Habanos Brings Back Vintage Cigars, Creates New Size
Habanos S.A., the global distributor of Cuban cigars, has looked to antiquity for inspiration this year and resurrected two vintage double figurado sizes, in addition to creating an entirely new shape for the cigar market.
Volume 8 of the Habanos Collection is dedicated to Cohiba. The book-shaped wooden case contains 20 Cohiba Sublimes Extras, an uncommonly large, unique size rolled especially for this release. At 7 1/4 inches by 54 ring gauge, the Sublimes Extra falls somewhere between the 6 1/2 by 54 ring Cohiba Sublimes Edición Limitada of 2004 and the 7 1/2 by 52 ring Cohiba Behike. Either way, the Sublimes Extra is a thick cigar in keeping with the large ring gauges of previous Habanos Collections.
For its Antique Humidor release, Habanos brought back the Romeo y Julieta Romeo (pictured), a 6 3/8 by 52 ring double figurado tapered at both ends. The size was discontinued in the 1970s but temporarily revived for the 125th Anniversary commemorative humidor created in 2000. This year's Antique Humidor was crafted out of cedar and mahogany by Cuban goldsmith Ernesto Aguilera, who also created the Antique Humidors of 2006 and 2007. Each Antique Humidor holds 50 cigars.
In conjunction with its authorized La Casa del Habano franchise cigar shops, Habanos will ship a special size made exclusively for these stores. The Partagas Salomones is another double-tapered figurado; it measures 7 1/4 by 57 and comes in boxes of 10. Like previous La Casa del Habano promotions, each Partagas Salomones cigar will have a secondary sienna-colored band sporting the franchise's logo in gold. The band also appears affixed diagonally in the upper right-hand corner of the box just under the Habanos S.A. banner.
Prices for the special-edition humidors and the Partagas Salomones will vary from country to country depending on local currencies and taxes. To learn more about these new releases, see the current issue of Cigar Insider.
