A pair of Edición Regional releases bound for Lebanon now have a launch date, as Phoenicia T.A.A. Cyprus Ltd. has announced plans for its 40th anniversary celebration on Nov. 8, and during the event, the Ramón Allones Phoenicia 40 and Quai d’Orsay Baalbeck will both be featured cigars.

The Ramón Allones Phoenicia 40 is a 6 1/2 (164mm) x 54 double robusto that is known as the Sublimes vitola, a size shared with a number of other Ediciónes Regional as well as the Cohiba Sublimes Edición Limitada from 2004, the Montecristo Sublimes Edición Limitada from 2008, and the La Gloria Cubana Inmensos, a La Casa del Habano exclusive that debuted in 2010. It will be an extremely large release for an Edición Regional with 450,000 cigars split between boxes of 20 and 440 Elie Bleu humidors of 40 cigars. Those humidors will be split into five themes, with Phoenicians, Mediterranean, Volutes and Horizon each getting 100 units, while a fifth line called Journey will have a production of just 40 humidors.

Phoenicia says all the tobacco used is coming from Hector Luis Prieto’s farm and the cigar will be rolled at the Partagás factory, formally known as Carlos Baliño.

The Quai d’Orsay Baalbeck, meanwhile, measures 5 1/2 (140mm) x 54, a robusto extra known as the Duke vitola. The size debuted in 2009 with the Romeo y Julieta Dukes Edición Limitada, and then was used for the Partagás Serie E No.2, which was released in 2011. It has also been used for a number of Ediciónes Regional releases. A total of 60,000 cigars is being produced for this release, split into 1,200 sliding lid boxes containing 50 cigars each. The cigar gets its name from a historical city in Lebanon, with this particular one located approximately 53 miles northeast of Beirut.

The launch event it set to take place in Beirut, Lebanon.

The company has not yet responded to an email regarding pricing, or a timetable for when the cigars will begin arriving at retail shops.

Phoenicia T.A.A. Cyprus Ltd.,is the Cuban cigar distributor for Lebanon, the Middle East and much of Africa.

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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 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.