Quai d’Orsay Clemenceau Scheduled for Oct. 12 Release in France
There will be a new Quai d’Orsay Edición Regional arriving at retailers in France in the coming days, a cigar that is both celebratory and a nod to the marca’s origins.
It’s the Quai d’Orsay Clemenceau, which comes in the iconic Julieta No.2 vitola, better known as a Churchill. It measures 7 inches (178mm) long with a 47 ring gauge, and is a size found throughout the Habanos S.A. portfolio. It was also once a size in the Quai d’Orsay portfolio, though it was known as the Imperiales. It was released in 1974 when the brand debuted, but was discontinued in 2015.
The name Clemenceau comes from Georges Clemenceau, a French statesman who more than a century ago lent his name to a habano of the same format. This new Edición Regional is not just a nod to him, but is being released in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Coprova, the exclusive distributor of Habanos S.A. products in France. As such, its secondary band not only indicates its Edición Regional status, but recognizes Coprova’s anniversary as well.
Coprova has commissioned 15,000 boxes of 10 cigars, for a total run of 150,000 cigars. Pricing is set at €20.50 ($23.72) per cigar and €205 ($237.28) per box, and they will be in stores on Tuesday, Oct. 12.
This will be the sixth Edición Regional for France to use the Quai d’Orsay marca, which traces its roots back to France. The Quai d’Orsay was created in 1973 at the request of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, France’s Economy and Finance Minister at the time and later president, who wanted a cigar to pair with French staples, notably Champagne and foie gras. The name Quai d’Orsay comes from the building in which the minister’s offices were located, part of the left bank of the Seine opposite the Place de la Concorde. Due to its roots, the brand had limited distribution outside of France for much of its history, but Habanos S.A. updated the brand in 2017 with new packaging, bands and vitolas as part of giving it more exposure internationally.
The brand has also gained more of a global foothold around the world via the Edición Regional program. In 2011, the Quai d’Orsay Superiores was released in the Asia Pacific region, while the Quai d’Orsay Baalbeck was released for Lebanon in 2021, though was part of the 2018 class. The brand was also used for an Edición Limitada, the Quai d’Orsay Senadores, in 2019.
The Quai d’Orsay Clemenceau was announced in May and is part of the 2020 class of Edición Regional releases.
Update (Nov. 8, 2022) — The original version of this story misspelled the name of the distributor, it is “Coprova” not “Corprova.”
Images courtesy of Coprova.
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 Major League Baseball, 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.
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