The latest collaboration between renowned French accessory maker Elie Bleu and cigar manufacturer Arturo Fuente has resulted in a luxurious new offering: the Elie Bleu Hemingway House of Dreams at Chateau de la Fuente humidor. This exclusive humidor, which began shipping last Friday, carries a substantial price tag of $20,000.

This price includes a meticulously crafted, limited-edition humidor designed to resemble the Hemingway House, a structure located at Chateau de la Fuente, the Dominican Republic farm owned by Arturo Fuente. This farm is the source of all the tobacco used in the highly esteemed Fuente Fuente OpusX line. In addition to the humidor, purchasers will receive 60 exclusive cigars, the Hemingway OpusX, adding further value to this extraordinary package.

The humidor itself is a work of art, measuring 14.45 inches x 12.6 inches x 9.84 inches and rated to hold 110 cigars. It is inspired by the Hemingway House, a building that Fuente constructed in homage to Ernest Hemingway’s historic home in Key West. The design was a collaborative effort with Manny Iriarte, who has a long-standing relationship with both Fuente and Elie Bleu and has worked on numerous projects with them. The humidor replicates the house’s distinctive features, including Spanish tiles at its base, gold inlays for the railings, and a sloped lid designed to mimic the roof.

One of the humidor’s most striking features is the use of metal to replicate the look of stained glass, a design element found throughout the actual Hemingway House. Additionally, the humidor showcases various animal motifs, with a notable depiction of a blue-eyed white horse.

Each humidor is handmade in France, and Elie Bleu has noted that this is one of the most intricate and labour-intensive humidors they have ever produced. The humidor comes equipped with a hygrometer and is designed to use 320g Boveda packs, which can be stored inside a magnetically attached cover.

The accompanying cigars, the Arturo Fuente Hemingway OpusX, are 7 x 48 perfectos. While Arturo Fuente has been tight-lipped about the specifics of the cigar’s blend, the exclusivity of these cigars is clear—each humidor comes with 60 of these cigars, packaged separately in their own box. According to Elie Bleu, these cigars will only be available with the purchase of the humidor.

The humidor was first unveiled at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show last July. However, there have been some changes since then. For example, the MSRP has increased from $16,500 to $20,000, and the initial production run of 288 units has been halved to just 144, further enhancing its exclusivity.

In addition to the humidor, a range of Hemingway OpusX-branded accessories has been released. Although not entirely new, these items are presented in new colourways. The Elie Bleu Limoges Porcelain Ashtray Hemingway OpusX, which holds four cigars, now features gold-plated bridges and measures 9 inches x 9 inches x 2 inches. It is priced at $1,240 and is limited to 154 pieces.

Other accessories include the J-14 torch lighter, measuring 1.5 inches x 2.75 inches x 0.45 inches, with an MSRP of $550 and limited to 254 pieces. The EBC-4 cutter, measuring 1.75 inches x 0.31 inches x 2.56 inches, is priced at $250 and limited to 454 pieces. Lastly, the Hemingway OpusX J12 lighter is available at an MSRP of $280.

In the United States, Elie Bleu products, including this new humidor, are distributed by Rëyns International, a company with a long history of collaboration with Arturo Fuente.

Photos taken from Tobacconist of Greenwich website.