Five Festive Smokes For The Chinese New Year
According to the Chinese zodiac, 2022 is the year of the tiger and the cigar industry is once again ing the celebration by releasing limited-edition smokes for the lunar new year. If you were born in 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986 or 1998, then this is your year. If you weren’t, then you can light up some of these interesting new releases from all over the world regardless of your zodiac sign, but these are all limited editions, so don’t wait too long. They tend to sell fast and the year of the rabbit will be hopping in before you know it.
Vega Fina Year of the Tiger ($10.95)
While this isn’t the first time there’s been a Vega Fina cigar for the Chinese New Year, it is the first time that one has been released for the U.S. market. The Vega Fina Year of the Tiger is made at Tabacalera de Garcia in the Dominican Republic and covered in an Ecuador Havana wrapper. A Nicaraguan binder underneath holds a filler blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobacco. At 6 1/8 inches by 52 ring gauge, the cigars come in boxes of 16 arranged in two rows of eight, which is a lucky number in Chinese culture. Only 500 boxes will be coming to the U.S when they start shipping next week.
Plasencia Year of the Tiger ($40)
The Plasencias return to the world of the Chinese zodiac and this year, they’re sharing it with the U.S. Last year’s Year of the Ox was for international markets only, but 2022 is fortunate for stateside cigar smokers who will get the chance to try these 6 1/4-by-54 Nicaraguan puros. The Plasencia family says that the tobacco in Year of the Tiger has been aged 10 years. The cigars come in eight-count boxes (of course) and are made in Nicaragua at Plasencia Cigars S.A. Only 2,500 boxes are being released.
Davidoff Year of the Tiger ($42)
Nobody has released as many cigars with a Chinese zodiac theme as Davidoff, and the Swiss company always finds creative ways to symbolize the zodiac animals. The streaky pattern you see on the Ecuador Connecticut wrapper is meant to represent a tiger’s stripes. The rest of the tobacco comes from the Dominican Republic where the cigars are made. These striped belicosos measure 5 1/2 by 52 and come in 10-count boxes.
Cohiba Year of the Tiger Humidor ($237)
There’s a reason why this humidor comes with 88 cigars. As mentioned before, eight is considered a lucky number in the Chinese tradition. Two eights next to each other is even luckier. Looking a little bit like the Cohiba Behike BHK boxes, this glossy humidor is packed with Cuban Cohiba Shorts, little machine-made smokes that measure 3 1/4 by 26. These have been launched globally, but prices will vary all over the world. In Switzerland, the box goes for 218 Swiss francs (about $237). In Spain, it’s less expensive at 140 euros (about $158.54). This year, 12,888 humidors are being released, which is more than twice the amount of 2021’s Year of the Ox box, so if you missed the humidor last year, your chances of finding one now are more than twice as good.
Punch Fu Manchu ($5.99)
No, these aren’t containers of wonton soup, but yes, that’s exactly what they’re supposed to look like. It’s part of General Cigar’s jokey series of Punch cigars packed in boxes that look like Chinese takeout. General has been at it Fu Manchu toros made in Honduras with long pigtails that extend halfway down the length of the smoke. If you don’t appreciate the humor, you’ll surely like the price.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Year of the Tiger ($269)
So it isn’t a cigar, and it isn’t wrapped in the traditional red colors of Chinese New Year, but if you’re going to toast the start of 2022, you might as well do so with an iconic blended Scotch. Besides, Diageo did it last year, so why not do it again? The bottle is illustrated with a tiger by artist Shan Jiang. You’ll notice that this tiger has wings, which is a reference to a Chinese idiom that translates roughly to “like adding wings to a tiger.” In other words, making something that’s already great even greater.
