Regionals that are actually worth it?

[barrygoodvibes]

I have never been a big Limited Edition or Regional buyer. I generally view them as an overpriced marketing ploy, and so I stick to my favorite regular production vitolas. That being said, I am sure there are some Regionals out there that are simply outstanding, and maybe even some that are not a bad value. With that being said...what are your favorite Regionals, especially ones that are not impossible to get and are not terribly overpriced?

[BrightonCorgi]

Pretty much all Regionals I really like. The list of ones I do not like would be much smaller and I cannot think of one offhand. Same could be said for LCDH releases.

Certainly local taxes can make some country Regional cigars seem overly expensive.

[Garand]

I only have limited experience with Regional Editions. I really liked the Ramon Allones Sr. Henry and Diplomaticos Grandes (both from Germany). The exclusive San Cristobal from Austria has been great as well. These three were definitely worth it. (20 Dollars for a Trinidad Fundadores format.)

[Stevieboy]

I'm in the UK and since Brexit all non-UK REs are really HTF as no shop will post to the UK...too risky for them. Even when abroad I never find any. I've been to Spain 3 times this year and not a sausage. I always ask mates to find me REs when on holiday but it's been years since I've had any brought back for me. So as far as I'm concerned there's no such thing as an easy find. Almost all of my purchases have been on the secondary market.
Of the ones I've actually been able to buy, I've always found BeLux, Spain, Germany and especially Italy to have had the very best. No duds at all.
The most consistent brand has been Diplomaticos with the BeLux, Caribbean, German & the recent Spanish one to be outstanding.
 

[Chibearsv]

1 hour ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Pretty much all regionals I really like. The list of ones I do not like would be much smaller and I cannot think of one offhand. Same could be said for LCDH releases.

Certainly local taxes can make some country regional cigars seem overly expensive.

I agree.  

They’ve always been pricey but they’ve gone out of bounds for me now. In fairness, most CCs have. If you’re still in the CC game, I’d recommend stepping up to a favorite vitola or 2 to try. 

[CaptainQuintero]

Some stand outs for me:

 

Asia Pacifico 07 PL Robusto

Asia Pacifico 2011 Punch Sabrosos

UK 2010 LFDC Short Robusto

German 06 PL Lonsdale

Italy 2012 PL Short Robusto

Lebanon RA 08 Phoenicio

Spain 2012 Diplomatico Colección Privada

 

I would have loved to had tried some of the Mexico Dantes but it never worked out.

[Stevieboy]

Yes. The Italian PL Short Robustos was a wowzer. Wish I'd bought more...All gone.

[MrBirdman]

It’s a hard question to answer because none of the regionals I would recommend are available at retail anymore and go for significant premiums on the secondary market. Certainly the ERDM Tainos and Punch 898 regionals were worth the money on release, both excellent cigars. Even the La Reina UK, despite its much higher price point, was arguable worth the money based on the one I smoked. However, the secondary market price for La Reina, like most UK regionals, is now stratospheric. I guess by modern CC standards the Punch 898 is still worth buying if you can find it for $600 on BR, ERDM Tainos maybe $700. I’ve had half a dozen other regionals and none were exceptional enough to warrant buying more at the release price, nevermind what they’re going for now. 

If @El Presidente was open to splits of the new regionals - particularly the “Diadema”, I’d give those a try. PCC is usually one of the best at selecting regional blends, along with Italy, Phoenicia, and Hunters. 

Some who smoke a lot of regionals have complained that many releases over the past 6-7 years suffer from increasing homogeneity, though that’s arguably an issue for all new HSA releases these days.

If you are looking to buy a regional from 10+ years ago, see if you can find a more recent review, especially for the larger ring gauges.  

[JohnS]

Regionals that are actually worth it? On the whole, the ones that I've had in the past have generally been 'worth it', with only a few exceptions. (E.g. I think the Phoenician Regional Editions, that were released in the Ramon Allones marca on an annual basis for a time in the 2010s, diminished the reputation of the program. Hence why Habanos S.A. changed the rules for distributors thereafter. I.e. Distributors must now allocate different marcas to their releases sequentially.)

Regional Editions really become 'worth it' when you gift them to fellow cigar enthusiasts to try, especially when they've never had the opportunity to. I have been fortunate to be be both a benefactor and beneficiary of some exquisite Regional Editions over the years.

[MrBirdman]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

Regional Editions really become 'worth it' when you gift them to fellow cigar enthusiasts to try, especially when they've never had the opportunity to.

Hear hear. I think that, aside from some real standouts worth chasing, the greatest appeal of regionals is the gifting/trading of them among collectors who don’t have access to them locally. They are the only new cigars blended with input from anyone outside Habanos/Tabacuba, so how “good” they are is typically less important than how interesting they are. 

[Stogeyfish]

Any of the Italian regionals.

[Skm672]

On average, Regionals range from 20-35 dollars. The exception to that is UK and Asia Pacific Regionals which are priced higher. I think its always worth trying if acquired at a reasonable price.

My personal favorite from the last 5 years is the Diplomaticos PCC 30th.

 

[Marco_011t556]

All worthy Regionals are not cheap anymore...

Private Stock UK

Sancho Panza (Asia Pacific)

Punch Super Robusto (Asia Pacific)

[Stoyan]

Since you are asking for something not impossible to get and not too overpriced, we should look for more recent releases. These are the ones I really liked from the last (2) years. All of them were available in stores in recent months!

Juan Lopes Lanceros ER Adriatico

SLR Adamastor ER Portugal 

SLR belicosos ER Alemania

SCDH Bastiones ER Paises Bajos

PL Leones ER Espana 

 

[barrygoodvibes]

30 minutes ago, Stoyan said:

Since you are asking for something not impossible to get and not too overpriced, we should look for more recent releases. These are the ones I really liked from the last (2) years. All of them were available in stores in recent months!

Juan Lopes Lanceros ER Adriatico

SLR Adamastor ER Portugal 

SLR belicosos ER Alemania

SCDH Bastiones ER Paises Bajos

PL Leones ER Espana 

 

Thank you! The top two you mentioned are ones I’m definitely keeping an eye out for. I agree the they are not too terribly priced on the secondary market for a beautiful vitola. 

[NYGuido]

I’ve been really enjoying my Ramon Allones Mexico Perfectos lately. Hated them when they arrived, but I was an idiot and smoked one ROTT. After 90 days at 62%, they’re pretty damn tasty.