Tor Imports Ltd has recently unveiled a limited edition cigar to commemorate the 160th anniversary of Charatan, an iconic British brand in pipe tobacco and cigars. The new release is named Charatan 160th Anniversary and is now available in cigar shops across the U.K.

The Charatan 160th Anniversary cigar is a 6 1/2 x 44 lonsdale, wrapped in an Ecuadorian-grown, Connecticut-seed wrapper. It features a Mexican binder and fillers from Nicaragua’s Jalapa region. The production is managed by Fabrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A., and is capped at 250 boxes, each containing 16 cigars. That’s a total production run of 4,000 cigars. Retailing at £25 per cigar or £400 for a full box, it’s a product designed to catch the attention of aficionados.

The Charatan brand has a storied history that dates back to 1863, when Frederick Charatan opened a boutique on Mansell Street, close to London’s historic Tower of London. Scott Vines, the managing director of Tor Imports Ltd and the current owner of the Charatan brand, stated, “As historic and meaningful to the United Kingdom as London’s Underground or the English Football Association, both also founded in 1863, we do not take the remarkable heritage of Charatan lightly.” Today, Charatan stands as a lasting tribute to a legacy of tradition and a rich palette of flavours and smoke.

In addition to the limited edition cigars, Tor Imports Ltd is marking the anniversary with a special pipe tobacco blend also dubbed Charatan 160th Anniversary. The blend combines Virginia, Broken Virginia, Burley, and Black Cavendish tobaccos, offering an “exquisitely balanced plum and vanilla aroma with a mild to medium strength profile.”

Since its inception, the Charatan brand has seen ownership changes, notably when it was acquired by Dunhill Tobacco of London in the 1960s. The 1990s saw a reinvigoration of the Charatan cigar line, making it one of the best-selling Nicaraguan cigars in the UK. In 2018, Tor Imports Ltd. acquired the cigar and pipe tobacco lines from Dunhill, pledging to enhance and expand the offerings while staying true to Charatan’s British roots.

Carlos Zúñiga, strategic development and communications manager for Tor Imports Ltd, mentioned, “Although this launch is exclusively for Great Britain and pays homage to the brand’s origin and journey, the future of Charatan is bright, promising, and global.”

For those in the U.K., the Charatan 160th Anniversary cigars are currently available at selected retailers, offering both new and seasoned smokers a chance to partake in a remarkable piece of British tobacco history.