Delayed Partagás Maduro Sizes Finally Debut In Greece
It’s been over a year since Habanos S.A. announced the new sizes of the Partagás Linea Maduro, but the dark Cuban cigars have finally made their official commercial debut.
The launch party took place last week in Athens, Greece, at the Glyfada Golf Club with a cocktail reception and full dinner. Habanos co-president Luis Sánchez-Harguindey and vice president Leopoldo Cintra González were present.
The cigars are extensions of the Partagás Linea Maduro No. 1, which first appeared in stores back in 2015. It measures 5 1/8 inches by 52 ring gauge. (In three ratings conducted in Cigar Aficionado and Cigar Insider, the cigar scored between 87 and 88 points.) Then, in 2018, Habanos gave an advanced preview of the new sizes at its annual Habanos Festival: the Maduro No. 2, a short pyramid measuring 4 3/4 by 55, and the Maduro No. 3, a straight-sided cigar of 5 3/4 by 50.
In Greek retail shops such as the La Casa del Habano in Athens the Maduro No.1 is set to retail for 18.60 euros ($20.77); the Maduro No. 2, 18.75 euros ($21); and the No. 3, 20.05 euros ($22.40).
It’s taken quite some time for those cigars to go from Festival to stores, but if you think you’ve come across the new sizes in your travels, it’s because you probably have. Although last week was the official commercial rollout, Habanos has been sporadically sending a few boxes to its regional distributors throughout the year. The distribution, however, has been sparse and scattered.
Germany’s Cuban cigar distributor 5th Avenue Products Trading GmbH, for example, told Cigar Aficionado that it received “very limited quantities some months ago,” of the new sizes, but had no idea when it would be receiving more.
There has been no official statement as to when the rest of the world will be receiving the new Partagás Linea Maduro sizes.
For a rating on the new cigars, see an upcoming issue of Cigar Insider.
[Updated May 22, 2019: Prices for cigars have been added.]
