La Gloria Cubana Returns to Miami with New 8th Street Limited Edition

For its newest limited edition, La Gloria Cubana is returning to its Miami roots and a factory located across the street from the one that put the brand on the map.

Named for Calle Ocho, the famous street in the middle of Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, the La Gloria Cubana 8th Street is being made at El Titan de Bronze. It is a 6 x 50 toro that uses an Ecuadorian habano oscuro wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. A press release from Forged Cigar Company, which distributes the La Gloria Cubana brand, describes the blend as full-bodied with notes of espresso, leather and spice.

Production is being limited to 5,000 boxes of 10 cigars, a run of 50,000 cigars. Pricing is set at $21.99 per cigar and $219.90 per box.

“La Gloria Cubana is one of Calle Ocho’s biggest success stories and it’s a brand my team and I have long admired,” said Sandy Cobas, owner of El Titan de Bronze, via a press release. “When we were approached about collaborating on this special project, we jumped at the chance. ‘8th Street’ is our way of paying tribute not only to La Gloria Cubana, but also to the Cuban expatriate cigar rollers who continue to practice their craft in Miami, keeping the traditions of their homeland alive.”

The cigar was developed by Cobas and her team at El Titan de Bronze in collaboration with Justin Andrews, business development manager of Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s (STG) North American Branded and Rest of World divisions.

“La Gloria Cubana 8th Street is proudly made in the USA and honors the roots of this legendary brand,” Andrews said in a press release. “For this special project, we blended to a classic La Gloria profile which means the cigar has a lot of personality, is well-balanced through its many transitions and delivers a rich, long finish. This is an elegant and complex cigar that every fan of La Gloria Cubana will want to experience.”

The non-Cuban La Gloria Cubana brand dates back to the 1970s when it was made in Miami at the El Credito factory, which was owned by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and his father. In 1999, the brand, part of the El Credito Cigars company, was sold to Swedish Match AB—the former parent company of General Cigar Co.—which began moving production to the Dominican Republic, though Perez-Carrillo had already been producing cigars in the country for several years at that time. The El Credito factory eventually closed and is now home to a cigar retailer.

It also marks another return to Miami for La Gloria Cubana, as in 2008 the brand released a line called Artesanos de Miami, which was made at El Credito prior to its closure. STG has also worked with El Titan de Bronze, as in 2021 the Cohiba Serie M was made at Cobas’ factory. A second vitola was released earlier this year.

The La Gloria Cubana 8th Street will begin shipping to retailers on October 3.

Update (Jan. 6, 2023) — The story has been updated to refer to the cigar as 8th Street; originally the story called it Eighth Street based off a press release. As per halfwheel policy, we default to the spelling and styling on the bands and packages when there is a question on the name of a cigar. Additionally, information was added to clarify the sale of El Credito Cigars company to Swedish Match AB.

Images courtesy of STG/Forged Cigar Co.