Roughly one year late, the 2014 Reserva series release from Habanos S.A. is finally starting to hit markets. But that doesn’t exactly mean many will get to smoke it anytime soon.
The H. Upmann No.2 Reserva Cosecha 2010 has made its debut, but multiple distributors and retailers have told halfwheel that initial supplies of the new release are very small.
It’s the latest entry into the Reserva Series, which consists of regular production cigars rolled entirely with tobacco that is aged for a minimum of three years. The cigars feature different presentation, including a silver on black secondary band. There’s also the Gran Reserva series, which is similar only the cigars are made with tobacco that is at least five-years-old and feature gold on black secondary bands.
As the name implies, this cigar is made with tobacco from the 2010 crop.
Given recent releases, it would appear Habanos S.A. is trying to alternate between Reserva and Gran Reserva series, but given the delayed arrival of the H. Upmann, that’s no longer entirely clear.
The H. Upmann No.2 Reserva debuted last February at the XVI Festival del Habano in Cuba and was expected to begin shipping later in the year, which is how the Reserva and Gran Reserva releases have gone of late: announcement in February, cigars at the end of the year. But 2014 came and went without a release and this February, Habanos S.A. was showing off a new Gran Reserva without any real update as to when last year’s Reserva was expected to debut.
As for the cigar, it is the exact same size as the H. Upmann No.2, a 156mm (roughly 6 1/8 inches) x 52 pirámides. The release is limited to 5,000 numbered boxes of 20 cigars. So far, Germany is the only confirmed market of a release, although other distributors have told halfwheel they have received the cigars, but have not begun shipping them to retailers.
One German La Casa del Habano retailer has listed the cigars at €780 per box, roughly $44 per cigar.