Bolívar New Gold Medal Arriving at La Casa del Habano Stores

The new, thicker version of the Bolívar Gold Medal has begun arriving at stores in select regions, with another prominent market scheduled to put the cigars on sale in early August.

Like the previous versions of the Bolívar Gold Medal, the upper half of the cigar is covered with gold foil. This newest version of the cigar, which is officially known as the Bolívar New Gold Medal, is an exclusive for La Casa del Habano (LCDH) retailers, as indicated by the secondary band it wears. It measures 6 1/2 inches (165mm) long and has a 48 ring gauge, which is the same length as the original Bolívar Gold Medal but noticeably thicker, as the original had a 42 ring gauge.

The vitola for the Bolívar New Gold Medal is known as the Partagás 15, a grand corona that has only been used once before. That was for the Ramón Allones Imperiales, which came out in late 2013 as part of a Réplica de Humidor Antiguo release.

The Bolívar New Gold Medal has already made appearances at LCDHs in Brazil and the Asia Pacific region, and while pricing in Brazil has not been disclosed, in Hong Kong it is priced at HKD 638 ($81.79) per cigar. It appears that it will arrive next in Switzerland; Intertabak AG, the distributor for the country, has announced that it will be released on Aug. 8. When it hits the shelves of the La Casa del Habano stores in the country, it will do so with a price of CHF 290 ($333.75) for a box of 10 cigars.

It has also been released in Greece and Cyprus, as well as in the Beirut and Dubai duty-free markets, all of which are served by Phoenicia T.A.A. Cyrpus Ltd., the distributor for much of the Middle East.

Earlier this year, Habanos S.A. sold boxes of the New Gold Medal to attendees of a dinner at the XXIII Festival del Habano in Havana. Pricing for those boxes was $270.

The Bolívar New Gold Medal has yet to appear in other notable European markets, including the United Kingdom, Italy and the Benelux regions, though some distributors have said it could be released in the next two to three months.

Habanos S.A. discontinued the original Bolívar Gold Medal in 2011. Prior to that, it was a standard production cigar that was discontinued in 1992, though it reappeared as a limited release for the German market in 2004. It returned in 2007 as an LCDH exclusive.

Update — Shortly after this article was published, additional distributors replied to inquiries about the cigar’s availability, which have been added to the story.

Update (July 31, 2023) — The cigar is launching in Germany this week, where it is priced at €27 ($29.62) per cigar. It is scheduled to launch in Portugal in August, though the specific date has not been announced. It is priced at €25 ($27.43) per cigar in that country.

Images courtesy of Habanos S.A./Intertabak AG.

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 Major League Baseball, 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.