ERDM du Roi (Edicion Regional Belux)

[awkwardPause]

55 RG fatty...yet this one seems more intriguing to me than others recently with similar dimensions. I have nothing to base this optimism on though, so maybe I'm just a sucker for the ERDM name...

 

Thoughts?

 

http://halfwheel.com/el-rey-del-mundo-choix-du-roi-arrives-belgium-luxembourg-next-month/145392

 

 

[Nico]

I'm just glad that the king gets a new vitola. I usually don't smoke anything over 52 but the montesco is on some streak or something. The bolivar and Juan Lopez are very nice imo. But I will let the reviews speak before I'm spending my own money. If it's horrible, I'll probably pass.


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[Smallclub]

The best cigars ever produced under the ERDM marca were thin RG vitolas (delicados, panatelas, etc.)

A 55 rg ERDM will be a volado roll, a cigar for posers who have no interest in specific flavors.

I highly doubt that regular customers in Benelux have been consulted, IMHO this is a cigar aimed to the new customership of certain LCDHs in Belgium…

[Lotusguy]

I'll try a single when I have a chance. The JL Malecon in the same format was a hit for me

[rhcolbert]

I'm a sucker for ERDM, but the Baltico release I had years back turned me off from ever buying a regional agsin with the ERDM ring.  I love their regular line smokes, so the stark contrast in flavors wirh the regionals.

[oliverdst]

55 RG, €177, Knokke... Pass!

[SirVantes]

I prefer smaller ring gauges, all things considered.  But I am resigned to never seeing the likes of the Grandes de Espana or the Lunch Club again.  So now I meet new ERDM REs not with "this will not taste like an ERDM" but "let's ignore the band and see what this tastes like".  The Aniversario AP RE 2012 seems to be slowly coming good to me, and that's a 54 x 150 to which I would normally give a mile-wide berth. This new one is a 10-box, which opens the possibility of a test box.

[godpheonix]

the ERDM Aniversario puzzles me a bit. i've had a few over the last 2 years and both gave me burn issues and draw issues. the first 3rd was actually really good and then they fell of their highs and become a problematic average cigar. after last year's sample,  thinking they need a long deep sleep! so in the deep bowels of the humidor they went!

[wabashcr]

15 hours ago, Smallclub said:

I highly doubt that regular customers in Benelux have been consulted, IMHO this is a cigar aimed to the new customership of certain LCDHs in Belgium…

I don't have the data in front of me, but it seems to me there used to be Benelux REs, and lately, there was a separate Dutch RE (Dip El Ambajador) and two Belux REs (RA Robusto XXL and this ERDM).  Doesn't Habanos just have one distributor for Benelux?  My suspicion has been that this separation of Dutch and Belgian/Luxembourg REs is all being driven by that Belgian retailer you referenced, making the Belux REs essentially shop exclusives for them.  I imagine most of these Belux REs end up being sold overseas, and are de facto USA REs.

[MasterShake72]

For as long as I've been smoking, there have been complaints about the increasing size of RGs. On the bright side, several of the recent efforts with larger RG cigars have been quite good. The Malecon, Phoenicio 35th, Magnum 56 and the Cohiba Robusto Supremo are just a few examples of cigars that have all been well received despite their larger RG.

 

As far as these releases being aimed at the US market - that is increasingly doubtful in my book as time goes on. I've seen more Netherlands Dip Ambajadors stateside then any other regional in the past and thats "only" a 52. Ive seen exponentially fewer RA XXLs available. And its not just Belgium trying to sell larger RGs either, as Germany is doing the exact same thing: the LGC Glorias release is a 54 and the Tesoro is a 57. The last England release was a 55, and thats not a market I would generally link to attempting to get a US customer base at all. Hell, the last Asian regional was a 55, and a popular Hong Kong grey market retailer never even received boxes to sell to the US market, and I could probably count on 1 hand the amount of times that Rob had boxes to sell on 24:24. The Phoenicio 35th is a 55, and Lebanon regionals aren't exactly easy to get over here for most people. Increasing RG size is a global trend that I would have to assume is being driven by global demand. 

[oliverdst]

4 hours ago, godpheonix said:

the ERDM Aniversario puzzles me a bit. i've had a few over the last 2 years and both gave me burn issues and draw issues. the first 3rd was actually really good and then they fell of their highs and become a problematic average cigar. after last year's sample,  thinking they need a long deep sleep! so in the deep bowels of the humidor they went!

I remember @El Presidente saying more than once that they should sleep for a long time but I guess this was 2 years ago. Maybe I will crack my box this weekend.

[wabashcr]

1 hour ago, MasterShake72 said:

As far as these releases being aimed at the US market - that is increasingly doubtful in my book as time goes on. 

Just to be clear, I was only talking about the two Belux REs being aimed at the US market, and that's only because of one specific retailer.  I agree with you that the larger ring trend is more or less a result of global demand.  I've never fully bought into the notion that Cuba is releasing more larger rings because of trends in the US market.  I don't think that's the case at all.  

[dangolf18]

If there ever was a pass on a regional it would be these (along with the SLR Tesoros). Paying almost 3x for a larger Choix Supreme. 

[MasterShake72]

@wabashcr Thats totally fair, but I wasn't directing my comment at you specifically or anything. Just a general statement as I see lots of comments that blame the US market as the primary reason as to why RGs are increasing worldwide. Its one of those things that strikes me as funny, kind of like some of the guys on the forums back in the day that were 100% totally positive that the Feds were watching all forum talk as they sat in their basements wearing tin foil hats. In fact, some of these guys might've coined the term "Feds is watching" before any terrible dime a dozen rapper ever did. The US was undoubtedly the first market in this current large RG trend but it seems the rest of the world has been catching on to it as well for the past few years.

[archosaur]

No interest for me personally...but at least 'Choix du Roi' is kind of fun to pronounce 

[Cubatabaco]

A 55 rg ERDM will be a volado roll, a cigar for posers who have no interest in special flavors.

Very well said, Frank!


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[godpheonix]

19 hours ago, oliverdst said:

I remember @El Presidente saying more than once that they should sleep for a long time but I guess this was 2 years ago. Maybe I will crack my box this weekend.

If I can make a suggestion, dry box the cigar for 48 hours before lighting it up.

[FatPete]

Just wondered if anyone managed to try the choix du roi or the Ramon Allones XXL as I'm planning a Benelux tour and wonder if either is worth getting (flavour wise, not price obviously)

[NSXCIGAR]

I'd rather smoke three Demi-Tasse in a row, thanks. 

 

14 hours ago, FatPete said:

Just wondered if anyone managed to try the choix du roi or the Ramon Allones XXL as I'm planning a Benelux tour and wonder if either is worth getting (flavour wise, not price obviously)

I've actually heard zero regarding either, which is a bit surprising, but one would think if either were stellar, at least a word would have been uttered.

If I were making a Benelux tour I'd be looking to pick up some real hard to find and well-received ERs that I know can be had, particularly at LCDH Knokke and Brussels.

[ChanceSchmerr]

I havn't tried the ERDM but I did have a Robusto XXL (thanks to a good friend in Germany  ). I wanted to hate it based on the horrid name - but it was a very tasty cigar.  They nailed the blend, surprisingly.  Can't fault it, even with the awful name!

[canadianbeaver]

"I'm planning a Benelux tour and wonder if either is worth getting (flavour wise, not price obviously)"

 

A few years back we were in Brussels @FatPete and had a great time at the cigar stores there. Enjoy yourself.

The RE name is an interesting story now that NE has said "No thanks". Wonder what they did with bands? Wait till they were all out or throw them all out and print new? Lololol

[NSXCIGAR]

7 hours ago, canadianbeaver said:

The RE name is an interesting story now that NE has said "No thanks". Wonder what they did with bands? Wait till they were all out or throw them all out and print new? Lololol

The bands will say "Belux".

It is odd that NE is out but NE has always had its own Paises Bajos ERs during the "Benelux" era. 

[RijkdeGooier]

56 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

The bands will say "Belux".

It is odd that NE is out but NE has always had its own Paises Bajos ERs during the "Benelux" era. 

Close but no cigar NSX

1. BENELUX stands for Belgium Netherland and Luxembourg. These three countries are serviced by one importer.

2. Regarding the selection of the regional edicion, the importer can technically choose one for each country/territory they service, if they so desire, not one per importer (think of the issues that would cause for importers like Phoenicia),  

3. So sometimes the importer chooses 1 regional edicion and sometimes 2 regional edicions.

4. Regarding the indication on the band there is room for the importer to play with. We see BELUX (for Belgium and Luxembourg) or BENELUX (for all three countries) or Paises Bajos (for the Netherlands). Luxembourg hasn't been selected yet and to be honest I believe it is part of the Belgium territory as far as the distribution of cigars goes.

 

[Fugu]

Taking up on this aspect again....

On 04/04/2017 at 9:51 PM, wabashcr said:

I've never fully bought into the notion that Cuba is releasing more larger rings because of trends in the US market.  I don't think that's the case at all.

On 04/04/2017 at 10:16 PM, MasterShake72 said:

@wabashcr Thats totally fair, but I wasn't directing my comment at you specifically or anything. Just a general statement as I see lots of comments that blame the US market as the primary reason as to why RGs are increasing worldwide. Its one of those things that strikes me as funny, [...]. The US was undoubtedly the first market in this current large RG trend but it seems the rest of the world has been catching on to it as well for the past few years.

....well, that's the very nature of setting a trend, isn't it...?

 

Two quotes from a Nov-2015 CA interview with HSA executives:

"We saw the announcement as a very positive one," says Sánchez
Harguindey, who has been copresident since 2012. "We don't know
when [the end of the trade embargo] is going to happen, nor can we
speculate. But it is a great opportunity to have access to a market that
makes up two-thirds of the world market for premium cigars. We do
believe in a very short period of time we can capture 20 to 25 percent
of that market. We are excited about the possibilities."

and

"We have been following the trends of consumers with thicker cigars.
We will never abandon thinner ring gauge cigars, but we have to follow
the trends in the market. So, there may be some surprises in the bigger
ring gauges," says Sánchez Harguindey.

 

So, while HSA presidents put it neutrally as "the market", with the US comprising 2/3 of that premium market and HSA being fully aware of it - like it or not - the US is setting the Cuban trend here. And if you look back a few more years. It had been the US-brands to start first with 52+ ring gauges, when Cuba's thickest parejo still had been cepo 49 and the widest figurado been 52 (leaving the Maravillas and the Salomones aside, rare and special releases at that time). It wasn't until 2004 that the Sublimes format had been first introduced in Cuba.

And as to the the RE program, that has very quickly turned into an international collector's program. It doesn't tell anything about home market preferences anymore. Importers don't give a sh:t about what their home markets say. All they want is get their stuff moved quickly, which it does.

It is as it is, nothing to criticize or to blame Cuba for them responding to the market's demand, but is appears fairly disavowing not appreciating a major US influence here.

[canadianbeaver]

2 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

The bands will say "Belux".

It is odd that NE is out but NE has always had its own Paises Bajos ERs during the "Benelux" era. 

I knew they say Belux, I just meant when they changed it. Did they throw out the ones they had... never mind. Lol.

Love this RE!