Diplomáticos Grandes (ER Alemania 2021)

Since 2005, when Habanos S.A. debuted its Edición Regional program, the series has grown to include more than 250 different releases for different regions all over the world. Of those releases, you could count the number of vitolas that measure close to a lancero vitola on one hand.

This year, two different Edición Regional lanceros have been released: one was the 7 9/16 x 38 Sancho Panza El Rey Edición Regional Asia Pacific (2021), while the second cigar is the subject of today’s review, the Diplomáticos Grandes Edición Regional Alemania (2021).

The Diplomáticos Grandes is a cigar made exclusively for the German market—Alemania is the Spanish name for Germany—and the 7 9/16 (192mm) x 40 vitola is known as a Laguito Especial, a size that is perhaps best known for being the same vitola as the legendary Trinidad Fundadores. Pricing has been set at €19 ($20.60) per cigar or €475 ($515.09) per box of 25 cigars. Only 4,800 boxes were released—a total of 120,000 cigars—and boxes went on sale in Germany in mid-March.

If you are unfamiliar with the  Edición Regional program, a basic refresher is below:

The Edición Regional program is offered by Habanos S.A. to its various distributors around the world. Each year, distributors can select one cigar to be commissioned for their region, though there have been exceptions when some distributors have been able to select more than one. Those cigars must come from a brand that was not part of the company’s former “Global Brands” (Cohiba, H. Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, Montecristo, Partagás, Romeo y Julieta) and must be a size that is currently not offered in that specific brand.
Edición Regional cigars are signified by a secondary red and silver band that reads Edición Regional, followed typically by the name of the region represented by that specific distributor. Oftentimes, the cigars do not arrive at stores during the year they are selected for, sometimes multiple years later.

• Cigar Reviewed: Diplomáticos Grandes Edición Regional Alemania (2021)
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: Undisclosed
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Length: 7 9/16 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 40
• Vitola: Lancero
• Est. Price: €19 ($20.59) (Boxes of 25, €475/$514.70)
• Release Date: March 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: 4,800 Boxes of 25 Cigars (120,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Covered in reddish-brown wrappers that are slightly toothy to the touch, the three cigars feature a bit of oil as well as some light mottling. All three cigars are nicely firm when squeezed, which makes it that much easier to pick out a large soft spot located halfway between the foot and the main band on my first cigar. Aromas from the wrappers include strong woodiness and cinnamon, with secondary notes of generic nuts, barnyard, hay and dark chocolate bringing up the rear. Cinnamon and apple sweetness are easily the most obvious scents emanating from the feet of the cigars—although my second cigar has more of the apple sweetness than cinnamon, and the other two are the opposite—followed by creamy earth, leather, sourdough bread and espresso beans. After the distinct aromas that I picked up from both the wrappers and feet, I am a bit surprised at how flat the cold draws are: aged cedar and leather tack lead the pack, with additional notes that include hay, baker’s spices, cocoa nibs, creamy peanuts and earth.

There is some light spice on my tongue and an obvious bitter espresso flavor present in the first few puffs of the Diplomáticos Grandes Edición Regional Alemania, both of those quickly give way to the main flavors of roasted peanuts and cedar. While secondary flavors of citrus peel, cocoa nibs, dry straw, leather and cinnamon show up at various points in my last two cigars, the first one runs into trouble early on, with a tighter draw and burn issues limiting that cigar’s secondary profile to a combination of coffee beans and earth. On the finish of the first cigar, I find a charcoal flavor, but it does not stick around long enough to make much of an impact on the profile. The retrohale of the first cigar is full of more earth and black pepper, but the second and third cigars feature some light black pepper and a sweetness that has morphed into a creamy vanilla note, which reminds me of vanilla bean ice cream. The first cigar’s flavor ends the first third at a solid medium, while both the strength and body top out at mild plus. The second and third cigars feature medium-full flavors while their strength hits a point just under the medium mark and the body reaches mild plus. In terms of construction, the first cigar needs multiple burn corrections to stay on track, has a tight draw and an obvious lack of smoke production. However, the last two cigars are the exact opposite in every way, with no burn issues, excellent draw resistance and plenty of smoke production.

As the second third begins, the same problems continue to plague the first cigar —including a tighter draw, filler tobacco burning unevenly and a profile dominated by nothing but a gritty earth flavor. Thankfully, after the halfway point those issues begin improving, and my second and third cigars are another matter entirely. Their profiles feature a rich combination of roasted peanuts and sourdough bread, followed by additional notes that include hay, dark chocolate, cinnamon, dry tea leaves and light earth. The retrohale of the first cigar continues to be dominated by earth and black pepper, but for the last two cigars, vanilla ice cream sweetness remains the top note. For the first cigar, flavor remains at a solid medium, but the strength and body increase to just under medium and a solid medium, respectively. The body of the last two cigars reaches a point just under medium while the strength hits a solid medium, and the flavor passes into the full territory. While the construction of the second and third cigars is excellent—great draws, plenty of smoke and one minor burn correction needed—once again, the first cigar has a host of issues, including a tight draw, a lack of smoke, two burn corrections and a relight.

At the start of the final third, the first Diplomáticos Grandes turns a major corner: the draw loosens up, the burn issues get better and the smoke starts to pour out of the foot. The flavors also start to mirror the other two cigars—albeit not nearly as distinct—with sourdough bread and roasted peanuts taking the top spots. At various points, Secondary flavors of oatmeal, baker’s spices, lemon zest, cocoa nibs, earth and bitter espresso show up, while the retrohales feature the same enjoyable combination of sweet vanilla bean ice cream and light black pepper. The flavor for the first cigar increases to medium-plus while both the strength and body end at a solid medium. The last two cigars feature full flavor, while the body increases to a solid medium, and the strength manages to reach medium-plus. Finally, all three cigars give me no issues at all when it comes to construction, as the burn lines, draws and smoke production all work together in harmony until the end of the cigars.

Final Notes

• 5th Avenue Products Trading GmbH is the distributor of Cuban cigars in Germany and Austria.
• Somewhat ironically, the Grandes means large in Spanish.
• There was once a Diplomáticos cigar in the classic lancero size named the Diplomáticos No.6, but it has been discontinued for more than three decades.

• Until it finally opened up in the final third, my first cigar was an extremely frustrating experience on a number of levels: the draw was tight and there were multiple times when some of the filler tobacco did not want to burn properly, leading to a high number of burn corrections and a few relights throughout. In addition, there were times when a hole opened up in the middle of the cigar, not because the ash had fallen out, but apparently because there was just less filler tobacco in those areas of the cigar.
• This is presumably a type of issue that is not going to be improved by everyone’s favorite “how to fix a Cuban cigar” advice: age it for five years. Or the second best suggestion: store it at 60 percent relative humidity.
• Having said that, the issues above were relegated to the first and second thirds of the first cigar—after that, the burn evened up nicely and the flavor profile became substantially more enjoyable—and the other two cigars I smoked for this review featured excellent construction.
• Late last year, Habanos S.A. released another Diplomáticos Edición Regional from the 2021 class: the Diplomáticos Leal was the seventh Edición Regional made exclusively for the Cuba market.

• All three cigars were very close to the official dimensions of 7 9/16 (192mm) x 40: in fact, they each measured the exact same 7.53 (191mm) inches long.
• We purchased these as a five-pack, so we do not know the box code for the box they came from.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel for €19 per cigar, or about $20 each.
• Final smoking time averaged one hour and 24 minutes for all three cigars.