The rate at which new Cuban cigars arrive to the market in the past few years has become the source of equal parts amusement and frustration for the cigar community. Allowances are, of course, made for the issues all industries have faced from 2020 to now – manufacture has slowed everywhere, and shipping has been first halted, then delayed, in all nations – but not all of the blame for slow arrivals and announcements not followed up on can be laid on global health restrictions. The problems began building long before the world entered its temporary shutdown.
Cigars becoming available long after the intended delivery date is generally laughed off in lounges. Reports come through of the latest Limited Editions before those of the year before (or 2 years before) have been smoked; anniversaries are marked by special humidors which arrive closer to the next 5-year milestone than the one the celebrate. More than three years after its arrival in Spain, how many of us have smoked a Cohiba Novedosos?
The recently-arrived La Gloria Cubana Glorias
These delays damage the credibility of announcements. It’s extremely difficult to become excited about a new arrival when you know it will likely be three years between hearing about it and tasting it. Other factors must be considered, such as the environmental conditions which have affected Cuba and therefore the availability of enough top-grade-tobacco, but there must be some responsibility taken by the powers-that-be who approve the release lists. Simply put: if you can’t make it, don’t offer it. Many, if not most, smokers would far prefer half the number of announcements each year, if those promised new cigars actually began to arrive.
Happily, the past few weeks have seen a little burst of activity on the Cuban cigar scene. Events have been held in some of Europe’s major cities to allow smokers to finally taste new release cigars which have been keenly-awaited for quite some time, and retailers in those countries offered a supply of boxes to sell (although in what volume remains to be seen) to sell to their patient customers.
A new travel-exclusive humidor
Quai d’Orsay Imperiales Travel Retail Humidor
A gala dinner was held in Cannes, as part of the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference, to reveal to the world the latest exclusive Habanos humidor for duty-free shoppers. Displayed alongside the previous releases – Trinidad Robustos and Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchills – was a beautiful golden humidor containing twenty Quai d’Orsay Imperiales. The Imperiales was previously a staple in the Quai d’Orsay vitolario before being discontinued during the brand’s revamp in 2017. The 47 ring gauge by 7 inch Churchill vitola is impressive; it’s also the exact same sized used for the Clemenceau – their Regional Edition for France in 2020 (arrived late 2021, naturally). These should hopefully be popping up in airport duty-free stores in the coming weeks.
A new La Casa del Habano Edition - La Gloria Cubana Glorias
La Gloria Cubana Glorias La Casa del Habano Edition
The Autoworld Museum in Brussels was the venue for a spectacular night of live music and fine dining in honour of the latest LCDH exclusive edition. Guests were treated to classics from the brand’s past history, including a Regional Edition made for Ditch market in 2016, and given the first opportunity to taste the new vitola. The Glorias – the third time this name has been used by La Gloria Cubana, always for different sizes – measures 49 ring gauge by 6⅛ inches, carrying on the trend for the commemorative sticks to be substantial in size. The ten LCDH stores in the Benelux region will have a short period of sales before these boxes of 20 begin to make their way to other locations.
As well as these two grand evenings, a recent event in Madrid saw the first Montecristo Wide Edmundos lit up by Spanish smokers (announced at Habanos World Days 2021) and Quai d’Orsay will debut their No. 52 at a dinner in Paris on October 20th. Also released this month was the UK Regional Edition to mark the 230th anniversary of Hunters & Frankau – that anniversary passed in 2020, and the cigars are currently available only as part of a humidor retailing at £32,000.
While these new cigars are all welcome, and will no doubt be wonderful sticks to enjoy, they are all seriously late. The length of the delay in their arrival means that substantial amounts of scorn are being poured on any new announcements made this year 2021’s Cohiba 55 Aniversario is now arriving at a slow trickle; the Hoyo de Monterrey Monterreyes No. 4 and Bolivar Regentes are nowhere to be seen. The prospect of anyone smoking one of the three 2022 Limited Editions seems remote.
The frustration felt at these delays does not come from a lack of cigars, but from the unfulfilled promise. There are plenty of good cigars in the Habanos portfolio for us to enjoy, and most aficionados would be happy puffing away on the existing vitolas. The disappoint derives from the excitement of hearing that your favourite brand is about to offer you something new, building up the suspense in your mind, and then being left disappointed and frustrated when more “new release” announcements come years before the cigars we have already been waiting for. The situation as it stands runs the risk of Habanos SA losing all credibility with their followers around the world.
Rather than lots of tales of cigars which may or may not ever arrive, let’s have just a couple of new cigars each year which actually turn up in decent quantity. If tobacco and labour are in short supply because of climate and health emergencies, offer us one Limitada for 2023 that actually arrives in 2023, instead of 3 which arrive after 2030. I’d much prefer one new cigar in my hand this evening than five in my dreams tonight.