Habanos S.A. Announces Cigar Releases For 2016
Worldwide Cuban cigar distributor Habanos S.A. has announced the cigar releases scheduled for 2016 at this morning's Habanos Festival press conference. The showcase was undoubtedly Cohiba, as the festival is celebrating the iconic brand's 50th anniversary. To honor the milestone, Habanos will be creating three Cohiba cigar lines this year.
The first is a regular-production cigar called the Cohiba Medio Siglo. At 4 inches long by 52 ring gauge, this small robusto can be considered a cross between two Cohiba Siglo Series cigars, as it is rolled with the length of the Siglo I and the girth of the Siglo VI, though it's blended as part of the Siglo Series (Línea 1492). It will come packaged in slide-lid boxes of 25 or in three-packs of tubos.
The second Cohiba release will come in a commemorative humidor. Called the Cohiba Majestuoso 1966, this 5 7/8 inch by 58 ring cigar bears a secondary band emblazoned with the official 50th anniversary logo. Only 1,966 humidors are slated for production. Each humidor holds 20 cigars.
The third Cohiba release will certainly have the most fanfare. It marks the first time that Habanos has ever created a 60-ring-gauge cigar. Dubbed the Cohiba 50 Aniversario, this 7 inch by 60 Cohiba comes in a 50-count humidor. Only 50 of these humidors are being created. The cigar is affixed with black-and-gold, holographic, serialized bands created by Vrjidag Printing in the Netherlands as well as a foot band with a reproduction of the rarely seen original Cohiba logo.
Each numbered humidor is manufactured by Elie Bleu and is made with actual ligero tobacco leaves plated in 24-karat gold and set into the doors of the cabinet. The first of the 50 humidors is slated to appear on the auction block this Friday on the closing gala night of the festival. The remaining 49 humidors will be auctioned off in June to the Habanos distributors around the world. There is no official word on what the suggested retail price for these humidors will be, but one thing is for sure: They won't be cheap.
The three Edición Limitada cigars intended for 2016 are the Montecristo Dantes at 6 5/8 inches by 48 ring; Romeo y Julieta Capuletos, 6 by 53; and Trinidad Topes, 4 7/8 by 56. The Montecristo comes in wooden 10-count boxes, the Romeo y Julieta in 25-count dress boxes and the Trinidad in 12-count semi-boite nature boxes.
H. Upmann's Magnum series is getting a third cigar this year with the Magnum 54, a 4 3/4 by 54 vitola that will come in 10-count boxes, 25-count boxes or 3-packs (tubos). It's the first addition to the Magnum line since 2008 and a regular-production cigar.
Habanos has chosen the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2 as its Reserva selection for 2016. According to Habanos, this particular smoke is "one of the most outstanding examples of a Habana cigar."
Though not presented in as grandiose a fashion as Cohiba, Habanos is also celebrating 20 years of the Cuaba brand, a lesser-known line of cigars that consists of only figurados. This year, the brand is commemorated with the Cuaba 20 Aniversario, a 6 3/4 inch by 56 ring limited-edition figurado intended for La Casa del Habano franchises.
As is normal for the show, some of these new cigars will be ed out during the festival evening gala events. Read our editors' blogs to see how well they're smoking.
