Last night at the Churchill Bar & Terrace in London, Hunters & Frankau launched the 2018 UK Habanos Regional Edition, El Rey Del Mundo La Reina.
Jemma Freeman (Managing Director of Hunters & Frankau), was inspired after seeing a keen interest in slender cigars among UK smokers, so decided on the Laguito No.1 vitola as the chosen size for this year’s release.
Measuring in at an impressive 7 1/2“ inches (192mm) long with a 38 ring gauge, this size was immortalised by the Cohiba Lanceros which is still in limited production today as well as the fabled Trinidad cigar of the same dimensions, reserved for Diplomats and VIPs visiting Cuba in the 1970s.
El Rey del Mundo (King of the World) was chosen because of its delicate flavours and subtle aromas which lent themselves perfectly to this slim shape, making this cigar accessible to seasoned and new cigar smokers alike.
Credit for the regal and somewhat apt name, “La Reina” (The Queen) is attributed to the late legend of the cigar industry Simon Chase. Simon was the former Marketing Director of Hunters & Frankau, and remains, without question, the King of the world of Habanos.
During the development of this cigar Hunters & Frankau were given an unprecedented opportunity, to conduct a tasting outside of Cuba to decide the final blend.
For this challenge a group of UK Specialists were invited to Hunters & Frankaus office to form a panel for a blind tasting. A clear winner emerged and went forward as the official blend for the 2018 UK Regional Edition – El Rey del Mundo La Reina.
Today the most qualified rollers to make this challenging size are found at El Laguito factory, in Cuba. This factory is home to the Cohiba brand and the birthplace for the iconic Laguito No.1 vitola. The size was originally created by Eduardo Rivera and was offered to President Fidel Castro in 1963, almost two decades before it was commercially launched.
Every single La Reina has been made at El Laguito factory. We believe this is a first for any Habanos Regional Edition.
With only 3,500 boxes of El Rey del Mundo La Reina scheduled for production, these cigars no doubt become a collector’s item very quickly so get your hands on them as soon as you can.
They are currently available for £35.90 per stick and £822.70 per box of 24 at Cgars but won’t be around for long.
If you’ve managed to smoke one, let us know your thoughts and if we manage to get our hands on one, we’ll be sure to review.