Stolen Throne Preakness 150 Limited Edition Cigar

As 2024 came to a close, Stolen Throne Cigars announced that it would be releasing a celebratory cigar in 2025, except it wasn’t for the company’s anniversary, founder Lee Marsh’s birthday, or anything like that. Rather, Stolen Throne would be celebrating the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes, the annual horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. The race is the second jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown, held two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks before the Belmont Stakes.

The cigar would be a 6 x 46 corona, with a blend made up of an Ecuadorian habano claro wrapper covering a Nicaraguan binder and filler. Production would be limited to 3,000 boxes of 10 cigars, a total run of 30,000 sticks, which were produced by the Rojas Cigar Factory in Nicaragua. Pricing was set at $14 per cigar and $140 per box.

“It’s an incredible honor to pay tribute to the Preakness and my hometown in a way that truly reflects my passion and craft,” said Marsh in a press release when the cigar was announced.

The Preakness 150 Limited Edition Cigar was to be sent to “select Baltimore and regional retailers” in the first quarter of 2025 ahead of the race, which happens on the third Saturday of May every year. That would be followed by a nationwide release a bit closer to the race, with the cigars shipping on April 30.

• Cigar Reviewed: Stolen Throne Preakness 150 Limited Edition Cigar
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Rojas Cigar Factory
• Wrapper: Ecuador
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Shape: Corona
• MSRP: $14 (Box of 10, $140)
• Release Date: April 30, 2025
• Number of Cigars Released: 3,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (30,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Seeing a corona land on my review list almost always puts a smile on my face, and the Stolen Throne Preakness 150 Limited Edition Cigar looks to be a well-rolled one at first glance. The color of the wrappers is even and consistent, the veins are small and fairly unobtrusive, the seams are flat, the heads look well-constructed and the partially covered feet are tidy. All three cigars feel just a bit lighter than average, not necessarily underfilled, but like they use lighter-weight tobacco. In checking the density of the cigars—they all have a bit of give, the third one almost concerningly so—I feel some fragility from the wrapper leaf, so much so that I back off from giving the cigars a more thorough inspection. The wrappers are all dry and feel like fragile parchment. As mentioned, the foot is partially covered, leaving a small opening to smell the filler tobacco. It’s a nutty offering at first, soft in the nostrils without much pepper. The draw is smooth, easy, and maybe a bit loose on the first cigar but great on the second and a touch firm on the third. Flavors are really mellow, reminding me a bit of dry pretzels, but specifically the finish of a handful of unsalted pretzels. There’s just the slightest bit of sweetness on the finish, at first a bit creamy but then turning into a sensation to which I can’t quite make a great comparison.

The Stolen Throne Preakness 150 Limited Edition Cigar starts off mellow, slightly creamy and with the nutty aroma I picked up from the cigars before lighting them. The body is a bit lighter than average, but the finish sticks around and keeps the flavor on my taste buds for several seconds after each puff. The first inch eventually begins to taste a bit like a latte, though light on the coffee aspect, and with the flavor drying my mouth like a cappuccino. A thread of creaminess emerges through the first third, even though I wouldn’t go so far as to call the cigar creamy, at least until the very end of this section. Dry almonds make appearances, both hitting my taste buds but also drying the inside portion of my lips with a unique specificity. Retrohales in the first third have consistently offered a clean, medium-intensity pepper backed by a touch of subtle creaminess and almond. The first third burns quite quickly, thanks to each puff advancing the burn line evenly up the cylinder, producing plenty of smoke along the way. Flavor is medium-plus, body is medium and strength is mild.

The second third of the Stolen Throne Preakness 150 Limited Edition Cigar starts with a bit more nuttiness, specifically almond, but really a mixture of the common dry nuts that don’t have the oiliiness of a peanut, for example. I really like where the profile is at; it might not be the most dynamic of profiles, but it offers a lot of familiar, enjoyable flavors, with impressive balance and a congruency between the flavors that is quite impressive. I’m not quite sure I want to call it complexity, but the flavors that the cigar offers work incredibly well together. There’s not much change happening for the bulk of this section, which is perfectly fine with me; the biggest thing is that I get a bit more nuttiness, but that’s about it. Retrohales see the most change, mellowing the pepper and bringing about more creaminess. The second third of the first cigar closes out by the smoke getting warm and thus a bit sharper and irritating. Thankfully, the second and third cigars dodge the bulk of that sensation; not all of it, but enough so as not to detract from the experience. The burn line can get a bit off in this section, nothing drastic, but it’s noticeable after burning so well in the first third. It also seems like the ash gets a bit more durable, holding on a bit tighter than in the first third. Everything else remains very good: there’s plenty of smoke, combustion is solid and the draws are smooth. Flavor comes back towards medium, body sits around medium and strength is on the mild side of medium.

Slowing down my puffs as I enter the final third of the Stolen Throne Preakness 150 Limited Edition Cigar helps soften—but not eliminate—the impact of the heat and its related harshness, though again, it’s not present in all three cigars. Some creaminess comes out, thickening the body of the smoke and muting some of the nuttiness, while a mild black pepper joins in and gives the profile a bit heavier expression than it has had before. The final puffs keep the profile creamy and woody, with a bit of mixed nuts in the background, and maybe even some hay at times, while whatever pepper the cigar has become a very subtle accent. Flavor finishes medium-plus, body is medium-full and strength is back to mild. Construction remains very good and without any detracting issues while continuing to offer hearty amounts of smoke with each puff.

Final Notes

• While completely understanding that the band uses the official logo of the Preakness Stakes’ 150th Anniversary, I can’t quite decide if I like how it looks on the Stolen Throne Preakness 150 Limited Edition Cigar; on one hand, it’s classy, simple, and straightforward. On the other, it feels underwhelming for the 150th running of such a race.

• That said, I do like the design of the boxes, which puts the race’s logo front and center and have a very clean-looking design. Unfortunately, we don’t have a better picture of them.
• The Preakness Stakes isn’t the only horse race to have its own cigar, as Altadis U.S.A. has released cigars in partnership with the Kentucky Derby, this year celebrating the 150th and 151st anniversary of that race.
• Stolen Throne Cigars had the Preakness 150 on display at its 2025 PCA Convention & Trade Show booth, along with the Castle 919, a new regular production line that pays tribute to Lee Marsh’s address growing up in Baltimore.
• It was only in the second third that I felt any nicotine strength from the cigar, and even then, it was rather mild.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• The company lists these as a 6 x 46 corona. The numbers above are the measurements we found for the three cigars used for this review.
• Final smoking time was one hour and 35 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co. and Famous Smoke Shop carry the Stolen Throne Preakness 150 Limited Edition Cigar.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the G-League’s Valley Suns. I was previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League, and Goodyear Ballpark, spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I’m a voiceover artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.