Cash To Burn

Gurkha’s Majesty’s Reserve

His Majesty’s Reserve is the official name of this limited production cigar. Fewer than 100 boxes are produced each year. Twenty sticks come per box and each cigar is placed in a crystal tube and sealed in green wax.

The wrapper, filler, and binder are all from the Dominican and is said to have a mild-medium strength. What is most interesting of this 7.5×50 sized cigar is that it is generously (an entire bottle) infused with Louis XIII Cognac. Technically this would make the cigar a “flavored cigar“.

President of the Gurkha company personally decides which retailer qualifies to receive the $15,000 box of flavored cigars.

Doing the math: Individually the cigars sell for $750.

Cigar in a Bottle (Forbidden X Bottle)

Walking through the Fuente booth at the 2008 IPCPR one would see a beautifully lighted display sticking out like a sore thumb. Inside the display was a bottle of Grand Pommier XS Calvados brandy, and inside the bottle of apple brandy was a Forbidden X cigar.

Fuente Fuente Forbidden X is the unique cigar especially made to sit inside the capsule of the bottle. It is rolled to a size of 6 3/8 x 49 and made of tobacco grown on the grounds of Chateau de la Fuente. The X cigar is then placed in imported empty French oak Calvados casks for 45-60 more days (to add a hint of apple sweetness).

The brandy / cognac like liquor is made of hundreds of green and red apples that grow locally in the French region. Apples are removed at different times in the growing season, washed in purified water, and pressed to make juice. The apple juice is then double distilled and placed in the casks for 30-40 years.

The cost of this unique item is around $600 per bottle or around $60 a shot (at Casa Fuente).

Cohiba Behike

Cuban cigars are generally more expensive when purchasing them while on vacation or having the sticks shipped into the USA.

Cohiba Behike cigars were named after the cheif of one of Cuba’s indigenous tribes. 4,000 of the honorary cigars were produced by Cohiba and every single last stick was rolled by hand. In fact Norma Fernandez, the cigar roller at the El Laguito factory in Havana was the lone roller.

These cigars come with an Elie Bleu designed humidor. It is made with Galuchat, black ebony, mother of pearl, sycamore, cedar and ox bone. The humidor will also be personalized with the production number, the cigars are numbered and the owner’s name. Only 100 humidors, with 40 cigars each will be sold upon exclusive order of Habanos distributors, double ringed and numbered from 1 to 4000.

Gurkha Black Dragon

This is not the Black Dragon that you can pick up at your local cigar lounge. I do not know if the cigars that come in the box are similar (except aged).

Black Dragon cigars are hand-crafted by the Gurkha factory in Honduras. Each cigar contains African Cameroon, Dominican, and Connecticut tobaccos wrapped in a dark chocolate maduro wrapper. Aged for 12-15 years the 7.5×52 cigar is said to be very strong and very spicy.

The beauty of the 100 count cigar package has to be the box. The box is made in India of camel bone and solid brass.

The production package was limited to just 5 boxes and retails for $115,000.