New Cuban El Rey Del Mundo, Regional Por Larrañaga And Cohiba Premiere In Cyprus
It was a glamorous night for cigar smokers at the City of Dreams Mediterranean Resort & Casino in Cyprus this past weekend. In an evening of food, cocktails and live entertainment, this was the setting for the premiere party of three new Cuban cigars— the El Rey del Mundo Royal Series, the Por Larrañaga Fenix and the machine-made Cohiba Wide Short. Many luminaries of the Cuban cigar industry were in attendance, and the gala drew 450 guests.
The event was put on by Phoenicia Trading A.A., one of the world’s largest distributors of Cuban cigars.
Habanos co-presidents Luis Sánchéz-Harguindey and Maritza Carillo Cruz took the stage to present the El Rey del Mundo Royal Series, which is a franchise shops all over the world. The cigars come packaged in glossy, enameled white boxes of 20, and are available at the Casa del Habano in Beirut, where they retail for 660 euros (about $712) per box, which works out to 33 euros per cigar or about $35.60 apiece.
Later in the evening, Walid Saleh, chief executive officer of Phoenicia, took the stage to introduce the Por Larrañaga Fenix, a Regional Edition cigar for all of Phoenicia’s territories, which include the Middle East. Rolled in the 109 format with a campana (bell-shaped) belicoso head, the large cigar measures 7 1/4 by 50 ring gauge. These come packaged in 15-count boxes that retail for 660 euros (about $712), which works out to 44 euros each, or around $47.50 per cigar.
For fans of Minis, Shorts, Clubs and other small, machine-made Cuban cigars, there’s a new Cohiba coming: the Cohiba Wide Short. It measures just under 4 inches long with a ring gauge of 31 1/2. Each guest received a six-pack of the new little smokes.
For a rating on the new handmade cigars, see a future issue of Cigar Insider.
