Cohiba LE 2021

[zeebra]

Has anyone been able to grab any or are there any reviews of this anywhere?  Cant seem to find any proper information besides guesses on prices as well.

 

Thanks 

[NSXCIGAR]

Only available in pre-release sets of 2 from the various launch parties in Eastern Europe and the middle east a few months ago. Pre-release versions frequently differ substantially from the eventual full release versions. 

And at the price of $300/stick I doubt you'll get much feedback on them. 

[Hammer Smokin']

I'm sure they are worth every penny. 

a bargain even.

[ElJavi76]

I’ve had a couple. They were worth every penny I paid for them but I got mine thru a very good friend on the ground in Cuba. There are traces of Talisman running thru this one but it’s certainly different. I don’t have a proper review for you other than they’re tasty. 

There’s a reputable vendor selling the 5 pack variety for $2290 USD. They’re out there in the wild but the price is astronomical. 

[zeebra]

Thanks for the feedback, information is scarce on these so far 

I saw some prices but didn’t know if someone actually paid a certain $ amount. 

[NSXCIGAR]

21 hours ago, ElJavi76 said:

There’s a reputable vendor selling the 5 pack variety for $2290 USD.

Yes, looks like these 5s were released by Phoenicia:

Phoenicia Cyprus Ltd. presented another surprise. The first batch of 50,000 units of this Limited Edition will be available in a series of 10,000 special five unit numbered boxes. For this series, instead of the traditional Limited Edition band, the cigars will be carrying a slightly modified Limited Edition band with the word “premier”.

[zeebra]

So some say "premier" on the bands and others do not - the first 10,000 boxes...

wonder what the reason for that besides to say they were the first 10,000

[cigaraholic]

I only have 1 child to sell so I’m out of the running 

[NSXCIGAR]

5 hours ago, zeebra said:

So some say "premier" on the bands and others do not - the first 10,000 boxes..

Close up of the special EL band:

[KCCubano]

Never really have cared much for the Cohiba EL's. The DC's, Sublimes and 1966 were decent for me but would take reg production Coro, Lancero or VI over any of them. 

[bates40]

I'm just going to go ahead and skip these in order to make my mortgage payment. 

[Corylax18]

6 hours ago, zeebra said:

So some say "premier" on the bands and others do not - the first 10,000 boxes...

wonder what the reason for that besides to say they were the first 10,000

It gives suckers an excuse to spend more per stick than an entire box should cost. It's brilliant, another one is born every second.....

Most/many of these probably went to invited guests of the release event/s, people who's Business or Divan is paying for their presence at the event. As a business expense, to show off in the humidor for a while, then flip for the cost of the event, I get it. Otherwise, I'll go grab 60 unbanded Robusto Extras for the same price as a single stick. 

I did actually pick up 5 of this size, from a Friend at El Laguito, like Javi said, at a fraction of the retail price. I didn't smoke any while I was there, and they're still there, but the wrappers were astounding. Some of the smoothest, most consistent wrappers I'd ever seen. Like the photo shopped ones you see in the press releases, no seams, almost imperceptible veins, Absolutely Beautiful. I planned to smoke one on two different occasions on the trip and just couldn't get comfortable with the size. I may not smoke any of them, to me, they're genuinely uncomfortable in your mouth. 57rg is just a bridge to far for me, I guess it doesn't matter if the cigar is created not be smoked though.

I have been Vacuuming back the stash of Trini Gloriosos, I picked up last month though. I can deal with the 59 RG in a Pyramides and these are some very good smokes. They're very fresh, so on top of enjoying the cigars, Ive been getting a consistent nicotine buzz from them just past the half way point.

[NSXCIGAR]

On 8/31/2022 at 9:19 AM, Corylax18 said:

57rg is just a bridge to far for me

This one's a skinny compared to the inevitable 60 RG 60th anniversary. 

 

On 8/31/2022 at 7:54 AM, KCCubano said:

Never really have cared much for the Cohiba EL's. The DC's, Sublimes and 1966 were decent for me but would take reg production Coro, Lancero or VI over any of them. 

I've had a few Talisman and if they were customs I'd buy them all the time. For $10. 

Maybe they need 10 years but I just got the impression they just stuffed a ton of top shelf seco into it with no real blend. Extremely flavorful but I couldn't tell you what flavors. I would love to get ahold of that leaf and figure out something.

[KCCubano]

On 8/30/2022 at 10:59 PM, NSXCIGAR said:

This one's a skinny compared to the inevitable 60 RG 60th anniversary. 

 

I've had a few Talisman and if they were customs I'd buy them all the time. For $10. 

Maybe they need 10 years but I just got the impression they just stuffed a ton of top shelf seco into it with no real blend. Extremely flavorful but I couldn't tell you what flavors. I would love to get ahold of that leaf and figure out something.

Ha! Maybe CF in Tijuana can get his hands on some of the Seco! 

[NSXCIGAR]

10 hours ago, KCCubano said:

Ha! Maybe CF in Tijuana can get his hands on some of the Seco! 

If only. I'd start my own brand. I think that's exactly what Cuba doesn't want. 

Customs tobacco seems to pretty much be homologous with the exception of the Monsdales which was a step up but still nowhere near regular production quality. The best I could give the Monsdales is that the leaf is probably Vuelta Abajo. Typical customs I highly doubt it. 

Even with farm rolls you're getting the leftover 10% of leaf the farmer chose to retain. Most can't afford to retain 10% of high quality leaf. The 10% they keep is usually the bottom 10%. But at least it's Vuelta Abajo. I would almost always take a farmie over a custom. The drawback is the farm rollers may not be as skilled as customs rollers. 

The Talisman and most of these large super premium cigars are a perfect illustration of how important blending is. Just as I believe whiskey can be over-aged cigars can be too big and you can use too much seco. What you get is something that's high quality but not satisfying. 

[KCCubano]

37 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

If only. I'd start my own brand. I think that's exactly what Cuba doesn't want. 

Customs tobacco seems to pretty much be homologous with the exception of the Monsdales which was a step up but still nowhere near regular production quality. The best I could give the Monsdales is that the leaf is probably Vuelta Abajo. Typical customs I highly doubt it. 

Even with farm rolls you're getting the leftover 10% of leaf the farmer chose to retain. Most can't afford to retain 10% of high quality leaf. The 10% they keep is usually the bottom 10%. But at least it's Vuelta Abajo. I would almost always take a farmie over a custom. The drawback is the farm rollers may not be as skilled as customs rollers. 

The Talisman and most of these large super premium cigars are a perfect illustration of how important blending is. Just as I believe whiskey can be over-aged cigars can be too big and you can use too much seco. What you get is something that's high quality but not satisfying. 

Had several customs rolled by Taboada when he was in Tijuana. Just amazing blending. He could roll dog shit into 94 pointers. Of course you are right on point about the quality of tobacco used. Garbage in garbage out. Ive been fortunate with the customs and farmies over the years. My most recent Dalias from Carlos are excellent. Had him add extra ligero. 

[NSXCIGAR]

3 hours ago, KCCubano said:

Had several customs rolled by Taboada when he was in Tijuana. Just amazing blending. He could roll dog shit into 94 pointers. Of course you are right on point about the quality of tobacco used. Garbage in garbage out. Ive been fortunate with the customs and farmies over the years. My most recent Dalias from Carlos are excellent. Had him add extra ligero. 

I wouldn't be surprised to find out Taboada was getting special leaf. He was considered in the top two or three rollers in the world and I know his stuff sold at higher prices. I think his Gran Sublimes were selling at $30 back in the late 2000s. 

[Glass Half Full]

IMO the Genios is a far more exciting smoke the Talisman