Montecristo 80th Anniversary Cigar Features Rare Dominican Tobaccos
The iconic Montecristo brand turns 80 this year and Altadis U.S.A is celebrating the occasion with the Montecristo 80th Anniversary cigar. It's a 6 inch by 54 ring gauge, square-pressed cigar composed of rare Dominican tobaccos.
Made in the Dominican Republic at the large Tabacalera de Garcia factory, the cigar is rolled with an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper and a Dominican Olor binder that Altadis said is from a 2010 crop harvested from the Villa Gonzalez farm. It was chosen for its sweet, floral qualities.
The most unusual tobacco, however, is a varietal that Altadis calls Pilotico. The seeds were planted in the Domincan Republic's Navarette region and although Pilotico grows with small leaves and a low agricultural yield, Altadis found the tobacco unique enough to merit a planting. This filler tobacco was cultivated specifically for the 80th Anniversary cigar. The blend is bolstered by stronger Nicaraguan Criollo '98 and Corojo '99 tobacco.
Montecristo 80th Anniversary cigars retail for $22 each and come in black, stained-oak boxes of 12 emblazoned with a fleur-de-lis. Only 3,000 of these 12-count boxes have been produced. Altadis has also produced 50 limited-edition humidors that contain 80 Montecristo 80th cigars. The humidors are constructed with the same black-and-silver motif. They launched in July at the IPCPR trade show.
