Posted: Friday, April 25, 2003
By James Suckling
Cuba's Edición Limitadas keep rolling off the cigar benches of the Partagas and H. Upmann factories in Havana, and in a few weeks five new sizes will be available on the market.
According to sources at Habanos S.A., the global distribution entity for Cuban <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a>, the new vitolas will consist of the following. A brief description of each and its suggested retail price in Cuba for a box of 25 follows:
1. Romeo y Julieta Hermosos No. 1, super hermoso, 48 ring gauge by 6 1/2 inches long, $123.
2. Partagas Serie D No. 2, super robusto, 50 ring gauge by 6 1/8 inches, $139.
3. Hoyo de Monterrey Piramides, torpedo, 52 ring gauge by 6 1/8 inches, $114.
4. Cohiba Prominentes, double corona, 49 ring gauge by 7 1/2 inches, $418.
5. Montecristo "C", corona gorda, 46 ring gauge by 5 5/8 inches, $236.
The last two offerings will be packed in wooden cabinets, while the others will come in traditional cedar and paper boxes.
I can't wait to get my hands on these smokes! The limitada concept is one of the most exciting ideas to come out of Cuban cigar making for years. And the Edición Limitada 2003 should be exceptional smokes. I hope to try a number of them when I am in Havana in early May.
The program is still the same. The <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> are made in limited numbers in specific factories and with two-year-old wrapper from the top leaves of the tobacco plant, or the corona. The wrappers are not maduro, but colorado oscuro or oscuro, or dark brown to very dark brown. I have never had an official confirmation on the number of boxes made, but I have heard something like 10,000 boxes per cigar, which would be about one-third to one-fourth the annual production of a topend vitola such as the piramide (torpedo) or prominente, (double corona).
Here is a recap of what has been released so far in the limitada line, with my ratings:
First Release
In December 2000, the Cubans released four limitadas on the British market: the Romeo y Julieta Exhibición No. 2 (7 5/8 inches by 49 ring gauge, 90 points), Partagas Pirámide (6 1/8 by 52, 88), Montecristo Robusto (4 7/8 by 50, 92) and Hoyo de Monterrey Particulares (9 1/4 by 47). I never had the chance to try the latter. London cigar merchants said that a large percentage of the Monte "A-"sized smokes had damaged wrappers, so they were sent back to importer Hunters & Frankau and never sold.
Second Release
The second batch of limitadas was released last year, even though they included a cigar band that read Edición limitada 2001. They consisted of: Cohiba Pirámide (6 1/8 inches by 52, 90 points), Montecristo Double Corona (7 5/8 by 49, 90), Romeo y Julieta Robusto (4 7/8 by 50, 90), Partagas Serie D No. 3 (5 5/8 by 46, 95), and Hoyo de Monterrey Particulares (9 1/4 by 47, 92). The latter was re-released because of its limited availability on the market the first time around. I found a number difficult to draw, but when they drew correctly, they were of outstanding quality.
For me, the best smoke of all the limitadas has been the Partagas Serie D No. 3. I continue to score it 95 points. Maybe I simply like the vitola, which is basically the same size as the Punch Punch or a corona gorda. It has a fabulously refined and elegant character, yet provides rich and powerful flavor. I can't wait to see if one of the new limitadas can compare in quality.
Posted: Monday, February 10, 2003
By James Suckling
If there is a downturn in the demand for Cuban <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> in the market, then someone has forgotten to tell the management of the Partagas factory in Havana. Just a week ago, the fabrica was in full swing, producing hundreds of <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> every hour, with what appeared to be excellent tobacco, particularly the ligero, or the strongest yet smallest amount of leaf used for the blend of a smoke.
What stood out even more, however, was that a large number of the rollers in the factory were busy making figurados, or special shaped smokes, ranging from giant perfectos called diademas to the highly coveted and slightly shorter salomón. The gossip is that the latter will soon be a regular size of the Partagas label, although an official announcement on the size is still forthcoming. Regardless, the beefy perfecto is one of the most popular vitolas requested by aficionados on the island. Many of the independent rollers in the key Havana cigar shops seem to be spending most of their days rolling those <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a>.
Another vitola at the Partagas factory that stood out during my quick visit was a new, limited-production cigar called the Partagas Serie C No. 1 -- what might be considered a super hermoso No. 4, although I didn't catch the name the rollers were calling it in the gallery. If I am not mistaken, the size is very close to the legendary Por Larrañaga Magnum, which ceased production in the 1970s.
The Serie C is now arriving in the marketplace as the second volume of the Colección Habanos, the annual release from Cuba of limited-production <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> packaged in a box that resembles a book. The first edition last year was a Cuaba Salomon, which was packed 10 to the box. Unfortunately, unless you were German, the 300 boxes were nearly impossible to find, because the German market received almost the entire production, thanks to a harebrained distribution idea of selling them to the market that bid the highest price.
This year the distribution will be less speculative, and the 500 boxes of 20 <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> will be available in most Casas del Habanos, as well as other selected cigar shops around the world. The price of the smokes has not yet been disclosed.
Apparently, Partagas made many different series <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> just after the Second World War. According to an official press release from Habanos S.A., the global distribution company for Cuban <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a>, the series included A, B, C and D, with four sizes as a part of each letter. Unfortunately, what vitola fell under each letter was not mentioned. So far, the current Partagas Series now on the market include the Partagas Serie D. No. 4, the popular red-and-gold-labeled robusto, and the limited-production Edición Limitada 2001 Partagas Serie D No. 3, a corona gorda, like the Punch Punch and Epicure No. 1, among others. Both are super <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a>. I recently scored a new production of the Serie D No. 4 92 points and the Serie D No. 3 95 points. I am continuing to buy a box or two of the latter, when I can find the money.
The new Serie C No. 1 is only going to contribute to my financial decline. It is one hell of a smoke. It is gorgeously rich and spicy in aroma and flavor, full bodied with loads of character. Of course, it is still very young but the potential is very high indeed. I can't wait to smoke one in three or four years, when it should be even better. I scored it 93 points.
Officially, Habanos says that Cuban <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> held their own last year in the global marketplace, or around 120 million <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> shipped. Nonetheless, the sales of <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> in tourist shops on the island were way down, dropping to about 5 million sticks from a high a few years back of 11 million. This is why some shops dropped prices for <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> in November.
Regardless whether they sell or not, new limited-edition <a href="http://cubanmadecigars.com/">Cuban Cigars</a> such as the Serie C No. 1 are certainly of beautiful quality, and they will only get better in quality on retail shelves.