If your go-to Cuban cigar just isn’t cutting it, an Edicion Regional might be just the ticket, says cigar editor Samuel Spurr.
The Regional Edition (Edicion Regional) cigar concept was introduced by Habanos S.A. in 2005 and comprises special, limited production cigars made exclusively for a regional market each year.
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Cuba’s worldwide premium brands are excluded from the series, which means you won’t find a Cohiba or Romeo y Julieta Regional Edition cigar. However, this allows some well-deserved attention to be placed on some of the lesser-known brands, such as Diplomaticos, Quai d’Orsay, and Rafael González whose contribution to cigar history and culture must be appreciated. Being a limited release, these cigars command a premium price and are quickly snapped up.
Asia-Pacific’s official Cuban cigar distributor Pacific Cigar Co. initiates each year’s project, determining the brand to be focused on. Norio Hattori-Paris, Pacific Cigar Co.’s regional marketing director, notes that one of the challenges they face is selecting a brand that they have not used before under the program. The past three years have seen some amazing cigars delivered to the region and are worthy of review. If you’re scouting for these, all can be quickly identified with the secondary red, white, and silver band that is synonymous with Regional Editions.
Diplomaticos Bushido (2014)
Released in April 2015, the Bushido was a new special release size No. 109 (50 ring gauge x 7.2 inches) that captured everyone’s attention. The perfect ‘colorado’ coloured wrapper is gorgeous to gaze upon.
Created to mark the 400th anniversary of the first Japanese person to set foot in Cuba, The Bushido honours samurai Tsunenaga Hasekura, who as one of the rare Catholics in Japan at the time. He was also the first Japanese ambassador to The Vatican. On his way to the Vatican, he stopped in Havana where there is still a statue of the samurai, surrounded by stones from his home town’s Sendai Castle, pointing towards Japan.
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“In October 2014, a Japanese delegation went to Cuba and many celebrations happened in Havana, including the launch of the Bushido to the Japanese delegation,” says Hattori-Paris. “The 109 size was a first for our market and this Regional Edition was, and still is, very successful.”
The first third offers subtle flavours, but by the middle of the cigar, the flavours and aromas really ramp up. Dried flowers, lavender, cedar, and even some citrus zing make this a very interesting cigar and one that is increasingly hard to find.
La Gloria Cubana Revolution (2015)
The cigar’s name is of course, a reference to Cuba’s history, while it’s also one of the few Regional Editions with a larger ring gauge. The Montesco sized cigar (55 ring gauge x 5.1 inches) started with nose-tingling white pepper, when I first reviewed it when it was released in mid-2016. It has since settled down slightly, delivering a nice balance of pepper, coffee, almond, and cedar aromas.
Rafael González 88 (2016)
The Rafael González marca is not on many people’s cigar radar, especially with many lines being discontinued. Indeed, this writer can confess that the 2016 Regional Edition was indeed my first Rafael González!
The 88, a Britanicas Extra, measures 48 ring gauge x 5.4 inches in a perfecto shape. Despite the number 8 being auspicious in Asia, the 88 was also named to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the brand. A total of 8,888 boxes of ten were made, ensuring quite the hunt for special numbered boxes across Asia. The perfecto shape hasn’t been used since 2009, when the Asia Pacific region welcomed the Ramon Allones Celestiales Finos.
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For mine, the 88 had a very smoky aroma, with roasted meat, and cedar and oak notes. There wasn’t a lot of pepper or spice to be had until the middle third, when some subtle dried flower aromas kicked in. If you do get your hands on this put it aside for a few years.
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