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