Cuban Quai D’Orsay Especial D’Orsay Coming To Switzerland
Two years ago, during the 2024 Habanos Festival in Cuba, Habanos introduced the Quai d’Orsay Especial d’Orsay at a premiere party and formal dinner. The cigar celebrated 50 years of Quai d’Orsay, which launched in 1974 as a product made primarily for the French market. Now, nearly two years later, the cigar is starting to slowly appear in markets around the world. Starting January 20, La Casa del Habano shops in Switzerland will be selling the delayed cigar. A week later, you’ll be able to find them in Habanos Specialist shops around the country.
The Especial d’Orsay measures 6 inches long by 53 ring gauge (known as Sobresalientes in Cuban cigar factories) and will be offered in both 20-count boxes as well as gift boxes of five. The five-count boxes are set to retail for 275 Swiss francs (about $345) or 55 Swiss francs per smoke, which is approximately $69 apiece.
The history of the brand is an interesting story of reinvention. Quai d’Orsay was a Regional Edition cigar before the term or the official program existed. It started in 1974 as a Cuban cigar brand made especially for France. Like foie gras and Champagne, these cigars were intended to be emblematic of French taste and style as well as Parisian luxury lifestyle. The cigar was named after the street in Paris located on the edge of Seine. At the time, Cuban cigar distributor SEITA was also located on that same avenue. (Today, Cuban cigars in France are distributed by Coprova.) These smokes were light in body and sold mostly in France and Switzerland.
Over time, most of the original sizes were discontinued, and at one point, the brand was reduced to only one regular-production cigar—the Corona Claro. Save for the single size and a few Regional Edition releases, Quai d’Orsay seemed a forgotten nonentity destined for extinction. But in 2017, the brand was revived. Not only were new, thick sizes introduced for modern tastes, but the packaging was completely redesigned. More importantly, the brand went global, and is now available in markets around the world.
One thing that remained the same was the cigar’s body. It’s still characterized by Habanos as suave or “light”—a reflection of France’s preference for elegance over power and another lighter option for cigar enthusiasts.
Only the five-count gift sets will be available this month. The larger 20-count boxes are going to go on sale later this year, though no exact release date has been set.
For a blind tasting of the Quai d’Orsay Especial d’Orsay, see a future issue of Cigar Insider.
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