Qu’est-ce qu’une Edición Limitada ?
Every year since 2000, Habanos S.A has offered premium cigars in limited editions. Highly prized by collectors, these Edición Limitada are distinguished by a unique manufacturing method that sets them apart from regular-production cigars. They make it possible to rediscover some of Havana’s greatest brands in a new light.
What are the characteristics of Edición Limitada?
Alongside regular-production cigars, Habanos S.A gives cigar lovers the chance to discover special-production vitolas each year. These include Añejados, Regional Editions, Reserva and Gran Reserva, and Limited Editions. Each special production follows precise manufacturing rules and is distributed in limited quantities.
Unlike other special-production cigars, Edición Limitada cigars are made from tobacco aged for at least two years. They must also use a rare format, meaning a size that does not appear in the regular Habanos catalog. This may be a completely new format, such as the Duke (54 x 140 mm) for Romeo Y Julieta and the Sublimes (54 x 164 mm) for Cohiba, or sizes that have been discontinued for many years, such as the Partagas Serie D No. 1 (50 x 170 mm), a format abandoned since the 1950s.
Until 2005, Edición Limitada cigars could only be made by the five most prestigious brands in the Habanos catalog, namely Montecristo, Cohiba, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey and Romeo Y Julieta. Today, the brands Trinidad, H. Upmann, Cuaba, Bolivar, Punch and Ramon Allones can also offer Limited Edition cigars.
Another characteristic of Edición Limitada cigars is that they are dressed in a dark wrapper leaf, which has undergone a longer period of fermentation and ageing than that used for regular production cigars. These exceptional cigars are also produced in limited quantities, and production generally lasts only one year.
How are Edición Limitada made?
Habanos Edición Limitada must follow a precise manufacturing process. First of all, they must be wrapped in dark wrapper leaves that come from the upper foliage levels of the tobacco plants. These are younger and thicker leaves than the other tobacco leaves, grown in the shade, and therefore naturally rich in oils and sugar. These leaves help bring more strength and smoothness to a cigar’s aromatic profile.
Once dried, the wrapper leaves must undergo longer periods of fermentation and ageing than usual. While the wrapper leaves used for regular production cigars are generally fermented for only one month and aged for 6 months, Edición Limitada undergo a minimum fermentation of nine months and a minimum ageing period of one year.
Contrary to popular belief, not all Edición Limitada wrapper leaves are Maduro. Their color spectrum in fact ranges from Colorado (dark brown) to Maduro (almost black). They are, however, darker than regular production cigars.
In addition to their specific packaging, Limited Edition cigars are made from the finest tobaccos of Vuelta Abajo, considered by many experts to be the best tobacco-growing region in the world. Until 2006, the filler tobacco in these cigars underwent the same fermentation and ageing process as standard production cigars. After that date, all filler leaves, including the binder, were subjected to a fermentation and ageing period of at least two years. This additional ageing helps give the cigars more roundness and mellowness, to which the strength and smoothness of the wrapper leaf are added.
How are Edición Limitada presented?
To underline the exceptional nature of these cigars, each Limited Edition is dressed in a special black and gold band stamped with the inscription « Edición Limitada ». Since 2001, this band has also displayed the release year of the edition. These cigars also carry the classic band of the brand that produced them.
Produced in limited quantities, the Edición Limitada are true collector’s pieces. The exact number of cigars produced is revealed only once the wrapper leaves have been aged and graded according to their quality and color. When the program was launched in 2000, four limited editions were introduced to the public: the Romeo y Julieta Exhibición No. 2, the Partagás Pirámide, the Montecristo Robusto and the Hoyo de Monterrey Particulares. In the years that followed, the number of Edición Limitada releases generally ranged between three and five, with the exception of 2002 and 2022, when there were no releases. Since its creation, the program has therefore released 69 Limited Edition cigars. All of them have been reviewed by the renowned magazine Cigar Aficionado and have received scores between 84 and 95 points.
All Edición Limitada
2000
Hoyo de Monterrey Particulares
Montecristo Robustos
Partagás Pirámides
Romeo y Julieta Exhibición No.2
2001
Cohiba Pirámides
Hoyo de Monterrey Particulares
Montecristo Double Corona
Partagás Serie D No.3
Romeo y Julieta Robustos
2002
No new limited edition.
2003
Cohiba Double Coronas
Hoyo de Monterrey Piramides
Montecristo Montecristo C
Partagás Serie D No.2
Romeo y Julieta Hermosos No.1
2004
Cohiba Sublimes
Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial
Partagás Serie D No.1
Romeo y Julieta Hermosos No.2
2005
H. Upmann Magnum 50
Montecristo Montecristo D
Romeo y Julieta Petit Piramides
2006
Cohiba Pirámides
Montecristo Robusto
Partagás Serie D No.3
2007
Hoyo de Monterrey Regalos
Romeo y Julieta Escudos
Trinidad Ingenios
2008
Cuaba Piramides
Montecristo Sublimes
Partagás Serie D No.5
2009
Bolívar Petit Belicosos
H. Upmann Magnum 48
Romeo y Julieta Dukes
2010
Montecristo Grand Edmundos
Partagás Serie D Especial
Trinidad Short Robustos T
2011
Cohiba Cohiba 1966
Hoyo de Monterrey Short Hoyo Pirámides
Ramón Allones Allones Extra
2012
H. Upmann Robustos
Montecristo Montecristo 520
Partagás Serie C No.3
2013
Hoyo de Monterrey Grand Epicure
Punch Serie D’Oro No. 2
Romeo y Julieta De Luxe
2014
Bolívar Super Coronas
Cohiba Robustos Supremos
Partagás Selección Privada
2015
H. Upmann Magnum 56
Ramón Allones Club Allones
2016
Montecristo Dantés
Trinidad Topes
2017
Partagás Series No.1
2018
2019
Quai d’Orsay Senadores
2020
2021
Bolívar Regentes
Hoyo de Monterrey Monterreyes No.4
2022
No new Limited Edition.
2023
H. Upmann Magnum Finite
Ramón Allones Absolutos
Trinidad Cabildos