New Cuban Regional Edition Hits Havana

New Cuban Regional Edition Hits Havana

David Savona

Posted: June 24, 2013



The newest regional-edition cigar from Cuba has touched down in Havana,

and the shops that received it are reporting that sales have been brisk.



The El Rey del Mundo Infantes Regional Edition, a robusto-sized cigar

made specifically for sale in Cuba's cigar shops, began appearing last

week in Havana in some Casa del Habano stores.



"We sold out already," said a representative of the La Casa del Habano

at the Partagás Cigar Factory this morning. More cigars are expected to

arrive.



As with other standard Cuban robustos (such as the Cohiba Robusto,

Partagás Serie D No. 4 or Bolivar Royal Corona) the El Rey del Mundo

Infante measures 4 7/8 inches by 50 ring gauge. Packed in boxes of 10,

Infantes retail for 59 Cuban convertible pesos (CUCs) per box, or 5.90

CUC per cigar. (While the Cuban government pegs the CUC at an equal rate

to the U.S. dollar, travelers exchanging dollars for pesos are charged a

10 percent transaction fee in Cuba, effectively raising the price of

these cigars to $6.50, or $65 a box.)



El Rey del Mundo Infante is only the second regional-edition cigar made

for the Cuban market.



The Spanish word infante translates directly to "infant" in English, but

the word has greater meaning. It is used to describe a male descendant

of a king who is not in line to ascend to the throne, so an infante is a

younger brother of a prince.



This is only the second regional-edition cigar made for the Cuban

market. The first, the La Gloria Cubana Delicioso, went on sale in

Havana in 2009. That cigar, a Hermoso No. 4 shape, came packed in white

ceramic jars of 25 with tiny humidification units in the lids.



British retailer Ajay Patel said that he was eager to try the Infante.

"El Rey Regionals have been good so far," he said. Cigar Aficionado and

Cigar Insider have rated three El Rey del Mundo regional-edition cigars,

and each has performed well. The El Rey del Mundo Elegantes, which was

made for the Swiss market, scored 91 points in the February 2011 Cigar

Aficionado. The El Rey del Mundo Petit Compañias, a regional edition

made for France, scored 91 points in the November 3, 2009 Cigar Insider.

The Choix de L'Epoque, an El Rey del Mundo regional edition for the

United Kingdom, scored 89 points in the November 3, 2009 Cigar Insider.



Regional-edition cigars have proved immensely popular for Cuba since

their debut in 2005. In an interview with Cigar Aficionado published in

2012, Habanos S.A. officials said they received more requests for

regional editions from their worldwide network of distributors and

importers than they could possibly handle.



Source: "New Cuban Regional Edition Hits Havana | Cuba | Cigar

Aficionado" - http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show?id=17119