PCA 2023: Elie Bleu

The Elie Bleu booth has been relegated to something I visit on Day 4. There’s a lot going on in the booth and no shortage of people interested in trying to steal things from the booth, so in an effort to get more hands-on with the products, I find it a lot easier to stop by on the final day of the trade show.

In the U.S., Elie Bleu is distributed by Rëyns International. Much like another French luxury cigar accessory company I know, because the U.S. isn’t the company’s dominant market, some of the new items don’t always appear in the U.S. first, which is the opposite of how the vast majority of booths we cover function. As such, at least one of the new items I saw in Europe nearly a year ago, though it certainly was nice to see it again. This year, the big news in the Elie Bleu booth was another partnership with Arturo Fuente. As expected, the end result is very pretty.

The Elie Bleu booth has not changed much since it first debuted; it’s a very clean white palette with blue accents. Because of the Arturo Fuente humidors (the OpusX 25 humidors were on display as well), one section of the booth was roped off, but otherwise, it’s the same as always: a mixture of displays on the perimeter and seating in the middle.

Arturo Sandoval, a friend of the Fuente family, stopped by to play “God Bless America” ahead of the unveiling of the Hemingway House humidor.

Please note, all ship dates listed below are for the U.S. market. 

Elie Bleu 45th Anniversary Humidor

I first saw this humidor at InterTabac 2022 last September, but this was the first time I was able to see inside of it. I’ve yet to find an ugly Elie Bleu humidor, and this certainly isn’t going to be the start of it. The eucalyptus wood has an incredible pattern, and it’s bordered by dark ebony wood. The end result is a humidor that looks like it would have fit perfectly in an episode of “Mad Men” alongside a classic Eames lounge chair.

Inside the humidor are four trays designed to store cigars—each with its own humidifier and hygrometer—and then a bottom pullout tray to store an included lighter, ashtray and cigar case.

Marquetry is used throughout and the exterior has medals depicting famous buildings around the world.

It’s a fantastic humidor and it sounds like we are going to see more larger Elie Bleu humidors in the future. I might not have the budget for it, but my eyes aren’t going to complain. The humidor is rated to hold 350 cigars. I’m not sure how realistic that number is, but I don’t think many people are buying this because they need a humidor to hold 350 cigars.

MSRP: $31,000

Dimensions: 20.47 inches x 12.59 x 13.38

Production: 45 Humidors

Release Date: November 2023

Elie Bleu Under the Sea Humidor

It sounded like there was some apprehension about how well this would sell in the U.S., but apparently, it did well. While all of Elie Bleu’s humidors seem to be getting more and more detail, these playful humidors seem to be the biggest beneficiary. I absolutely love how the wood grain adds dimensions to the water.

The front side of the humidor—which depicts the treasure chest and pirate remains—might be the least interesting side of the whole thing. The humidor is rated to hold 110 cigars, which I think is more than doable.

MSRP: $7,200

Dimensions: 12.6 inches x 10.63 inches x 9.25 inches

Production: 199 Humidors

Release Date: April 2024

Elie Bleu Casa Cubana El Secadero Humidor

Elie Bleu’s Casa Cubana series, humidors depicting various buildings from Cuba, continues to get new additions by way of both humidors and other accessories. This 75-count humidor is called El Secadero, Spanish for the drying barn.

It depicts a traditional drying barn with tobacco hanging as it turns from green to brown. There are small details throughout, like a solitary wooden chair in the inside of the barn and various faring accessories on the sides of the barn.

MSRP: $5,000

Dimensions: 11.81 inches x 8.27 inches x 7.28 inches

Production: 199 Humidors

Release Date: March 2024

Elie Bleu Casa Cubana El Secadero Accessories

The ashtray is $1,550 and the lighter is $1,350. Both items are limited to 199 pieces.

Release Date: March 2024

Elie Bleu Casa Cubana El Secadero Smaller Accessories

There are also special colorways of the EBC-4 cutter ($230) and J-15 lighter ($240). Both are limited to 488 pieces.

Release Date: December 2023

Elie Bleu Casa Cubana / Cubana Havana Limited Editions

• EBC-4 Cutter Black Lacquer — $250
• EBC-4 Cutter Red Lacquer — $230
• EBC-4 Cutter White Lacquer — $230
• J-15 Lighter Black Lacquer — $250
• J-15 Lighter Red Lacquer — $240
• J-15 Lighter White Lacquer — $240

Release Date: Red/White (July 2023), Black (December 2023)

Elie Bleu Route 66 Dawn, Twilight Humidors

There are two new Route 66 humidors depicting the famous highway at dawn and twilight. The humidors use sycamore, red gum, pear tree, lemon tree and washed oak to create the scene. This is the first time I can recall seeing a faded license plate depicted on the side of the humidor.

While the exterior is new for 2023, the box itself is a standard size that I have previously reviewed.

There’s also a two-cigar porcelain ashtray ($760) that is ready to ship.

MSRP: $5,600

Dimensions: 15.75 inches x 10.63 inches x 4.41 inches

Production: 66 Humidors

Release Date: Dawn (March 2024), Twilight (July 2023)

Elie Bleu The Hemingway House of Dreams at Chateau de la Fuente

I asked Marc, our photo editor, to edit 10 pictures for this product. That is how much is going on here.

The very basic description is that this is a humidor made to look like a building that Arturo Fuente built in Caribe, Dominican Republic, itself modeled after Ernest Hemingway’s historic house in Key West. Inside the humidor are 60 cigars, all of which are the new Fuente Fuente OpusX Hemingway. Currently, the only way to buy the cigars is to buy this humidor.

As for the humidor, I’m going to eschew paragraphs in favor of bullet points:

• It was made very clear to me that despite Elie Bleu’s extensive library of designs, this humidor was a unique challenge for the company. While I didn’t get a full list of all the new techniques that were used for this humidor, it’s apparently a lengthy list.
• Manny Iriarte, a longtime Arturo Fuente collaborator, worked with Elie Bleu and Arturo Fuente to design this humidor.
• It’s rated to hold 110 cigars, I don’t know how relevant that is.

• The humidor sits on a platform that is designed to look like tile flooring.
• The lid of the humidor is not only made to look like the roof of the house, but it’s also angled.

• The very top of the lid is designed to look like stained glass. I was told it’s not actually glass, though metal is used.

• The wood grain in the brown part of the lid is made to mimic the parts of the roof.
• There are many details that are authentic to Fuente’s Hemingway House, the building. This includes the blue chairs on the lower porch, the pink flamingos that roam the property, the palm trees, etc.

• I get the sense that this horse was a particularly complicated thing to add to the humidor. Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. dreamed of this white horse and wanted it included in the humidor. I cannot tell you how many times the horses’ blue eyes were mentioned by people that were involved in making the humidor.

• This humidor includes a custom-made Boveda 320g holder in the lid. One of my few complaints about Elie Bleu humidors has been that the company has been using florists’ foam humidifiers. I am so glad to see this included.

• Given how it’s designed, you could replace this with smaller Bovedas or other types of humidifiers. The magnets are very strong to the point where I was concerned about the amount of force I needed to use to remove the cover the first time I went to remove it.

As for the cigars, not much is known. They are 7 x 50 perfectos made by one roller in the factory. The bands seen above are not final (and the cigars are wooden props) but are close to what you’ll see. Like the OpusX 25th Anniversary before it, at least initially, the only way to get the cigars will be to buy the humidor.

I haven’t gotten Arturo Fuente to clarify how close these are to the company’s 2020 plans for a Hemingway line with a rosado wrapper. Those cigars were going to come in multiple sizes and there was no mention of Elie Bleu, but that project was shelved because of 2020-related things. OpusX uses a rosado wrapper, so another name for a Hemingway with a rosado wrapper could be something along the lines of Hemingway OpusX.

MSRP: $16,500

Dimensions: 14.56 inches x 9.84 inches x 12.6 inches

Production: 288 Humidors of 60 Cigars (17,280 Total Cigars)

Release Date: Spring 2024

Elie Bleu OpusX Hemingway Accessories

There are three different accompanying accessories for the Hemingway OpusX.

The Elie Bleu Limoges Porcelain Ashtray Hemingway OpusX can hold four cigars, though it will come with only two of the gold-plated bridges to hold the cigars. This is the same size as the other four-cigar porcelain ashtrays: 9 inches x 9 inches x 2 inches.

It has an MSRP of $1,200 and is limited to 154 pieces.

The J-14 torch lighter also gets the OpusX Hemingway treatment. It measures 1.5 inches x 2.75 inches x .45 inches.

It has an MSRP of $550 and is limited to 199 pieces.

Finally, the EBC-4 cutter that Elie Bleu debuted last year will be offered in a special colorway. It measures 1.75 inches x .31 inches x 2.56 inches.

It has an MSRP of $250 and is limited to 454 pieces.

All three times are described as having  “Spring 2024” ship dates.

Elie Bleu Noir

The EBC-4 and J-15 are also getting three new colors. The most notable part is that it uses plated stainless steel to create the dark gray color. The company says that the plating holds better on the blades than the IP plating that Elie Bleu tends to use.

All three colors are the same price.

• EBC-4 Cutter Noir — $230
• J-15 Lighter Noir — $240

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: December 2023

Elie Bleu Patina Leather Cases

I don’t know how many of these colors are new, but some are. Each case can hold cigars up to 64-ring gauge.

• Elie Bleu Patina Leather Case Two Cigars — $580
• Elie Bleu Patina Leather Case Three Cigars — $670

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2023

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.