Ajay Patel from the Casa del Habanos in Teddington is well known for his aged cigars and had two of
the 40th Anniversary humidors in his collection when I first visited him a few years ago. So what would
be his specification? “The vitola would be a Maravillas size 55 by 7.2”. With the Behike blend with a twist
of Grand Reserva. All in a humidor with 50 cigars. This has to be a large cigar to make it stand out for
the 50th anniversary”.
The Gran Corona size was suggested by Dean
Pullen who runs the online UK Cigar Forum, he’s
had more than enough of the race for larger and
larger ring gauges and wants a return to this epic
size made famous by the Montecristo A.
Flying Cigar Blogger Nino Munoz responded that
his ideal cigar would be a Monte A sized Cohiba
(47 ring gauge x 9¼), like the one in the 35th
Anniversary humidor, but with the addition of the
medio tiempo leaf.
We also had to ask Dale from the UK Cigar Forum
as he has posted there under the name ‘Cohiba
IV’ for many years. His suggestion was extremely
original. He wants a Cohiba Ninifas (7” and 33 ring
gauge) with the same blend that is used for the
Maduro Secretos. We would like to see that but
have to say it’s a real long shot.
Amir Saarony (author of Partagas El Libro, the
history of the Partagas brand) has suggested that
he would prefer something traditional like a
Laguito No. 2 (6” by 38 ring gauge) or possibly, and
just to be different, a vitola 7.5" by 43 ring gauge (a
little longer Dalia). For presentation he would like
a humidor of 100 cigars
Stephan von Schilling, London based connoisseur
of cigars and whisky has his own original take
suggesting a Cohiba Diadema (double figurado)
with a Linea Classica blend. (Certainly a cigar I
would smoke, Ed) To be presented in an elegant 50
count cedar box humidor with understated design
and the original logo.
One source, close to the UK Importers, specified a
Cohiba Salomon or even a Diadema, but certainly
a large double figurado.
Laurence Davis, Owner of Sautter, wants extra
large cabinets of dark oily Sublime Extra’s, a cigar
we know he and his customers are extremely fond
of.
I asked the view of Rob Fox Managing Director
of James J Fox and he suggested that a 50th
anniversary celebration cigar should a variant of
the Lancero as this was the cigar released in 1964.
So a Gran Reserva Lancero, the classic Laguito
No 1 size, harking back to the origins of the brand
as Fidel Castro’s personal cigars, in a beautiful,
classic humidor. We would love to think that he
could be right.
Speculation and commercial considerations
suggest that the market is likely to want
something trendy and substantial for their
premium investment. Possibly something
enormous like a 56 or 58 ring gauge by 9" long.
Presented in an amazing 50 count humidor which
is likely to be snapped up by cany collectors
and investors in the knowledge that the 40th
anniversary humidors which originally retailed
via Casa del Habanos for €15,000 are now worth
over £180,000 (retail) ten years later.
Experience tells me that despite being sworn to
secrecy at the Marketing meeting, we are likely to
hear about the cigars by the end of June, so keep
your ears to the ground (or much more likely to
social media and the blogs) and we will discover
which of our Cohiba lovers got their wish.
We decided to ask a few i nternational experts
their view to spread the net. Jimmy Ng from
Singapore would like a Faboloso No 6, A giant
perfecto similar to the long discontinued Partagas
Fabuloso. So around 9½” long and a 50 ring gauge.
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