Montecristo No. 2 Chosen For Spain’s Tauromaquia Series

Spanish cigar distributor Tabacalera S.L.U. has released the fifth edition of Tauromaquia, a limited-edition series that pays tribute to famous bullfighters throughout history. Made exclusively for Spain, these decorative boxes contain regular-production Cuban cigars but are designed with colorful sketches and dark, lacquer piano finishes.
This year’s edition honors José Luis Mazzantini y Eguía, a bullfighter from the 1800s who’s depicted on the outer lid of the box. Inside are 10 Montecristo No. 2 cigars fitted with a foot band to indicate the Tauromaquia series. The cigars have a suggested retail price of 300 euros for the entire box, or 30 euros each (about $328 per box, in U.S. dollars, or $32.80 per cigar), which is nearly 40 percent more than the standard retail price, as typical Montecristo No. 2s go for 21.60 euros ($23.66) in Spain. Only 1,000 numbered boxes are being released.
This is an annual project for Tabacalera. Last year’s Tauromaquia honored Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez with Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo de San Juan cigars. The year before that, it was Juan Belmonte and the Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill. The first Tauromaquia box featured a sketch of Morante de la Puebla on a box of Montecristo Double Edmundos.