigar Aficionado: CAO Flathead American Muscle Coming Next Month · Cigar Dojo: CAO Merges Flathead and America Blends · Premium Cigar Association: CAO Flathead American Muscle TAA Exclusive Debuts · CigarMind: CAO’s TAA Exclusive Is a Barberpole Muscle Car · halfwheel: La Flor Dominicana Chapter III Announced as TAA Exclusive · halfwheel: Espinosa, Joya de Nicaragua, Rocky Patel, Kristoff, Villiger and Gurkha TAA 2026 announcements · Cigar Snob: J.C. Newman Introduces Brick House Beginnings Ciento por Ciento