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The first release of these Regional Editions in 2005 consisted of five cigars, two Punch, and three Ramon Allones. Two were for Italy, two for Switzerland and one was described as an ‘Exclusive Release’. 2006 saw six releases – two Bolivar, and one each from Juan Lopez, Por Larranaga, Punch and Ramon Allones. They were two each for Germany, France and the Asia Pacific. And so it goes. Often a release will be attributed to a specific year but not be actually released until the following year, or even later.

Originally, the self-imposed rules restricted the brands available for selection to those outside what are termed the Global and Niche brands. The Global brands include Cohiba, H. Upmann, Romeo y Julieta, Hoyo de Monterrey, Partagas, and Montecristo. The Niche brand category was abandoned in 2019, allowing for further options, including Cuaba and San Cristobel.

Apparently, no decision has been made on whether Trinidad can be used for Regional Editions, but there has not been any offered from this brand to date. There have been discontinued and even new brands used. In addition, the cigars must be a standard current production factory size, not already available in that brand. In 2016, another rule was introduced. A cigar from the same brand cannot appear two years in a row for the same distributor.

Prior to 2012, the regional distributors were permitted to commission multiple cigars per year, however, this was altered to limit it to one cigar per region. Larger distributors can use an end-run around this by commissioning multiple cigars from different regions within their territory. While the cigars are exclusively for the specific regions designated, inevitably they bleed into others, and usually can be purchased on the net, so cigar lovers can enjoy releases not destined for their location. Hence, one of my very favorite Regional Editions was the Bolivar Simones, made for Canada.

In reality, the endless production of these cigars, sometimes up to two dozen different cigars a year, makes it largely impossible to closely follow all releases, but word will inevitably filter around the cigar world as to anything special. Or indeed, those that fall well short.

Punch ManTua Cuban cigar

One which attracted considerable attention was the 2018 Italian Regional, Punch ManTua. Even though it was a 2018 release, it did not see the light of day until 2020.

The name links Italy and Cuba. Mantua is an Italian city but also a small town in the Pinar del Rio district. It was founded by Italians who were shipwrecked nearby, on the northern coast of the region, around the year of 1605, give or take. The ship was named the Mantua, under the direction of Captain Anatolli Fiorenzana. The shipwreck allegedly occurred because the Italian ship was fleeing the British, who had mistaken them for pirates and were doing their best to sink them. The town of Mantua in Cuba, to this day, has several residents with Italian surnames.

For reasons unknown, while the town does not have the ‘T’ capitalised, the cigar does. I have absolutely no idea why and have not been able to discover the reason.

Punch ManTua Cuban cigars

The reviews of these have been largely positive and they have been highly sought after at both retailers and cigar auction houses like Bond Roberts. They come in cabinets of 50 (a wonderful size and if only there was more of them), and will cost somewhere north of US$2,000 a cabinet (the original price was €600 for a cabinet). But not all comments have been in favor. There are divergent opinions. To be honest, this didn’t bother me at all, as I doubted I’d ever get the chance to taste one. And then along came that very cigar (with the code of LMB 19).

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