Saint Luis Rey Carenas Sets Sail in April

It’s been a few years since we’ve seen anything new from the Honduran Saint Luis Rey brand, but Altadis U.S.A. has decided to give it some attention. Next month, the company is releasing the Saint Luis Rey Carenas, a four-size line named after the Puerto de Carenas, now known as the Port of Havana.
“The historic Puerto de Carenas…was a place to seek repairs,” the company said, referring to 16th century mariners sailing to the West Indies. “But it also served as a departure port for many important exports, including the tobacco leaves destined for the world’s first tobacco factory in Seville, Spain.”
Made in Honduras at the Flor de Copan factory, Saint Luis Rey Carenas is blended to be medium bodied, and consists of a Nicaraguan wrapper, Honduran broadleaf binder and Honduran filler. The upcoming brand will come in four sizes: Robusto, measuring 5 inches by 50 ring gauge; Toro, at 6 by 52; Belicoso, 6 1/8 by 54 and Magnum, 6 by 60. They’re set to retail from $8.25 to $9.15, and are packaged in 20-count boxes, each with an illustration of a 16th century Spanish galleon on the inner lid.
Altadis anticipates launching the new line in mid-April.
For a vertical brand tasting of the Saint Luis Rey Carenas, see an upcoming issue of Cigar Insider.