Why the Trinidad is the cigar of the year

Once it was Cuba’s best-kept secret. Not any more. When it comes to Havana cigars, this year is all about Trinidad. Named after the picturesque, Unesco-listed town four hours’ drive east of Havana, the Trinidad was devised in 1969 as a gift for Fidel Castro by Avelino Lara, who used to supervise the team of three rollers making cigars for the Maximum Leader’s personal consumption.

The Trinidad 55 Aniversario Fundadores Vintage 10 cigar bands

It wasn’t so much a brand as the name of a single cigar. When the brand finally went on sale in 1998, it was available in just one vitola: the Laguito Especial. It was an elegant, aromatic 7.5in wand of tobacco that delivered a refined experience to those who knew how to operate it: if rushed, a slender cigar becomes too hot and harsh. Another three sizes followed in 2003, the Reyes, Coloniales and Robusto Extra.

Production of the Robusto Extra ended after a few years of special editions. New sizes came and went: between 2009 and 2019 there was not a cigar under a 50-ring gauge, topping out at a massive 59. The delicate balance of the blend had been devised with a narrow-gauge cigar in mind, and this was a little like teaching someone to play chess to grandmaster level and then entering them into the world heavyweight boxing championship.

The author with Jemma Freeman of Hunters & Frankau, smoking a Trinidad Fundadores

I'm here today with Jemma Freeman, owner of Hunters & Frankau the Cuban cigar importers into the UK. And I'm smoking an utterly delicious Trinidad Fundadores from the late 1990s. So this is 25 years old. And Trinidad, as you I'm sure know, is the beautiful colonial city about five hours drive out of Havana, protected by UNESCO. But the cigar was much harder to find, wasn't it? It was even thought of to be like the Yeti or the Abominable Snowman. A myth, wasn't it?

It was. It was only used by Fidel Castro to give to the highest ranking diplomats.

And your father-- there's a box there signed by Fidel Castro, given to your father.

Yes, before the cigar was ever released.

And now we are at the 55th anniversary of this amazing brand which was so secret, people doubted its existence. And now, what have we got there?

Here we have the Robusto Extra, which is a Trinidad that existed, was discontinued, and is now coming back.

And here we have?

The Fundadores from the current production.

And here we have a Cuban House that is in this case supposed to represent a farm, right?

Yes. It was built in the traditional colonial style of buildings you might see in Trinidad, and only a hundred of them were ever made in the early 2000s.

And you have got a limited edition coming up that I know I shouldn't really talk about. But it's so secret, so limited, that we're not allowed to show it and certainly not allowed to taste it.

Well, the Cabildos, which we're launching in June, exclusively available in the UK. So we're very excited about that.

But in the meantime, you can rely on the Fundadores to see you through until that important date. Thank you very much.

Nothing happened with Trinidad for five years, and now we know why: the powers in Cuba were recalibrating the brand. This is the 55th anniversary of Trinidad, and June sees two launches and one relaunch: the Robusto Extra is back and, having got my hands on one, it seems a worthy successor to its illustrious forefather, beginning with a burst of fresh flavours and settling down to a fruity succulence with a sweet finish and sandalwood aroma, and there is a new Edición Limitada called the Cabildos, which at 46-ring gauge is the narrowest new Trinidad in 15 years.

The Trinidad 55 Aniversario Fundadores Vintage 10 humidor, made by ST Dupont and containing 55 Trinidad Fundadores Vintage cigars – 945 pieces have been produced at around £35,000 each

And Trinidad has also been selected as the first brand to premiere a new concept: vintage cigars aged in Cuba. Aged tobacco is already in use: Edición Limitada cigars are made with tobacco at least two years old, the age threshold for Reserva cigars is three years and five for Gran Reserva. But that is raw material, the equivalent of wine aged in barrels as opposed to bottles or, in this case, individual cigars. Ageing cigars is not as well understood as ageing wines, which tend to follow a parabola from youthful zest to mature complexity and, if you leave it too long, decrepitude. With cigars, most get milder, some get stronger and blends that should logically age well become characterless.

Happily, Cuba’s cigar industry has formed a committee on vintage cigars that will oversee the maturation and release of cigars aged in Havana, and the first fruits of its labours will be tasted this summer when 1,000 humidors of Trinidads aged for at least a decade go on sale. Inexpensive they are not, but, given they contain examples of the Laguito Especial, the OG of Trinidad production, they offer a window onto the past of one of Cuba’s most illustrious marques.

The Cabildos Premier will be available in the UK from 22 June (£795 for a five, packed in a leather case); the Robusto Extra later this year (around £300 for a commemorative box of three); cigars.co.uk

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Why the Trinidad is the cigar of the year

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