Procigar 2026 sets Humidor Auction Record

[JohnS]

Okay, it might not be quite the same mark that recent Habanos Festival Auctions have achieved; still, it is impressive!

Procigar 2026 Humidor Auction Tops $600,000, Sets New Record

February 21, 2026 - Charlie Minato

Procigar 2026, the Dominican Republic’s most prominent cigar festival, came to a close Friday evening with the traditional gala night and the annual humidor action for charities.

According to the organization, it raised $618,188 in total, mostly from the humidor auction but also through some direct donations. This was the first time that the humidor auction raised more than $500,000, surpassing the previous record set in 2024, and a notable increase from what was characterized as a disappointing 2025 auction.

As per usual, Michael Herklots of Ferio Tego served as the auctioneer, with assistance from Raquel Quesada, who has assumed the co-host role from her father, Manuel “Manolo” Quesada Jr. At one point during the auction, Herklots left the stage and walked down near the tables were hundreds of guests were sitting to get a few more bids for an item. For the first time ever, Procigar allowed phone and internet bidders, which played a role in the auction.

A total of 24 lots—12 humidors as well as 12 cigars boxes or bundles of cigars—were auctioned for charity. Many of the humidors contained vitolas of blends that are not offered for sale, while the boxes and bundles were often vintage cigars or non-commercial blends.

The results of the boxes/bundles are as follows:

• Tabacalera de García — $1,200
• Arnold André — $700
• De Los Reyes — $700
• La Flor Dominicana — $1,200
• Kelner Cigars — $2,000
• Arturo Fuente — $3,500
• La Galera — $7,500
• Quesada/Boveda — $2,000
• La Aurora — $5,000
• General Cigar Dominicana — $2,500
• Casa Carrillo — $2,500
• PDR Cigars — $600

Lot 1 — De Los Reyes ($45,000)

De Los Reyes’ 2026 humidor is reminiscent of some of the company’s previous Procigar humidors. Inside are 120 Don Julio Year of the Horse cigars. As with many of the company’s previous Procigar humidors, it was created by René León. The company has not formally announced whether it will sell a Year of the Horse cigar.

Lot 2 — Arnold André ($5,000)

Once again, Arnold André teamed up with Marc André, an unrelated German humidor maker, for its Procigar humidor. While the inside of the humidor looks like many of the company’s other humidors, the outside of the humidor uses a unique material: asphalt, said to be inspired by cars and car racing. Inside are what the company says are 100 of its boldest cigars.

Lot 3 — Tabacalera Palma ($46,000)

Speaking of cars, here’s a humidor with a car on it.

If you visit the Tabacalera Palma factory, you’ll find a handful of vintage cars, including a 1924 Dodge Brothers truck, named “María Victoria” after Jochy Blanco’s daughter, María, and his granddaughter, Victoria. Inside are 126 cigars.

Lot 4 — Casa Carrillo ($42,000)

Once again, Casa Carrillo is using leather for the exterior of its Procigar humidor, which is actually two separate humidors: a large trunk and a smaller case. Inside are 180 cigars, including the first limited edition of Battleborn, produced exclusively for this auction in two unreleased vitolas.

Lot 5 — PDR Cigars ($18,000)

For this year’s release, PDR Cigars commissioned this 12-sided humidor with pull-out shelves. Inside are 150 Founder’s Reserve Blue Label cigars, a 6 1/2 x 52 toro created specifically for the Procigar auction. PDR says that each leaf inside was not only at least eight years old, but also hand-selected by Abe Flores and Luis Rodriguez, two co-founders of the company.

Lot 6 — La Aurora ($44,000)

Once again, La Aurora turned to Livi León Bermúdez, a member of the company’s fourth-generation of ownership, to design its Procigar humidor. The exterior is made from Saman wood and inside are 122 La Aurora Family Creed Series Fuerte Sol in a box-pressed belicoso, a vitola that is not commercially sold. The 122 represents the number of years the company has been around.

Lot 7 — La Flor Dominicana ($51,000)

On the outside of the cabinet doors, this humidor shows a silhouette of Litto Gomez, the company’s co-founder. Inside are 150 cigars—50 of each—that are said to tell the story of Gomez’s journey in the cigar industry: Origins (7 x 52), Litto’s Revolution (7 x 54 Churchill) and Futura (7 x 52). None of them are commercially available. As Gomez has done before, he donated his hat and scarf to help raise extra money. Good news for the winner: on the right side of the humidor, there’s a fold-down hook to hold the hat.

Lot 8 — Tabacalera de García ($10,000)

This humidor contains 200 cigars, 50 of each from four different VegaFina lines.

Lot 9 — Arturo Fuente ($150,000)

Les Chaînes de l’Amour, or “The Chains of Love,” was a record-setting Procigar humidor. The winning bid of $150,000 was made by Abdel Fernández, better known as AJ Fernandez.

The cabinet humidor was designed by Cyril Brizard of Brizard & Co. and made by Cristian Maccarone of Maccarrone, an Italian humidor maker. Brizard told halfwheel that Maccarrone flew with the partially-completed humidor from Italy to California, where Brizard’s team applied the ostrich leather. Inside are 120 Fuente Fuente OpusX 25 Double Coronas, a vitola that is not commercially available. In addition, it came with a matching ostrich leather case and an S.T. Dupont Le Grand Dupont lighter that features marquetry—said to be a first for a Dupont lighter—and ostrich leather.

Lot 10 — General Cigar Dominicana ($35,000)

Designed by Juan Carlos Fondeur, this humidor contains three different hexagons that spin around the base. The pull-out drawers that contain a total of 120 CAO Selection of Luxury cigars, ones created just for the auction.

Lot 11 — Davidoff ($28,000)

Tabadom Holdings, Davidoff’s Dominican subsidiary, donated one of the 20 Davidoff Year of the Horse Masterpiece Humidors, the only item in the auction that could be purchased elsewhere. The humidors were hand-painted by Chengyu Wang with marquetry from Agnès Paul-Depasse. Notably, the horse is created from straw and silk, a process that took a week for each humidor.

Inside are 88 of the Davidoff Limited Edition 2026 Year of the Horse Masterpiece Toros, a 6 x 56 version of the recent Davidoff Year of the Horse. The humidors have an MSRP of $49,000, meaning this was sold at a hefty discount.

Lot 12 — Procigar Official Humidor by HumidifGroup 2026 ($30,000)

Once again, HumidifGroup designed a humidor, with help from Dominican artist Laura Franco, that contained 10 cigars from each of the 12 full members. The humidor was signed by the heads of those companies.

Source: https://halfwheel.com/procigar-2026-auctions-tops-600000-sets-new-record/462836/

[JohnS]

Procigar 2026 Auction Surpasses Half a Million Dollars

February 21, 2026 - Javier Blanco Urgoiti 

The Procigar 2026 humidor auction has surpassed the half-million-dollar mark, setting a new record of $534,100. Masterfully conducted, as always, by Michael Herklots, the auction reached its climax when AJ Fernandez bid $150,000 for the Arturo Fuente humidor.

The La Flor Dominicana piece also featured as another of the evening’s highlights. When the bidding reached $36,000, Michael Herklots pointed out that the humidor, titled “Litto’s Mirror,” has a hook on each side. Herklots brought Litto Gomez onto the stage to explain the purpose of these hooks, and a video revealed that they are, in fact, a coat rack: one for a hat and the other for a scarf. Thus, inclusive of a hat and scarf, the humidor reached $51,000.

To that figure, which breaks the half-million-dollar barrier for the first time, an additional $80,000 in direct donations must be added for the “A Home for My Family” program, which helps people at risk of social exclusion in the Dominican Republic find decent housing.

All the money raised in the auction is dedicated to the social work of the Jesus with Children Volunteer Program, an NGO that helps cover the costs of medications, diagnostic procedures, and healthcare for children with serious illnesses, as well as providing essential support to their families.

Source: https://www.cigarjournal.com/procigar-2026-auction-surpasses-half-a-million-dollars/