José Blanco kicked off the celebration of his 65th birthday today with the announcement of a new limited production size in Las Cumbres Tabaco’s Señorial line, a 5 3/4 x 55 figurado he’s calling Perfecto Elégance.

In a press release issued Monday, Blanco cited the launch of his new company and its first cigar, as well as a move back to the Dominican Republic all coming together to make 2014 a very special year for him, and his 65th birthday provided an opportunity to celebrate with a new vitola.

Senorial 65th Anniversary open box

“This is a cigar very special to me, and I wish to share more than the usual by also mentioning these beautiful Dominican farms, as well as primings depending on the seeds,” Blanco said. The wrapper is a six-year-old Dominican Piloto Cubano from the La Canela farm, while the binder is a Dominican corojo, also from La Canela. For the filler, he is using five-year-old Dominican Piloto Cubano ligero, from La Canela, as well as Dominican corojo viso from the Jacagua farm and Dominican Corojo seco from the Gurabo farm.

Blanco noted that depending on the farm and seed, he carefully chose each priming and is only using tobaccos with five to six years of age for this edition. “It all wraps up in a medium to full bodied cigar, full flavored with great complexity and a quality smoothness,” he said, adding that it is “very balanced and in harmony.”

He is limited the release to brick-and-mortar retailers only, and when it arrives will have an MSRP of $14 per cigar, a significant jump over the prices of the rest of the Señorial line, which ranges between $7 and $10. Production has been announced at 2,000 boxes of ten cigars, with Tabacalera Palma handling the manufacturing. The factory and farms are run by Jose “Jochy” Blanco, José’s cousin.

While a specific release date has not yet been announced, Blanco said that the cigar will be released after 90 days of aging. Emma Viktorsson of Las Cumbres Tabaco said the current plan is to have them at retail during the second week of November.

At the 2014 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, Blanco confirmed that he is working on a lancero for the Señorial line, though it does not yet have a release date, as well as a maduro version slated for 2015.

(Shipping information was added shortly after the original story was published.)

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.