Lure Cigars has built its identity on two things since launching in 2023: the late Lou Cross Jr. and his love of fishing. His son, Lou Cross III, started the company after his father’s death, and the brand’s newest release goes back to a cigar Cross Jr. also loved.
The Codfather comes from a blend Cross Jr. commissioned for his 90th birthday. Those original cigars were a smaller figurado, and delays meant they didn’t arrive in time for the celebration. Friends and family smoked them at his funeral instead.
The new version is a 6 1/2 x 54 double toro made at La Tabacaria Cigars in Nicaragua. It pairs an Ecuadorian Connecticut seed wrapper with a Nicaraguan binder and a filler of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos. Lure calls the blend mild to medium in body, with flavors of heavy cream, cedar, nuts, vanilla, and white pepper.
Cross says the positive reaction to those funeral cigars helped him see there was a brand to build, one centered on sharing time with friends and family over cigars and fishing. He sums up the company’s spirit with its slogan, “Smoke Great Cigars & Tell Tall Tales!”
Production is limited to 4,000 cigars, priced at $16 each. They come in bundles of 10 wrapped in white paper, for $160 per bundle. Shipping to retailers is expected to begin Wednesday, October 21, 2026. Valacari Cigars distributes Lure.
Source: halfwheel, “Lure Recreates The Codfather.”