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With economic forecasters predicting an extended U.S. recession, this is kind of a weird time to be putting out a list of the most expensive cigars on the planet. Whereas five years ago we might have oohed and aahed over this unattainable selection of smokes, today these overblown exaggerations of wealth and luxury border on the obscene. Nevertheless, they retain their novelty, and for some opulent cigar-obsessed tycoons, their value.
Our list is limited to “production” cigars — we’ve excluded vintage cigars such as the one owned by Winston Churchill that recently went for $3,000 at an auction. These cigars were made to be prohibitively expensive from the outset.
3. Gurkha His Majesty’s Reserve – $750/stick
Infused with Louis XIII de Rémy Martin cognac and limited to 100 boxes a year, the His Majesty’s Reserve is priced with no deference to affordability or reason. The one review we could find was not at all convinced of this stick’s value, though at this price we’d all have to admit expectations are impossibly high. Is it even possible to produce a cigar that’s truly worth $750? I think this works out to at best a $50 cigar with $700 in “I’m rich, bitch!” blended in. Still, you kinda have to admire K. Hansotia and crew for their marketing prowess.
2. Gurkha Black Dragon – $1,150/stick
Not to be confused with the current Gurkha Black Dragon production line, the original limited edition 2006 Black Dragon is legendary for its price tag. We can’t comment on how it tastes, because we’ve never seen or heard from anyone that smoked one. Maybe that’s because the supply was limited to five hand-carved camel-bone boxes of 100. That’s a $115,000 box of cigars right there. We love luxury, but that price is obscene. Sure, this cigar contained the rares tobaccos from all corners of the earth, meticulously crafted and all that, but no box of dead plants is worth that much. There are no reports on if Gurkha even sold any, though I’m sure there’s someone out there rich enough and — ahem — needing to compensate for lack of something else to buy one of the five boxes.
1. Gran Habano Corojo #5 El Gigante – $200,000/stick
Just last month, this monster overtook the Black Dragon as the world’s most expensive production cigar. We even visited it in person. Judging by its price tag, it may be a while before another cigar breaks the record.
Some readers might argue that this cigar doesn’t really fit into a list of “production” cigars due to its ridiculous 1920 ring gauge, 1,600 pounds of tobacco and all. But damned if this cigar isn’t smokeable — it’s actually the same 90-rated blend available in the regular Gran Habano Corojo #5. What’s more, the geniuses at Gran Habano have come up with a weird suction device that attaches to the mega-cigar, with 40 tubes extending every which way. Get one person puffing on each tube and you can actually smoke this thing. Yeah, you might have to cut the cap with a chainsaw, but it’s a real cigar. Rumor at the IPCPR was that one had been purchased already. Included in the price tag is a trip to Gran Habano’s factory to oversee the production of your very own $200,000 cigar. We can’t imagine that the first people to smoke this thing wouldn’t videotape themselves in the process, so keep your eyes peeled. Honestly we’re a little too impressed with this feat of cigar manufacturing to give Gran Habano a hard time for the ridiculous idea of paying for one of these.