New Trinidad Launches In London
More than 400 people from all over the globe converged on London this weekend. They were there to not only attend the first-ever Habanos World Days held in person, but for the official release of the Trinidad Cabildos, one of three Cuban Edición Limitada cigars slated for 2024.
Habanos World Days started in 2021 as a virtual replacement for the Habanos Festival, which was canceled due to the pandemic. Now, Habanos World Days has become its own event. It can be seen as a mini Habanos Festival of sorts, as the similarities are undeniable—gala evenings, the passing out of new products, humidor auctions and even distinct themes. This weekend, the theme was the 55th anniversary of the Trinidad brand, a continuation of the celebration that started earlier this year at the Habanos Festival.
Habanos World Days was held at the Victoria & Albert Museum, a venue chosen to “honor the rich heritage and excellence of the prestigious Trinidad brand on its 55th Anniversary,” says Habanos. Orchestrated in conjunction with U.K. Habanos distributor Hunters & Frankau Ltd., the evening began outside in the John Madjeski Garden where Champagne and cocktails were poured alongside Trinidad Vigías, short robustos passed out upon entry.
Eventually, everyone got the chance to sample the Trinidad Cabildos, which measures 6 3/8 inches long by 46 ring gauge and is now officially released in the United Kingdom. While there’s no word as to when the rest of the world will receive its respective allotments, U.K. retailers are already selling Premier five-packs of the Cabildos, which are regionally exclusive to U.K. shops and have a suggested retail price of £795 (about $1,000). Only 10,000 of these boxes are being released. (These special packs are similar to those released in Cyprus by Phoenicia Trading A.A. for the Cohiba 55 Aniversario Edición Limitada 2021.) For the rest of the world, the cigars will come in 12-count boxes.
Later in the night, an auction of five humidors commenced, each with a Trinidad theme. Lots included an S.T. Dupont vertical trunk holding 550 Trinidad cigars; a double-door Trinidad cabinet from Italian producer DeART S.r.l. (204 cigars); and a console humidor, also by DeART, holding 110 cigars. The highlight, however, was the Trinidad Aniversario Fundadores Vintage 10, a horizontal trunk from S.T. Dupont containing 55 Trinidad Fundadores each with 10 years of age. It’s part of Habanos’ new Vintage program, and this colorful trunk commanded the most money, selling for 2.5 million euros (about $2.7 million).
Habanos says the auction raised 5.2 million euros, which works out to around $5.5 million. Like the auctions at the Habanos Festivals, Habanos says the money raised is earmarked to benefit Cuba’s public healthcare system.
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