Gran Habano XX Aniversario Edicion Limitada El Desafio

During the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Gran Habano showed off a new line that was created to commemorate the company’s 20th year in business. The aptly-named Gran Habano XX Aniversario Edicion Limitada was originally scheduled to be released in 2021, but delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the release back to late last year.

The XX Aniversario Edicion Limitada is a three-viola line featuring a shade-grown corojo wrapper from the Jalapa region of Nicaragua that the company says has been aged for four years. In addition, the blend features a Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos grown in Colombia, Nicaragua and Peru. The cigars were rolled at the G.R. Tabacaleras Unidas S.A. factory in Danlí, Honduras more than two years ago and have been aging ever since.

Box images via Gran Habano

“It is with great pride that after 27 years in business as a company, we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of our Gran Habano brand,” said George Rico, the company’s owner, in a statement announcing the cigar. “It is a wonderful feeling to reach this special milestone as a brand, as we will continue to maintain our culture as a company by following our principles to pursue making quality cigars. We look forward to the next chapter in our family’s journey, and to the new generations continuing the family tradition that have allowed four previous generations to be successful in the industry of tobacco.”

According to Gran Habano, while the initial production was limited to 4,000 boxes of each vitola, the XX Aniversario Edicion Limitada line will be an ongoing release; the first batch began shipping to retailers in November 2022.

• Cigar Reviewed: Gran Habano XX Aniversario Edicion Limitada El Desafio
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: G.R. Tabacaleras Unidas S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Shade Grown Corojo Jalapa)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Colombia, Nicaragua & Peru
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Toro Extra
• MSRP: $15 (Box of 20, $300)
• Release Date: Nov. 1, 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Covered in a medium-brown wrapper that features a noticeable reddish tint, the XX Aniversario Edicion Limitada El Desafio is slightly rough to the touch and extremely spongy when squeezed. There is some oil present—albeit not exactly a large amount—as well as some mottling, and all three cigars seem to have a very slight box-press shape on the feet. Aromas from the wrappers are exceedingly sweet, with strawberries and cedar leading earth, generic nuts, tobacco and barnyard. The aromas from the feet retain the strawberry sweetness, but there is substantially more earth and nuttiness. Finally, after a v-cut, the cold draws bring flavors of creamy nuts, straw, sweet cedar, white pepper, cinnamon, espresso beans and toasted bread.

Starting out, the Gran Habano features a toasted bread flavor as well as a significant amount of spice on my tongue, and while the toasted bread note moves to the background—replaced by main flavors of brewed cashews and cedar—the spice sticks around for close to the entirety of the first third at about the same level. Secondary flavors of roasted coffee beans, sweet earth, leather, cream, tobacco leaves and a slight vegetal note flit in and out, while the retrohale features both white pepper and molasses sweetness in about equal amounts. Flavor starts out at a solid medium, but both the body and strength lag behind at a point just above mild and mild-plus, respectively. In terms of construction, all three cigars feature copious amounts of smoke and excellent draws. While none of the cigars need attention from my lighter, the burn lines aren’t razor-sharp at any point.

Creamy cashews and cedar continue to top the profile in the second third, but there are some other changes to the cigar, including the amount of spice on my lips, which is down by about half compared to its high point in the first third. Secondary flavors include cocoa nibs, earthiness, leather, sourdough bread, coffee beans and slight cinnamon, while the combination of white pepper and molasses sweetness remains virtually unchanged. Flavor increases a bit to land just above the medium mark while the body has also increased to mild-medium and the strength makes it to a point just under medium. In terms of construction, both the draws and smoke production continue on their excellent paths for all three cigars. Two cigars have burn issues that require one correction, while the third cigar needs two corrections from my lighter.

There is virtually no change in the main flavors during the final third of the El Desafio, as cedar and creamy cashews easily continue to outpace the other notes of dry hay, toasted bread, espresso beans, dark chocolate, leather and light cinnamon. However, the amount of white pepper in the retrohale increases noticeably while the amount of molasses sweetness has remained about the same. Flavor ends the cigar at just above medium, while the body hits a point just under medium and the strength manages to cross into solid medium territory before the end of the cigar. Finally, while the draws and smoke production remain trouble-free and the burn on two of the cigars even up nicely, one cigar does need a minor correction to keep on track before I put the nub down with about an inch remaining.

Final Notes

• Although most references to Gran Habano indicate the brand debuted in 2003, it actually launched in 2001. However, 2003 was the year Gran Habano underwent a makeover that included new branding as well as the addition of a salesforce.
• When taken together as a whole, the names of all three vitolas describe a journey of sorts: El Sueño is Spanish for The Dream, while El Desafio translates to The Challenge and El Triunfo translates to The Triumph.

• The way that the bands are attached is a bit unusual, in that the main band is made up of two parts: a black base paper band that has a small amount of printing on it and a more intricate section—which features the majority of the art and gold foil—that is glued in the middle of the first paper band.
• Along with the above, I can’t remember the last time I saw a cigar band was totally black on the inside.
• Construction was good overall, including draws with excellent resistance and more than enough dense smoke. Having said that, the burn lines were seldom straight and all three cigars needed a correction with my lighter just before the halfway point to keep on track.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel. Gran Habano did send halfwheel some samples of this cigar, but none of those were smoked as part of this review.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged one hour and 44 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Gran Habano XX Aniversario Edicion Limitada El Desafio cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co. and Famous Smoke Shop have them for sale on their respective websites.