Some limited edition smokes are well worth the hunt.

I love everything about cigars. To offer a smoking companion something new from my collection is as fun for me as it is for them. But it's challenging to find cigars rare enough to be a treat for many of today's cigar smokers.

Cigar fans continue to demand unique experiences, leading the industry to introduce new, sometimes smaller-production sticks to supplement their lineups. Fans and avid collectors quickly snatch up these limited edition releases. Fortunately, many retailers limit purchases in order to share the wealth with as many customers as possible.

Limited editions are rewarding additions to any cigar smoker's collection. Here are some of my favorites from the past few years:

Avo 22

Following the success of the Avo 75th Anniversary cigar in 2001, Davidoff of Geneva has released an annual commemorative cigar to celebrate Uvezian's birthday -- and the very next year, they came out with the Avo 22, packaged in 2,000 unique round canisters (each of them numbered) of 19 cigars each, and made with tobaccos exclusively from 1998. These 19-perfecto boxes were exclusive to the American market; the European market received a thinner-format perfecto in 22-cigar boxes.

La Aurora Cien Años

La Aurora, the Dominican Republic's oldest cigar factory, celebrated their centennial anniversary with the release of a limited-edition Dominican puro in 2004: the Cien Años line, which became an instant hit at least partially thanks to its specially-grown Corojo wrapper. Available in four sizes, the cigars are individually numbered, reflecting their limited production run; some 425,000 were made over a four-year period, and if a box isn't sitting in your humidor right now, you should track one down before they run out.

Litto Gomez Small Batch

Everyone loves the underdog, and the success of Litto Gomez and his La Flor Dominicana brand is one of my favorite cigar-industry stories. To celebrate a decade of hard work, Gomez launched the LG Diez in 2004, and in 2006 introduced a limited edition within the LG line known as Small Batch, which comes in wine-case like boxes of 105 cigars. And the cigar's wine reference is appropriate, as this cigar represents a true vintage: All its tobacco was grown on Gomez's own farm in 2002 in La Canela, Dominican Republic.

La Gloria Cubana Serie R Limitada

La Gloria Cubana might have gone mainstream, but the brand has maintained its boutique roots. The Serie R Limitada sold out with each annual limited edition, climaxing in 2007 with 250 La Gloria Cubana Serie R Limitada Retrospectivo humidors, filled with a selection of 100 Serie R Limitada cigars (in both natural and maduro wrappers) from each year of production.

Padrón Millennium

The extensive assortment of Padrón blends and sizes offers something for everyone. While their smaller-production cigars (such as the 1964 Anniversary Series) are always sought-after, one of their most limited launches has proven one of the most popular: the Padrón Millennium Series, 1,000 humidors filled with 100 cigars to celebrate the turn of the century, released in 1999 before the champagne bottles popped on New Year's Eve. Each case and cigar is sequentially numbered, and at 52 x 6, even the shape is a little ahead of its time.

Next article » The Post-Embargo World

Previous article « José 'Pepin' Garcia: No Compromise for Success