Quesada Ships Don Manolo 79

A new limited release from Quesada Cigars that was created to celebrate Manuel “Manolo” Quesada Jr.’s 79th birthday is on the way to retailers.

The aptly named Quesada Don Manolo 79 is a 6 x 52 toro made with a blend incorporating a specific tobacco Manolo Quesada set aside in the late 1990s. The cigars were made at the Tabacos de Exportación factory in the Dominican Republic.

Each Don Manolo 79 has an MSRP of $21.99 and it is limited to 1,000 boxes of 10 cigars. Of those, 700 boxes have been allocated for the U.S. market, while the remaining 300 boxes will be sent to international distribution.

“Don Manolo 79 is a personal tribute to our father’s cumpleaños,” said Raquel Quesada, co-owner of Quesada Cigars, in a press release. “We spent years learning from him, just watching how he worked and how he approached blending. For me, that meant learning from the best master blender I know. With this cigar, we wanted to take those lessons and create something special, something that gives back to the man who taught us everything.”

While the Don Manolo 79 is the third time that Quesada has released a specific blend to celebrate Manolo Quesada’s birthday, this is the first time that the birthday cigar will not be released on a five-year anniversary. The first birthday cigar was the Manuel Quesada 70, which consisted of two different vitolas—a 6 x 50 toro and a 6 x 52 belicoso—that were released in 2017, while the 6 3/4 x 48 Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary was released in 2022.

Unlike the first two releases that were created by Manolo Quesada to replicate blends he was enjoying at the time they were released, this newest version was blended by his daughters, Raquel and Patricia Quesada. In addition, the box and band designs depict six commemorative coins, each of which references “moments significant to both the Quesada family and Don Manolo’s life.”

In an email, Cristhian Lanzas, marketing director at SAG Imports, told halfwheel that boxes of the Quesada Don Manolo 79 started shipping to stores on Oct. 15. SAG Imports is the joint American distribution company operated by Joya de Nicaragua and Quesada.

Manuel “Manolo” Quesada Jr.
Quesada Cigars
Quesada Don Manolo 79
SAG Imports
Tabacos de Exportación