Eladio Díaz 72 Anniversary North and South Edition

Over the years, there have been legendary, unreleased cigars that would pop up on cigar forums—this was long before Discord or TikTok—to be discussed about and fawned over. One of those cigars was a birthday cigar made by Eladio Díaz, who, starting when he turned 50, created a special blend for each year’s celebration.

For 20 years, the only way you could get one of Díaz’s birthday cigars was to be handed one by the man himself. However, since launching Tabacalera Díaz Cabrera alongside his wife and children, Díaz has been selling the birthday cigars. It started with the Eladio Díaz 70 Aniversario in 2023, followed by the Eladio Díaz 71 Aniversario last year.

The 2025 edition is called the Eladio Díaz 72 Anniversary North and South Edition, and the name refers to not only Díaz’s 72nd birthday but also where the tobacco comes from: all of the tobacco in the 6 1/2 x 52 toro extra vitola was grown in either the northern or southern areas of the Dominican Republic. The wrapper is a four-year-old corojo seed that was grown in the south, the binder is a Mexican San Andrés negro seed that was grown in the Dominican Republic, while the filler blend includes criollo 98 and HVA from the south as well as corojo 99, piloto cubano and negrito.

The Eladio Díaz 72 Anniversary North and South Edition is priced at $25 per cigar or $300 per 12-count box. A total of 2,500 boxes were produced at Tabacalera Díaz Cabrera in the Dominican Republic.

“The first impression is the presence of a magnificent wrapper 100% Dominican, is a wrapper of sun (Capa de Sol), which means more flavors due to the photosynthesis of the sun,” said Díaz in a press release. “When you light up comes a symphony of nuances where we can perceive notes lightly spicy, creamy, coffee, cacao, almonds with an active participation in all the mouth, especially in the acid glands creating humidity in the mouth but not to the point to make you salivate, the aroma is a perfume that caress greatly the nose, it has a spectacular balance without notes that over run, the strength from 1 to 10 will be in my personal opinion will be 7, in my humble opinion is a symphony of flavors outside of the common.”

• Cigar Reviewed: Eladio Díaz 72 Anniversary North and South Edition
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera Díaz Cabrera
• Wrapper: Dominican Republic (Corojo)
• Binder: Dominican Republic (San Andrés Negro)
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Corojo 99, Criollo 98, HVA, Negrito & Piloto Cubano)
• Length: 6 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $25 (Box of 12, $300)
• Release Date: May 2025
• Number of Cigars Released: 2,500 Boxes of 12 Cigars (30,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

With fairly uniform milk chocolate brown wrappers that feel like fine sandpaper and the hunter green, brown and gold color scheme on the bands, the three Eladio Díaz 72 Anniversary North and South Editions are visually impressive cigars. Physical inspections reveal that my first and third cigars have one very large protruding vein running from the secondary band to the foot, while the second cigar is noticeably firmer when squeezed, which makes it easier to find a massive soft spot just under the secondary band. Aromas from the wrappers include cinnamon, creamy woodiness, leather, sweet chocolate and a light vegetal, while the third cigar has more of a creamy earth note than the other two. Vanilla ice cream sweetness leads the scents coming from the feet, followed by cedar, earth, coffee beans, baker’s spices and dried tea leaves. After straight cuts, all three cigars feature notes of creamy nuttiness, oak, leather, earth, nutmeg, white pepper, anise and barnyard but I also detect a distinct mint leaf note from the second cigar.

Starting off the first third, light spice and white pepper combine with flavors of gritty earth and leather for the first few puffs, but main flavors of peanuts and lemongrass quickly take over the profile. Secondary flavors of cocoa nibs, gritty earth, creamy leather, cornbread, baker’s spices and tea leaves flit in and out, while a combination of white pepper and bubble gum sweetness is present on the retrohale. My first and third cigars have a very light but distinct mushroom flavor on the finish, while the second cigar features a cinnamon note that the other two cigars lack. Flavor ends the first third at full, while the body hits a point halfway between mild and medium and the strength lands just below the medium mark. When it comes to construction, there are no issues for any of the three cigars.

The second third is where things diverge. My first and third cigars are in unison: main flavors of toasted cedar and sourdough bread, followed by additional notes of chalk, mulch, charred meat, salted peanuts, coffee beans, terroir and lemongrass. Both cigars also have the same mushroom note on the finish that was present in the first third, but the amount of white pepper on the retrohale has increased slightly and there is a new bready sweetness that reminds me of graham crackers. Unfortunately, my second cigar runs into a major issue just after the second third begins: it seems there is a piece of tobacco in the filler that is barely burning at all, leading to acrid flavors and multiple burn corrections. Interestingly, the issue lasted for about 20 minutes, then disappeared, presumably after the problematic piece of tobacco had burned up. After the issue resolved itself, the flavor profile for that cigar slowly returned to what it was before the problem started, although there did seem to be a bit more spice on my tongue and toasty profile until the final third. The flavor remains at full, the body increases to a solid medium and the strength bumps up slightly to a solid medium. While the second cigar suffered from a multitude of burn issues, the first and third cigars continue to be completely trouble-free.

Thankfully, by the time the final third begins, the second cigar’s issue are long over and all three cigars feature the same main flavors of sweet hay and creamy peanuts, although there is more of the peanuts flavor in the first cigar than the other two. Secondary flavors of citrus peel, toasted bread, creamy cedar, dark chocolate, nutmeg, leather tack and light cloves show up at various points, while the retrohale changes to include a combination of pepper and honey sweetness. A small amount of spice shows up on my tongue for all three cigars, but it is strongest on the final cigar. The flavor on the finish is also different for each cigar: cinnamon on the first cigar, coffee beans on the second cigar, and mushrooms on the final cigar. Flavor ends at full, the body stays put at a solid medium and the strength increases slightly to land at medium-plus. Thankfully, the construction for all three cigars mirrors the first third, meaning there are no issues whatsoever when it comes to smoke production, burn lines or draw resistance.

Final Notes

• Although the original price of the Eladio Díaz 72 Anniversary North and South Edition was $35, before the cigars made it to retailers’ shelves, Arango Cigar Co. announced the price had been lowered to $25 per cigar.

• The construction issue I ran into during my second cigar was fairly short-lived, but it was very obvious when it started and when it ended. As you can see from the photograph above, it was almost as if some of the tobacco in the filler was not burning properly. Thankfully, the tobacco leaf or leaves that caused the issue were not all that large, as I was able to smoke through it in about 20 minutes.
• In 2018 and 2019, Charlie reviewed the Eladio Diaz 62 and Eladio Diaz 64 birthday cigars as part of halfwheel’s Holy Grail Week.

• The wrapper on my third cigar had contrasting shades that were so different looked like it was a barber pole cigar in certain light.
• When I saw the name North and South, the first thing I thought of was the epic mini-series of the same name that my parents made me watch back in the 1980s, which starred much younger versions of Patrick Swayze, Kirstie Alley and Jonathan Frakes.
• I photographed a portrait of Eladio Díaz back in 2015 on the floor of the Davidoff factory.
• A mushroom flavor was present at various points during all three of these cigars, but it never rose to the level of a major note in the profile.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• These cigars are listed as 6 1/2 x 52. Above are the measurements we took when we measured them.
• Final smoking time averaged out to one hour and 58 minutes for the three cigars.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Eladio Díaz 72 Anniversary North and South Edition cigars, site sponsor Atlantic Cigar Co. has them on its website.

Brooks Whittington

I have worn many hats in my life up to this point: I started out as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, then transitioned to photographing weddings—both internationally and in the U.S.—for more than a decade. After realizing that there was a need for a cigar website containing better photographs and more in-depth information about each release, I founded my first cigar blog, SmokingStogie, in 2008. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars, and it was one of the predecessors to halfwheel, which I co-founded.