We’re back in Monaco and the Monte-Carlo Cigar Club! To celebrate, we smoked something special: the Cohiba 60th Anniversary.
Our visit to Monaco
Monaco in May is a wonderful place to be. The weather is perfect, the city is buzzing with life due to the motorsport season which includes the Formula 1 Grand Prix, and the Monte-Carlo Cigar Club has a fantastic terrace to enjoy a cigar as you already know from our previous article.
We thought that would be the perfect occasion to taste the Cohiba 60th Anniversary: a cigar to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Cohiba brand that was intended to be launched at the Habanos festival in February 2026. As you may know, however, the festival was cancelled. We did manage to get our hands on some samples, and we’ll share our experience with you.
The Cohiba 60th anniversary
Originally intended as a non‑pigtail release named ‚Aurora‘, the vitola was reworked at the last minute into a pigtail release under the factory name ‚Alborada‘.
The vitola measures 60 ring gauge (≈23.8 mm) × 192 mm (≈7.56 in) and features a pigtail; it is exactly the same length as a lancero. Its ring gauge is roughly 1.6× that of a lancero. We believe this is intended as a limited humidor release. Regardless, it’s meant to be smoked — and that’s exactly what we did.
Cold draw
I cut it straight; the draw is relaxed and perfect. The cold draw tastes of leather and grass, with hints of a very mild spice.
First third
Early puffs offer sweet hay and vanilla. It’s milder than other recent Cohiba releases such as the Majestuoso (50th) and Ideales (55th).
The fat ring gauge opens the flavours nicely. The tobacco tastes well aged, avoiding the roughness common in many new sticks, and the profile is already balanced.
Second third
The vitola continues to burn uniformly and develops a touch more complexity while remaining mild. Leather and hay remain prominent, with hints of nutmeg and sweetness.
The broader ring gauge seems to enhance the flavours; some smokers, however, may prefer a slightly smaller gauge for comfort — I’m still deciding myself.
Final third
As we reach the final third, the vitola remains very enjoyable. Full of flavour yet light — definitely a Cohiba. Some ammonia notes show up towards the end.
Conclusion
The Cohiba 60th Anniversary is generous in complexity and flavour. Its mild character doesn’t overwhelm the aficionado, which suits a release of this size. The examples we received are ready to smoke now, but I expect aging will refine them further. I’d be curious to see how they develop after a few years‘ aging.