Procigar 2023 Auction Raises Record $440,000

Last Friday, Procigar 2023—the Dominican Republic’s main cigar festival—came to a conclusion in Santiago de los Caballeros. As is tradition for the event, it concluded with a gala dinner and auction. The auction includes lots donated by Procigar members and others, with proceeds benefiting three charities: A Home for My Family, Hospicio San Vincente de Paul and Voluntariado Jesus con los Niños.

Lot 1 — The Rose That Grew From Tobacco

Sold for $4,000 (Opening bid, $1,500)

This 36 x 48 painting was made by Fabian Barrantes, a designer and artist currently employed by Davidoff. Barrantes used acrylics, metallic ink, gold paint and tobacco leaves for this painting.

Lot 2 — Dominican Heritage Humidor by Quesada

Sold for $3,500 (Opening bid, $1,800)

Quesada Cigars once again teamed up with Pragmy Marichal, whose art was included in the Vega Magna box as well as previous Procigar auction humidors. This humidor, which is made of oak, features pen drawings by Marichal.

Inside are 112 cigars:

• 32 Limited Edition Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary • 20 Casa Magna Connecticut Toro
• 20 Quesada Reserva Privada Barber Pole Toro
• 20 Casa Magna Liga F Toro
• 20 Quesada 1974 Toro

Lot 3 — Humidor Supreme by PDR Cigars

Sold for $5,300 (Opening bid, $2,500)

PDR once again teamed up Quality Importers for its Procigar auction item. This mahogany humidor can be purchased as a standalone item, but inside are 100 El Vinyet Cuvee Special Churchill cigars that are not for sale. This is a unique line that is being bunched by Abe Flores, PDR Cigars’ founder, while the wrapper is applied by one of the factory’s best rollers. El Vinyet will be available for sale in four sizes but has not yet shipped.

Lot 4 — Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Masterpiece Humidor

Sold for $55,000 (Opening bid, $8,000)

There are 25 Davidoff Year of the Rabbit Masterpiece Humidors and this is one of them. The artwork on the lid is made of wood, tobacco and gold leaf and there are gold accents throughout.

Each humidor contains 88 Davidoff Year of the Rabbit cigars in a 6 x 56 toro extra size, that cigar received a 91 rating earlier this year.

Lot 5 — Art de Fumar Humidor & Ashtray

Sold for $18,000 (Opening bid, $3,800)

Robert Glick’s Art de Fumar takes cigar bands and creates art out of them including humidors, ashtrays, wall pieces and more. Inside of the humidor are 110 cigars donated by Procigar members.

Lot 6 — Montecristo Collector Series Humidor

Sold for $15,000 (Opening bid, $5,000)

Tabacalera de García’s item is this large black humidor that comes packed with 200 cigars. In 2021, Altadis U.S.A. released 100 humidors under the same name for select U.S. retailers, but those humidors were finished in yellow and only contained 135 cigars.

Lot 7 — The Galera Humidor by Tabacalera Palma

Sold for $30,000 (Opening bid, $3,500)

The company behind the brand La Galera has released an eponymous humidor. Inside are 85 cigars from Tabacalera Palma.

Lot 8 — Four Night Stay, Golf & Span at Amanera 

Sold for $18,000 (Opening bid, $10,000)

This is part of Amanera, Aman’s resort in the Dominican Republic, located at Playa Grande in the northern part of the island.

As part of the package, the winner gets:

• 4 nights relaxing and Golf getaway in 2 of Amanera’s stunning Pool Casitas
• Accommodations for 4 including daily breakfast.
• 4 sixty-minute Amanera Massages
• 1 round of golf at the Exclusively Private Playa Grande Golf Course
• One private dinner event during the stay
• Dedicated Host

Lot 9 — Humidor INCH by E.P. Carrillo

Sold for $18,000 (Opening bid, $5,000)

This custom humidor is all about E.P. Carrillo’s popular INCH series. The cabinet-style humidor opens to reveal not only trays full of cigars but also lots of rulers. Inside are 200 cigars.

Lot 10 — Ella by Fanny Lora

Sold for $3,500 (Opening bid, $2,500)

Artwork by Fanny Lora has been a consistent theme of Procigar auctions over the years, oftentimes combining hearts and tobacco leaves. This year’s piece, “Ella,” is no different, except that it’s not designed to be hung on a wall. Samán, oak and clay are used to make this sculpture, which pays tribute to the women of tobacco.

Lot 11 — Tonight, Tonight by La Flor Dominicana

Sold for $30,000 (Opening bid, $15,000)

Paying tribute to tonight, this humidor contains 100 La Flor Dominicana La Nox cigars, but in a 7 x 44 lonsdale size that has previously not been made.

Lot 12 — Descubriendo El Tabaco by De Los Reyes

Sold for $40,000 (Opening bid, $5,000)

This is inspired by tobacco’s journey from the Americas to the old world. As has been the case with past Procigar auction humidors, De Los Reyes has turned to René León, who crafted this humidor out of solid mahogany. Inside are 150 cigars.

Lot 13 — Benji Menendez Commemorative Humidor by General Cigar Dominicana

Sold for $17,000 (Opening bid, $7,000)

General Cigar Dominicana pays tribute to Benjamin “Benji” Menendez, who worked in the cigar business for more than six decades before retiring in 2013. Menendez was born in Cuba to the family who owned Menendez, Garcia y Cia., Cuba’s H. Upmann Factory. In 1960, following the Cuban revolution, Menendez left before eventually joining the predecessor to General Cigar Co. Menendez also successfully sued to get the rights to the brands his family owned in Cuba.

Inside this humidor are 100 Partagas Master Series Salomons, a size the company never released for this blend.

Lot 14 — La Aurora 120 Anniversary Series Limited Edition Humidor

Sold for $75,000 (Opening bid, $7,500)

This humidor pays tribute to the 120th anniversary of the Dominican Republic’s oldest cigar company, La Aurora. As for the humidor itself, it’s made of walnut with rose gold accents and an amber lion statue on top. The inside of the humidor is made of cedar and even features some leather.

As for the cigars inside, La Aurora says there are 400 cigars inside including its La Aurora Cien Años, La Aurora 107, La Aurora 115 and the upcoming La Aurora 120 Anniversary

Lot 15 — Don Arturo Fuente Limited Edition 2019 Blue Humidor by Arturo Fuente

Sold for $45,000 (Opening bid, $15,000)

In 2019, Prometheus released 20 of these humidors as part of the Fuente Aged Selection release, now one of them is up for auction. Inside are 100 Arturo Fuente Don Arturo Gran AniverXario, one of Fuente’s most difficult-to-find cigars.

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Other Lots

A Procigar tradition is for other items to be added to the auction. For 2023, this included:

• Bundle of Quesada Cigars — $2,000
• Art de Fumar Hat — $3,000
• Bundle of Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. Cigars — $4,000
• Bundle of La Flor Dominicana Cigars (25) — $5,000
• Bundle of La Flor Dominicana Cigars (10) — $4,000
• Bundle of Cigars from Fufi Reyes — $2,000
• La Aurora Cigars — $7,000
• Arturo Fuente Cigars — $12,000

In total, the auction items generated $416,300 in sales. An additional $23,700 was donated, getting the final amount of money raised to $440,000.

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A Home for My Family is Procigar’s own charitable initiative. It aims to build new homes for less fortunate employees.

Hospicio San Vincente de Paul is a non-profit dedicated to providing care for the elderly of Santiago. Proceeds will help to complete the Golden Age Residential Center, an area that will care for 26 full-time residents and 12 more daytime patients. The project is being created so that the organization can charge for care to help pay for its charitable costs.

Voluntariado Jesus con los Niños is a non-profit dedicated to helping children and their facilities. It includes a children’s oncology unit, children’s burn unit and a nutritional program that helps to offset the effects of chemotherapy treatment.