Cohiba Adds Flagship Spectre Line

Arguably the most famous name in cigars is getting a high-priced, halo release.

The Cohiba Spectre is a single size release, notably for a long list of standouts feature, chief amongst them its price tag: $90 per cigar.

For Spectre, the story begins with the leaf in the center of the cigar: a Dominican piloto cubano leaf aged in terrcios since it was harvested in 1995. Terrcios are a way of aging tobacco by using the leaves of a royal palm free. Surrounding it are a variety of leaves grown in Estelí, Nicaragua from 2011-2014. Those tobaccos were aged in barrels that used to hold sherry from Spain. In addition, three Honduran leaves round out the filler: Olancho San Agustin (2002), the Jamastran Valley and La Entrada (2011).

The wrapper is Ecuadorian Sumatra that was gathered by sorting through leaves from the upper primings. General said the leaves “developed a unique reddish hue” and were then aged further. In the end, the company was left with eight barrels of tobacco.

As such, the 7 1/4 x 54 Spectre is limited, only 180 boxes of 10 cigars were produced.

“Cohiba Spectre is like the finest Bordeaux wine,” said Jhonys Diaz, vp of operations for General Cigar Dominicana, in a press release. “The tobaccos we selected are the product of ideal climatic conditions and a passion for tending to the tobacco at every step of the process. Through proprietary aging techniques, these tobaccos have developed in flavor and complexity, resulting in a smoking experience that cannot be otherwise be replicated.”

As for their production, General opted to have a single buncher, Ruben Dario Perez Peña, and a single roller, Xirolma Céspedes, produce each cigar. The company says the pair has a combined nearly 50 years of experience.

The red and silver circular boxes will retail for $900.