Charatan 160th Anniversary Arrives in U.K. Cigar Shops

Tor Imports Ltd. has released a new limited edition that celebrates the 160th anniversary of Charatan, a historic British pipe tobacco and cigar brand that it owns.

The Charatan 160th Anniversary is a 6 1/2 x 44 lonsdale that uses an Ecuadorian-grown, Connecticut-seed wrapper, a Mexican binder, and fillers from Nicaragua’s Jalapa region. Production is handled by Fabrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A. and is limited to 250 boxes of 16 cigars, for a total production of 4,000 cigars.

The cigar comes priced at £25 ($31.15), or £400 ($498.36) for a full box.

Charatan dates back to 1863, when Frederick Charatan opened a boutique catering to tobacco enthusiasts. It was located on Mansell Street, near the iconic Tower of London, and would become the foundation for a legacy of tradition and an ode to flavors and enamoring smoke.

“As historic and meaningful to the United Kingdom as London’s Underground or the English Football Association, both also founded in 1863, we do not take the remarkable heritage of Charatan lightly,” said Scott Vines, managing director of Tor Imports Ltd and owner of the Charatan brand, via a press release. “Today, we are greatly honored to introduce the Charatan 160th Anniversary Special Edition, inviting all to celebrate the remarkable journey of an immigrant family name now deeply woven into the fabric of British culture.”

In addition to the cigar, Tor Imports Ltd. is also celebrating the anniversary with a special and limited pipe tobacco edition under the same name, featuring Virginia, Broken Virginia, Burley and Black Cavendish tobacco blend, which the company says delivers “exquisitely balanced plum and vanilla aromas with a mild to medium strength profile.”

The Charatan brand remained in the family until the 1960s when Dunhill Tobacco of London acquired the business. In the 1990s, Dunhill rekindled the Charatan cigar line, quickly becoming one of the best-selling Nicaraguan cigars in the UK to date, according to a press release. In 2018, Tor Imports Ltd. acquired the Charatan cigar and pipe tobacco brands from Dunhill, with the company committing to enhancing the product, expanding its offering and reinvigorating the brand and its British heritage.

“Although this launch is exclusively for Great Britain and pays homage to the brand’s origin and journey, the future of Charatan is bright, promising and global,” said Carlos Zúñiga, strategic development and communications manager for Tor Imports Ltd. “The world is about to fall in love with the mythical unicorn that has guarded our bands for 160 years.”

The cigars can currently be found at cigar retailers in the United Kingdom.