Update on the Quai D’Orsay Clemenceau. This is the French Edicion Regional for the 2020 program. But the cigar, as many of the cigars for the 2020 program, is not available yet. Coprova, the exclusive distributor of Cuban cigars in France however did confirm that the cigar is coming this year.

The name Clemenceau is a tribute to the former French prime minister Georges Clemenceau. He was France’s prime minister during the later years of the First World War. The post-war politics were heavily influenced by Clemenceau. Romeo y Julieta named a cigar after him. That was the Julieta #2, a cigar that is now better known as the Churchill. Ironically the British prime minister of the second world war replaced the French prime minister of the First World War as the namesake of this 7×47 cigar. 

Quai d’Orsay

The Quai D’Orsay brand is a post-revolution brand. When the French Minister of Finance, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing asked why there wasn’t a French cigar, the French tobacco monopoly came into action. Seita, the monopoly, made an official request to Cubatabaco for a French Cuban cigar. The name comes from a quay on the left bank of the Seine in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. Seita had its headquarters on the Quai D’Orsay.

The cigar was light to pair with champagne and foie gras. For the first 30 years of the existence of the brand, it was only available in France. In 2005 the rest of the world was able to enjoy the brand. Of the original five sizes, only the coronas remain. But two new vitolas became available in 2017. Interestingly enough, the Quai d’Orsay Imperiales had the exact same size as the Quai d’Orsay Clemenceau. 

It is the sixth time that Coprova and Habanos select Quai D’Orsay for the French Regional Edition. The Robusto Embajador (2011), Belicoso Royal (2012), Robusto Diplomatico (2015), Secreto Cubano (2016), and the Quai d’Orsay Capitolio (2018) are the other Quai D’Orsay regional editions for France. Only Asia Pacifico (2011 Superioros), Lebanon (2018 Baalbeck), and Switzerland (2020 Selection Royale) had Quai d’Orsay regional editions, although the latter two have not been released yet.