There’s a new Cuban Edición Regional hitting store shelves, as the Sancho Panza Valientes is now available at Swiss retailers.

The cigar is a 5 1/10 (130mm) x 55 robusto that has the factory name Montesco, a size it shares with the well known Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchills and the recently released Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchills Gran Reserva Cosecha 2009, as well as the Hoyo de Monterrey Grand Epicure Edición Limitada 2013. It was also used in the La Gloria Cubana Revolution Edición Regional Asia Pacifico, which was released in 2015.

The Sancho Panza Valientes got its first presentation during the Swiss Habanos Day 2017, which was held on the October 28. While it hits the Swiss La Casa del Habano retailers today, it will be available at Habanos Specialist stores in the country beginning on November 7. It is priced at CHF 235 per box of 10 cigars, or approximately USD $235.55.

A total of 6,000 boxes of 10 cigars, or 60,000 cigars, have been produced.

The name Valientes means brave and was selected in honor of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, the two courageous main characters from the famous novel El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha written by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes.

This is only the fourth time that the Sancho Panza marca has been used for a Edición Regional release; the first was in 2010 when the Sancho Panza Quijote, a 7 3/5 x 49 double corona, was created for Spain, though it did not arrive until 2011. That same year, the Escuderos, a 6 1/10 x 50 robusto extra was made for Germany. The most recent Edición Regional for the brand, the Eslavo, was supposed to be part of the 2014 releases but didn’t ship until mid-2015. That cigar, a 7 1/5 x 50 vitola commonly known as the 109, was made for Serbia.

Images courtesy of Intertabak AG.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.