Cigar News 2021!

Another year has come to pass that we’ve been denied the marvellous scenes of the Habanos Festival, but true to form that certainly hasn’t kept Habanos S.A. from hitting us with the good stuff. And the hits? Well they just keep on coming!
This year we’re looking forward to several brand new Cohiba vitolas, one of which will be part of this year’s stunning trifecta of Edicion Limitadas, our regularly scheduled Gran Reserva outing and an unexpected but welcome addition to Montecristo’s legendary Edmundo range!

Cohiba

Screaming straight out of the gates we have the first 2021 Edicion Limitada, which would be special enough in its own right, but the Cohiba 55 Aniversario is an especially monumental vitola. As I’m sure the multilingual (and even monolingual) among you will have gathered, the 55 Aniversario celebrates the landmark 55th anniversary of the foundation of Cohiba! Hitting such a landmark milestone calls for an extra special celebration, a call which the 55 Aniversario answers in tremendous fashion. Boasting a hefty 57 ring gauge and measuring just shy of 6” in length (57x150mm), this veritable leviathan of a stick has naturally received the full Edicion Limitada treatment, constructed from only the finest tobaccos possible and aged for a minimum of two years. Presented in Boîte Nature boxes of 10, these vitolas are sure to be highly sought after by Cohiba fans and collectors alike!

The celebrations are far from concluded with the 55 Aniversario, however, as Habanos S.A. are truly spoiling us with another entry to their Colección Habanos, the most prestigious brand of all Habanos. Volumen XVIII - Serie B of Colección Habanos brings us the frighteningly monolithic Cohiba Ideales, clocking in at a ring gauge of 56 and a length of nearly 7 inches (56x175mm). These long-rumoured sticks will continue the tradition of Colección Habanos outings and be released in a box (of 20) styled after a book, in this instance designed by DECUBA Arte en Madera of Havana.

Bringing the celebrations down to a slightly less febrile yet still highly exciting level is the announcement of the first addition to Cohiba’s standard production line in over a decade: the Cohiba Ambar! The Ambar weighs in with a ring gauge of 53 and length of 5 ¼” (53x132mm) topped off beautifully with a pigtail cap, much like its compatriots noted above. Arriving in Boîte Nature boxes of 10, these will be far more readily available than the aforementioned special releases, but ardent Cohiba devotees would be well advised to stock up with much rapidity, as we foresee quite the figurative gold rush looming ahead in the near future!

Hoyo De Monterrey

Returning to the Edicion Limitada fray for the first time since 2013’s Grand Epicure, connoisseur favourites Hoyo De Monterrey are swinging for the fences with their Monterreyes No. 4, an unusually hefty vitola for the brand, fitting in just dandily alongside Serie Le Hoyo vitolas introduced over the last decade. With a whopping ring gauge of 55 and a not inconsiderable length of 5.7” (55x145mm), the Monterreyes No. 4 bears all the hallmarks of modern smokers’ size preferences but encapsulated gloriously in the brand’s delectable signature light-to-medium strength blend of magnificence!

Bolivar

The final release of this year’s schedule of Edicion Limitadas is no slouch by any means, but could perhaps cause a little confusion among veteran cigar aficionados. Not to be conflated with the Bolivar Regentes from days of yore, this year’s Bolivar Regentes EL2021 is longer and far chunkier than it’s namesake, and of course as with all Edicion Limitada releases features only the finest tobaccos from Vuelta Abajo, aged for a minimum of two years. It is worth noting that the Regentes is the only Edicion Limitada in this year’s triumvirate of excellence that will be released in boxes of 25!

Partagas

It’s getting more fun every year trying to anticipate which vitola will enter the hallowed halls of Gran Reserva Cosecha fame. This year’s release is a particularly exciting prospect, so without further ado we’re delighted to introduce you to the Gran Reserva de Partagas Serie E No. 2 Cosecha 2015! A one-off release from Partagas featuring tobaccos aged for a minimum of 5 years, the Gran Reserva de Partagas Serie E No. 2 Cosecha 2015 is an indomitable goliath of a stick, brimming over with immense strength, character and most importantly for a Gran Reserva release, poise. Extremely limited in production, these sticks are guaranteed to become a living legend in their own right, with only 5000 numbered boxes of 15 being produced for global sale. Blink and you’ll miss ‘em!

Montecristo

Rounding out this year’s invigorating roster of new releases is the Montecristo Wide Edmundo! A somewhat surprising but not entirely unexpected announcement, after all, cigar lovers have been gradually gravitating towards much chunkier vitolas in recent years, with cigars like the Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill becoming the poster children for what can be achieved with a hefty ring gauge, and now the Wide Edmundo (53x125mm) is here to offer a very similar experience to devotees of the iconic Montecristo blend. What a time to be alive!