New Cuban Trinidad Premieres In Mexico City
The Cuban cigar brand, Trinidad, has occupied a special place in the hearts of Mexican cigar smokers. It was in Mexico in 1998 where the Trinidad Fundadores, a panetela-sized cigar, left the shadows known only to diplomats and celebrities visiting Cuba and was first presented for sale exclusively in Mexico. Last week, a new Trinidad size, the Villa, was also launched at a gala dinner for 200 people in Mexico City.
“Since 1998, passionate Mexican cigar lovers and aficionados have considered Trinidad part of our history and one of our favorite smokes,” said Pablo Velasco, the director general of Importadora y Exportadora de Puros y Tabacos S.A. (I.E.P.T.), the company that imports Cuban cigars into Mexico. “And today, 27 years later, we are here to open another chapter . . . in our heritage.”
The Villa measures 47 ring gauge by 6 5/8 inches long, a vitola known in Cuban cigar factories as a Julieta No. 3. In addition to the traditional Trinidad band, the cigar carries the Casa del Habano exclusivo band, which highlights that it will only be sold in Casas del Habano and Habanos Specialist cigar shops. It also has a foot band with the Villa name.
Each 12-count box of Villas will retail for 20,000 to 22,000 Mexican pesos, or between $100 to $110 per cigar. Although there was an official launch party, these cigars are not expected to appear on shelves in Mexico until January or February.
The gala dinner was held in the Jardín Lambú, a special-events space in Mexico City. The dinner included five courses: a panna cotta of blue cheese and pear; a corn soup flavored with vanilla and pistachios; a sorbet of nopal (Mexican cactus); a short rib roasted 72 hours with a coffee and cocoa sauce and a porcini risotto; and a crunchy hazelnut pastry with praline mousse and cardamon ice cream. Each course was matched with a wine and the dessert was accompanied by a Selección de Havana Club rum.
After each main course, the guests were given Trinidad cigars, starting with a Trinidad Reyes (petit corona), a Trinidad Vigía (short robusto), a Trinidad La Trova (large toro) and finally, the Trinidad Villa.
An auction of a box of 24 Trinidad Fundadores from 1998 and a box of the new Trinidad Villas raised 281,000 pesos, or approximately $15,000 at current exchange rates.
At the beginning of the dinner, Gabriel Estrada, a Habanos Man of the Year for Business in 2019 for his retail shops in Buenos Aires, Argentina, told the crowd of elegantly dressed men and women that Trinidad had remained one of Cuba’s secret jewels for over 23 years. But in 1992, the world came to learn of the mysterious cigar when Marvin R. Shanken, the editor and publisher of Cigar Aficionado, published a story titled, “Trinidad. The Best Kept Secret of Cuba.” Estrada went on to recite the words of Avellino Lara, one of Cuba’s greatest cigarmakers at the El Laguito factory: “It is the selection of the selection of the selection.” Estrada said that phrase captures the essence of Trinidad, of its exclusivity and refinement.
“So today, more than 50 years after it was created, Trinidad remains the most respected and intimate gem of Cuba,” Estrada said.
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