New U.K. Regional Edition Cuban

Source from:  Cigar Aficionado 11/21/2014

The Por Larrañaga Sobresalientes, the newest Regional Edition cigar for the United Kingdom, was launched yesterday in London. According to Jemma Freeman, the managing director of Hunters & Frankau, the U.K. importer of Cuban cigars, it is one of the only Regional Edition cigars from Habanos S.A. to hit the market in 2014.

The Sobresalientes is 6 inches long by 53 ring gauge. It carries the same band as a 2007 U.K. Regional Edition, the Por Larrañaga Magnifico, which was a recreation of a band that the brand carried in the early 20th Century. It is priced at £25.60, or about $40 per cigar. The cigar is packaged in semi-boite nature boxes of 10, at £245.00, or $384. The production is 5,000 boxes, each of them numbered, and the cigars will be sold exclusively in the U.K.

Sobresalientes is a name used in the Cuban factories to describe cigars of this size. It is a relatively new addition to Cuban "vitolas," or cigar sizes. The first Sobresalientes was introduced in 2007 under the Partagás brand, as part of a special-edition humidor.

"It's fantastic to have a new product launch just before the Christmas season," said Freeman, who hosted the launch party at The Churchill hotel in London. The invitees included the top 50 cigar merchants in the U.K. Hunters & Frankau will also be holding smaller launch events around the country.

Edward Sahakian of the Davidoff shop in London attended the event and described the Sobresalientes as smooth with a mild blend, but very flavorful. He added that the cigar is enjoyable to smoke now, but that he expects it will also age well.

Ajay Patel, who operates the Casa del Habano in Teddington, London, also smoked the Sobresalientes yesterday. He described it as a "classic Por Larrañaga," with herbal and caramel notes, but that the flavor also builds to some cocoa bean richness. He agreed with Sahakian that the cigar should be a good candidate for aging. Enditem