RFI: Che Elie Bleu Humidor & banded cigars

[GP012]

I was cataloging older photos this week and figured this topic would be a great deep dive candidate. The "Che" cigars have a checkered past in the annals of internet cigar lore and are worth further discussion.

From what I've gathered, a total of 50 humidors/cigars were released in ~2006. A London retailer was selling singles of the following vitolas in bulk in ~2011: Robustos, Piramides, Double Coronas & Short Sublimes.

I smoked a few of the Robustos & Piramides singles from that retailer and remember them being very strong. 

To add to the fun, there have been several other similar Elie Bleu humidors with Che's image on them, but I do not believe they contained these or any cigars for that matter.

I found a Christie's auction result with the following details:

Che Guevara Limited Edition No. 5 Superiores Humidor
Elie Bleu - Tabletier, Paris. Made in France in Red Sycamore. "For Fine Havana Cigars. No.8 out of 50. Contains three types of cigar: 35 cigars of 49 Gauge & 4 7/8 in. [Note - Robusto?], 18 cigars of 49 Gauge & 7 5/8 in. [Note - Double Corona?], 15 cigars of 49 Gauge & 6 in. [Note - Piramides?] With a key engraved with 8/50 in wooden presentation box and matching Che Guevara ashtray
1 Humidor of 68 cigars per lot

There have been two other auction results for humidors with the Robusto, Piramides & DC vitolas. Strangely, the both use the same image.

In ~2012, I had the opportunity to view humidor #2 of 50 in a private collection and took several photos. This humidor contained the following vitolas: A or Gran Corona, Diademas, Salomones and a Double Robusto or Sublime size in the bottom row.

With all that said, who has the full story? In my opinion, the high quantity of singles available - based on how often these were being smoked & shared on cigar boards in the early 2010's - does not line up with only 50 humidors being released.

Please pardon the tight cropping on the photos for privacy purposes.

[GP012]

The bands are quite attractive in my opinion.

[JohnS]

If you've ever been fortunate enough to smoke a cigar of this ilk, you'd know just how amazing a release this was!

 

[NSXCIGAR]

5 hours ago, GP012 said:

With all that said, who has the full story?

According to some information here these cigars were apparently commissioned by Elie Bleu for these humis but I'm not sure how they were ultimately distributed or sold. 

https://www.fohcigars.com/forum/topic/134588-elie-bleu-stuff/?do=findComment&comment=848689

 

 

[Coloniales]

Yeah, smoked a couple of these years ago, real or not. Can't be sure ha!