Cohiba Talismán Added to Línea Clásica Line

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Cohiba. Last night in London, Habanos S.A. formally announced what is described as the first part of its “year of Cohiba.”

As had been announced earlier this year, the Cohiba Talismán, a former limited edition, is becoming a regular production release. The Cuban cigar monopoly has announced that it is the ninth cigar in the Cohiba Línea Clásica line, meaning it joins cigars like the Cohiba Siglo VI and Cohiba Lancero.

The Talismán was first released in 2017 as a part of the company’s Edición Limitada series. Two years later, the Talismán was released again in the same packaging and, according to Habanos S.A., utilizing tobacco “from the same harvest from which the (original) was produced.”

While the regular production version is the same vitola, a 6 1/16 (154mm) x 54 double toro with a pigtail cap, it’s unclear whether the new cigars will get the extra tobacco aging that Edición Limitada cigars are supposed to get.

What is clear is that there’s new packaging. The cigar gets new 10-count boxes and a foot band that says Talismán. Habanos S.A. says the boxes have an NFC chip, which will allow for authenticity verification. There’s an outer cardboard box and then the actual box is made of varnished wood.

“Talismán is not only the first launch of Cohiba’s 60th anniversary; it also marks the beginning of the Año Cohiba, with an exciting year of new releases ahead,” said José María López Inchaurbe, vp of development at Habanos S.A., in a press release. “And believe me, Talismán is just the beginning of what is yet to come.”

Like so many recent high-dollar, new Cuban cigar launches of late, in addition to the standard 10-count boxes, three-count boxes are being introduced, a relatively new phenomenon in the Cuban cigar world. Interestingly, those three-count boxes will only be sold in the U.K., where they have a suggested price of £600 ($793) for the three cigars. It would appear the cigars in the three-count boxes come with a special 60th anniversary tertiary band.

While the U.K. is known for its high cigar prices, it’s unclear if the £200 ($264) per cigar price will carry over to the 10-count boxes. In the case of the Trinidad Vigía Reserva Cosecha 2022, another recently announced cigar, the three-pack pricing is higher than the per cigar price of the 20-count boxes. Habanos S.A. did not announce the suggested price for the 10-count Talismán boxes.

“The launch of Cohiba Talismán continues a proud tradition of London hosting some of the most significant Cohiba launches over the years – including the Línea 1492, first presented at Claridges Hotel in 1993, followed by the Siglo VI, the launch of the Behike 52, 54 and 56 in 2010 and, of course, the original Talismán Limited Edition in 2017,” said Jemma Freeman, executive chair of Hunters & Frankau, the U.K.’s importer of Cuban cigars.

Cohiba (Cuban)
Cohiba Línea Clásica
Cohiba Talismán
Habanos S.A.
Hunters & Frankau