Cuban Cohiba 1966 Cigars Coming in “Days”

The Cuban Cohiba 1966 measures 6 1/2 inches long by 52 ring gauge and has a pigtail cap.

David Savona
Posted: September 14, 2011

The Cohiba 1966 Edición Limitada 2011, a dark, oily and powerful Cuban cigar that impressed in a preview tasting at the Habanos Festival in February, is finally ready for market. Habanos S.A., the global distributor of Cuban cigars, announced today that the cigar was coming to cigar shops in "days."

The cigar measures 6 1/2 inches long by 52 ring gauge and has a pigtail cap reminiscent of the Cohiba Behike BHK trio of cigars. The Cohiba 1966 is a size known in Cuban cigar factories as cañonazo especial. (The original Cuban cañonazo size is 5 7/8 by 52, has no pigtail, and originated in 2002 with the release of the Cohiba Siglo VI.)

Cohiba 1966 Edición Limitada 2011 cigars will come in wooden boxes of 10, surrounded by a colorful outer cardboard box emblazoned with the distinctive colors of the Cohiba brand.

The "Habanos" sticker appears on the upper right-hand corner of the outer box, with the Edición Limitadas sticker on the same corner of the inner box. As with all Edición Limitadas, the cigars come with two bands and contain two-year-old tobacco as well as wrappers that tend to be darker than those found on most Cuban cigars.

The Cuban Cohiba 1966 will come in boxes of 10.

I had a chance to smoke a pre-release version of the Cohiba 1966 in February. The Cohiba was one of several cigars passed out at the H. Upmann dinner early in the week of the Habanos Festival, and I found it to be the best cigar of the week. The big, dark smoke had a very oily wrapper, and provided very rich flavor, and was especially strong and hearty.

It remains to be seen if the regular production cigars can live up to the pre-release expectations. On a visit to El Laguito in February, I saw Cohiba 1966 cigars in the rolling room, and found out that the cigars smoked at the festival were rolled at El Laguito. I was told that the actual production cigars won't be rolled here, but elsewhere.

Cuba releases three Edición Limitadas a year. The other two are the Hoyo de Monterrey Short Hoyo Pirámides, a 5 3/8 inch long, 46 ring figurado that began shipping recently and is already in some stores, and the Ramon Allones Allones Extra, a 44 ring gauge cigar that's slightly longer than 5 5/8 inches that has yet to ship.

Look for the first blind tasting of the Cohiba 1966 in an upcoming issue of Cigar Insider.

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Comments 7 comment(s)

Harold Lensen — Arnhem, Gelderland, Netherlands, — September 14, 2011 4:47pm ET

Can't wait to try one of those!

Lenny.Lara@att.net — September 14, 2011 11:27pm ET

Just say no to EL's...get a box of CoRo instead.

Zdravko Brkic — Belgrade, Serbia, Serbia, — September 15, 2011 5:10am ET

Yes, David, it was great expirience on H. Upmann dinner on Habanos Fest when they served this extraordinary cigar... there are already waiting lists on many markets for this cigar.

David Savona — September 15, 2011 10:45am ET

Zdravko, nice meeting you in Cuba. That was a fine dinner. All the best.

Raphael Cervera — Miami, Fl, USA, — November 24, 2011 7:36pm ET

Shame the typical Cuban is not able to experience the delights you rave about, not because they don't have the money, which they don't, but because they are not allowed in the hotels the tourists frequent. Don't believe me? Next time you go try to invite somebody walking down the street to join you. Don't worry you won't have to pay for their dinner, the security will not let them in. Don't pick a young attractive woman or you might believe the security is trying to crack down on prostitution, pick somebody that no one in their right mind would consider going to bed with that person, and you'll see them thrown out in the street. Apartheid? South Africa's white discriminated blacks, Cuba discriminates their own citizens.
So next time you go and enjoy one of those exclusive dinners ask for a doggie bag and you might entice a young doctor or lawyer to give you sexual gratification in exchange for it

Josh Rehaluk — April 25, 2012 7:02pm ET

I'm smoking one of these bad boys right now, and damn it is fine

John Marshall — Prattville, Alabama, USA, — December 25, 2012 11:22am ET

I picked up a box of these in Dubai in September and it was about the finest cigar I've ever smoked!! Highly recommend!!

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