Habanos to Release Juan Lopez Regional Edition in Honour of World Cup

In typical Habanos style, Habanos is releasing a regional edition to honour the World Cup just before the tournament is over. And the launch party is in Cyprus, not in Qatar. The cigar will be launched on the day of the final. It is a Juan Lopez in a Duke size with only 10.000 boxes of 10 cigars made. The name is the Juan Lopez Hat Trick.

“The cigar’s name was inspired, of course, by the known sports achievement of scoring three times in a single match,” says Walid Saleh, chief executive officer of Phoenicia.

Hat tricks in soccer are rare feats, rarer still in World Cup matches, which take place every four years. There have been 52 in World Cup history. Cristiano Ronaldo (2018) was the oldest player to do the feat, at age 33 years, 130 days, while Pelé scored his hat trick in 1958 at the age of 17, the youngest player ever to score a hat trick in the Cup. Geoff Hurst is the only player ever to do it in a World Cup final, which happened in 1966 when he led England to victory over West Germany.

The launch party in Cyprus was not the original plan—it was supposed to happen in Qatar. But, just as Qatar famously banned beer sales at the 11th hour prior to the World Cup, things shifted on Phoenicia before this launch. Tobacco importation laws shifted, says Saleh, forcing his company to pivot.

“Due to the fact that we are not able to import the product to Qatar’s local market, now we decided to do the launching in Cyprus while watching the final because it’s the head office of the company.”