A Cuban Montecristo For Year Of The Dragon
One of Cuba’s most iconic cigar brands is representing the Year of the Dragon. With its decorative glossy boxes and fantastic dragon motif, the Montecristo Brillantes debuted with fanfare last week during a premiere party held at the Murray Hotel in Hong Kong.
It’s unusual to see a Montecristo in red packaging, as brown and yellow have always been its signature colors, but scarlet and gold play perfectly into the theme of Chinese Lunar New Year, and the box is designed to denote exclusivity.
Referred to as Venerables in Cuban cigar factories, the Montecristo Brillantes measures 5 inches by 53 ring gauge and comes in 18-count boxes. Each cigar is finished with a footband to remind us that this release celebrates the Chinese zodiac. Every Brillantes box is NFC-enabled, just like last year’s Cohiba Siglo de Oro, which commemorated the Year of the Rabbit. The chip was installed for authenticity verification as well as an interactive means to provide information about the product. It’s the work of HumidifGroup, a Spanish company that specializes in high-gloss, piano-finish boxes for the cigar industry.
There’s no word on price yet, nor is there any indication as to when other global markets will receive their respective allocations, but these limited editions are intended to be distributed around the world.
The Montecristo Brillantes marks the fifth time that Cuba has joined the Lunar New Year Celebration. Habanos S.A. also released the H. Upmann Magnum 52 for Year of the Tiger; the Hoyo de Monterrey Primaveras for Year of the Ox; and the Romeo y Julieta Maravillas 8 for Year of the Rat.
