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Quesada’s birthday cigar for its patriarch is now on its way to U.S. shops, and this time Manuel “Don Manolo” Quesada didn’t blend it himself.

SAG Imports, the U.S. distribution company run by Joya de Nicaragua and Quesada, says the Quesada Don Manolo 79 is now shipping to U.S. retailers. The limited edition marks Don Manolo’s 79th birthday, and for the first time in the history of Quesada’s anniversary releases, his daughters Raquel and Patricia Quesada led the blending. They worked with the factory team on the cigar, which also uses tobacco Don Manolo had set aside since the late 1990s.

The blend pairs a Honduran wrapper with a Dominican binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. It comes in one size, a 6″ x 52 toro.

“Don Manolo 79 is a personal tribute to our father’s cumpleaños,” said Raquel Quesada, co-owner of Quesada Cigars. “We spent years learning from him, just watching how he worked and how he approached blending. For me, that meant learning from the best master blender I know. With this cigar, we wanted to take those lessons and create something special, something that gives back to the man who taught us everything.”

Don Manolo 79 is the third Quesada cigar made for one of Don Manolo’s birthdays, following the Manuel Quesada 70 in 2017 and the Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary in 2022. It’s also the first to land outside the five-year rhythm, and the first he didn’t blend. Raquel and Patricia took over running the company in 2024. The cigar debuted at the 2026 PCA Trade Show in New Orleans and is made at Quesada’s Tabacos de Exportación factory in the Dominican Republic.

Production is capped at 1,000 boxes worldwide, with 700 headed to the U.S. The box and bands bring in pieces of Quesada’s updated look, including commemorative coins that mark milestones in Don Manolo’s life and the family’s history. Boxes hold 10 cigars, and halfwheel lists the MSRP at $21.99 per cigar ($219.90 per box).

The release is also among the first from the revived SAG Imports. SAG once handled Quesada in the U.S. and handled Joya de Nicaragua until 2008, when Drew Estate took over Joya. It returned in December 2025 as a U.S.-only joint venture between the Quesada and Martínez families, based in Doral, Florida, and carrying Quesada, Casa Magna and Joya de Nicaragua. Jaime Flórez-Estrada, formerly of Global Premium Cigars, has been SAG’s CEO since April 1, 2026.

Quesada’s Reserva Privada was the Dojo’s Limited Edition Cigar of the Year in 2015, and its 50th Anniversary made our 2024 Top 20.

Product Details

  • Cigar: Quesada Don Manolo 79
  • Size: 6″ x 52 (Toro)
  • Wrapper: Honduran
  • Binder: Dominican
  • Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan (includes tobacco set aside since the late 1990s)
  • Blenders: Raquel and Patricia Quesada with the factory team
  • Factory: Tabacos de Exportación, Dominican Republic
  • MSRP: $21.99 per cigar (per halfwheel; not in release)
  • Packaging: 10-count boxes
  • Production: 1,000 boxes worldwide (700 for the U.S.)
  • Availability: Shipping now to U.S. retailers