Montecristo cigars

Montecristo is the name of two brands of premium cigar, one produced on the island of Cuba for Habanos SA, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in La Romana, Dominican Republic for the Franco-Spanish tobacco monopoly Altadis SA.

The Montecristo brand was created in 1935 by Menéndez, García y Cía,[citation needed] then the owners of the popular H. Upmann brand of cigars. Having just purchased the H. Upmann marque from J. Frankau & Co., Menéndez and García decided to produce their own subset of the regular H. Upmann line, called the H. Upmann Montecristo Selection.
The name for the brand was inspired by the Alexandre Dumas, père novel The Count of Monte Cristo, which was supposedly a very popular choice among the torcedores (cigar rollers) in their factory to have read by the lector on the rolling floor.
On the insistence of the John Hunter firm of Great Britain (which would later merge with J. Frankau & Co. to form Hunter & Frankau, Britain's sole importer of Cuban cigars to this day), the name was shortened to simply Montecristo and a new logo was designed for it: the yellow and red "crossed swords" logo the brand still bears today.
Through the efforts of Alfred Dunhill (the company), the Montecristo brand became incredibly popular worldwide and to this day accounts for roughly 50% of Habanos SA's worldwide cigar sales, making it the most popular Cuban cigar in the world. After the Cuban Revolution and the nationalization of the cigar industry in Cuba in 1961, Menéndez and García fled to the Canary Islands where they re-established the brand, but were later forced to quit due to copyright disputes with Cubatabaco. In the mid-1970s, the operation was moved to La Romana in the Dominican Republic and released for the US market, where Cuba's rights to the brand weren't recognized due to the embargo. Menéndez, García, y Cía is now owned by Altadis SA, who controls its distribution and marketing in the United States.
The original line had only five numbered sizes, with a tubed cigar added during the 1940s, but otherwise remained unchanged until after nationalization. With Menendez and Garcia gone after 1959, one of the top grade torcedores, José Manuel Gonzalez, was promoted to floor manager and proceeded to breathe new life into the brand. In the 1970s and 1980s, five new sizes were added: the A, the Especial No. 1 and 2, the Joyita, and the Petit Tubo. Three other sizes, the Montecristo No. 6, No. 7, and B, were released but subsequently discontinued, though the B can occasionally be found in very small releases each year in Cuba.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Montecristo continued to rise in popularity among cigar smokers and firmly entrenched itself as one of Cuba's top selling cigar lines. The Montecristo No. 4 is, itself, the most popular cigar in the world market.
In 2004, another new edition to the regular line was made with the Edmundo, a large robusto-sized cigar, named for the hero of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantès.
Montecristo is also regularly chosen to be featured in Habanos SA's annual Edición Limitada selection of cigars with a darker vintage wrapper and there are numerous limited edition releases of special Montecristo cigars for special occasions, anniversaries, the annual Habanos Festival, charities, etc.
In 2007, a cigar called the Edmundo Dantes Conde 109 was released as a part of Habanos' regional edition series. It uses a Montecristo blend and is believed to have a different name because of trademark right problems in Mexico.
Montecristo also produces three machine-made cigarillos: the Mini, the Club, and the Purito.

The following list of vitolas (sizes) within the Montecristo line lists their measurements in English and metric, their vitolas de galera (factory name), and their conventional name in American cigar slang.
Hand-Made Vitolas
No. 1 - 6 1/2" x 42 (165 x 16.67 mm) Cervantes, a lonsdale
No. 2 - 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo
No. 3 - 5 5/8" x 42 (142 x 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
No. 4 - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
No. 5 - 4" x 40 (102 x 15.87 mm) Perla, a tres petit corona
A - 9 1/4" x 47 (235 x 18.65 mm) Gran Corona, a presidente or giant
Especial No. 1 - 7 1/2" x 38 (192 x 15.08 mm) Laguito No. 1, a long panetela
Especial No. 2 - 6" x 38 (152 x 15.08 mm) Laguito No. 2, a panetela
Joyita - 4 1/2" x 26 (115 x 10.32 mm) Laguito No. 3, a cigarillo
Tubo - 6 1/8" x 42 (155 x 16.67 mm) Corona Grande, a long corona
Petit Tubo - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Edmundo - 5 3/8" x 52 (135 x 20.64 mm) Edmundo, a robusto
Petit Edmundo - 4 3/8" x 52 (135 x 20.64 mm) Petit Edmundo, a petit robusto
Edición Limitada Releases
Double Corona (2001) - 7 5/8" x 49 (194 x 19.45 mm) Prominente, a double corona
Robusto (2001) - 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a robusto or rothschild
C (2003) - 5 5/8" x 46 (143 x 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda, a toro
D (2005) - 6 3/4" x 43 (170 x 17.07 mm) Dalia, a lonsdale
Robusto (2006) - 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a robusto or rothschild
Regional Releases
Edmundo Dantes Conde 109 (2007) - 7 2/8" x 50 (184 x 19.84 mm) No. 109, a double corona
Special Releases
Millennium Reserve Robusto - 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a robusto or rothschild
B - 5 3/8" x 42 (135 x 16.67 mm) Cosaco, a corona

Hoyo de Monterrey cigars

Hoyo de Monterrey is the name of two brands of premium cigar, one produced on the island of Cuba for Habanos SA, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in Honduras for General Cigar.

In 1831, Don José Gener y Batet emigrated to Cuba from Spain at the age of thirteen, where he worked on his uncle's plantation in Vuelta Abajo. Twenty years later, he would open his own cigar factory in Havana and begin producing his own cigar line, La Escepción. In 1865, after using his factory's profits to acquire one of the best tobacco farms in Vuelta Abajo, he registered a cigar line named for it: Hoyo de Monterrey.

Literally translating from Spanish to English as "the hole of Monterrey" in reference to the concave terrain favored by growers of premium tobacco, the brand became incredibly popular, especially in the British market, and José Gener's factory subsequently became one of the largest factories in Cuba. In 1900, Gener died in Spain and his daughter Lutgarda Gener took over the business and it would stay in the family for another thirty years.

In 1931, the Gener family sold their cigar brands in order to focus more on their sugar cane properties. The firm of Fernández, Palicio y Cía bought the Hoyo de Monterrey and La Escepción brands and added them to their impressive lineup, which already included Punch and Belinda. Around this time in the 1940s, the Le Hoyo series (along with the Chateaux series which would later be used to create the Davidoff cigar line) was created for Swiss distributor A Dürr Co.. After the death of partner Ramón Fernández, Fernando Palicio became sole proprietor of the business and by 1958 his cigar lines accounted for 13% of all Havana cigar exports.

After the government of Cuba expropriated the company from its owners, Fernando Palicio fled Cuba for Florida, where he subsequently sold his cigar lines to the Villazon family, which continued to make Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, and Belinda cigars in their Tampa, Florida factory from Honduran tobacco for the American market.

Hoyo de Monterrey continued production in Cuba and in Honduras and is still a popular, globally-marketed Cuban cigar line. Among connoisseurs, the Épicure No. 2, Double Coronas, and Le Hoyo series are particularly prized.

Being a globally-marketed brand, Hoyo de Monterrey has been chosen for Habanos' annual Edición Limitada releases since 2000. Of interesting note is the Particular, which had some production problems during the first Edición Limitada lineup in 2000 with few of the cigars getting out to vendors. This prompted Habanos to release it again the next year, the only Edición Limitada cigar so far to have had this happen. In 2004, a new size was added to the Hoyo de Monterrey line, the Petit Robusto, which also wore a slightly-redesigned Hoyo de Monterrey cigar band.

Hoyo de Monterrey also produces two machine-made cigarillos: the Mini and the Midi.

The following list of vitolas (sizes) within the Hoyo de Monterrey line lists their measurements in English and metric, their vitolas de galera (factory name), and their conventional name in American cigar slang.

Hand-Made Vitolas

• Double Corona - 7 5/8" x 49 (194 x 19.45 mm) Prominente, a double corona
• Churchill - 7" x 47 (178 x 18.65 mm) Julieta, a churchill
• Épicure No. 1 - 5 5/8" x 46 (143 x 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda, a toro
• Épicure No. 2 - 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a robusto or rothschild
• Petit Robusto - 4 1/8" x 50 (102 x 19.84 mm) Petit Robusto, a petit robusto
• Hoyo Corona - 5 5/8" x 42 (142 x 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
• Short Hoyo Corona - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona

Machine-Made and Hand-Finished Vitolas

• Palma Extra - 5 1/2" x 40 (140 x 15.87 mm) Crema, a corona
• Coronation - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Petit Corona, a petit corona

The Le Hoyo Series

• Le Hoyo des Dieux - 6 1/8" x 42 (155 x 16.67 mm) Corona Grande, a long corona
• Le Hoyo du Député - 4 3/8" x 38 (110 x 15.08 mm) Trabuco, a short panetela
• Le Hoyo du Gourmet - 6 3/4" x 33 (170 x 13.10 mm) Palma, a slim panetela
• Le Hoyo du Maire - 3 7/8" x 30 (100 x 11.91 mm) Entreacto, a small panetela
• Le Hoyo du Prince - 5 1/8" x 40 (130 x 15.87 mm) Almuerzo, a petit corona
• Le Hoyo du Roi - 5 5/8" x 42 (142 x 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona

Edición Limitada Releases

• Particular (2000 and 2001) - 9 1/4" x 47 (235 x 18.65 mm) Gran Corona, a presidente or giant
• Pirámide (2003)- 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo
• Épicure Especial (2004) - 5 1/2" x 50 (141 x 19.84 mm) Gordito, a robusto extra
• Regalos (2007) - 5 1/3" x 56 Coronas Extra, a grand corona

Cohiba cigars

Cohíba is a brand for two kinds of premium cigar, one produced in Cuba for Habanos SA, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in the Dominican Republic for General Cigar. The name cohíba derives from the Taino word for "tobacco". The Cuban brand is filled with top-quality tobacco which, unique to Cohiba, has undergone an extra fermentation process; it is a type as well as a brand.

Cohíba was originally a private brand supplied exclusively to Fidel Castro and high level Cuban government and communist party officials. Often given as diplomatic gifts, the Cohíba brand gradually developed a "cult" status. It was released commercially for sale to the public in 1982.

Cuban Cohíbas are known to use some of the finest cigar tobacco available in Cuba. The tobacco for Cohíba is selected from the finest Vegas Finas de Primera (first-class tobacco fields) in da San Luis & San Juan y Martinez zones of the Vuelta Abajo region of Pinar del Río Province. The tobacco used to fill the cigars is unique among Cuban marques because it undergoes a third fermentation process in barrels, which is reputed to give it a smoother flavor than other cigars. Originally all Cohíbas were made at the El Laguito factory, a converted mansion located on the outskirts of Havana. Later, production of some Cohiba vitolas was expanded to other factories.

The flavour of these cigars tends towards medium to full-bodied.

Cohíba began with the cigars smoked by a bodyguard of Fidel Castro's named Bienvenido "Chicho" Perez. Castro noticed he often smoked a "very aromatic, very nice" cigar. When asked by Castro what brand he smoked, he replied that it was rolled by a friend of his who would give him some of these special cigars as gifts.

The man in question was a cigar roller working at the La Corona factory in Havana named Eduardo Rivera. Castro approached Rivera about rolling cigars for him personally and set him up with five other rollers in a former diplomatic mansion in a suburb of Havana known as El Laguito (Spanish for "the little lake"). Later, the factory became the first cigar factory to be staffed entirely by women torcedoras (cigar rollers). Historically, security at the factory was tightly regulated, with only designated officials and workers allowed entry into the most critical work areas of the factory.

The cigars were reserved for Castro and other high-ranking Cuban officials, and were often presented to foreign dignitaries as gifts. Additionally, with rumors and fears of a CIA assassination attempt running rampant, it made sense for Castro to smoke only cigars that were manufactured under extremely secure and secretive conditions. (The CIA had allegedly contemplated using exploding cigars as a means of assassinating Castro). Castro himself is said to be particularly fond of the long, thin cigars rolled for him, especially the sizes that would become the Lancero and Corona Especial.

Castro decided to release his personal cigars as a premium cigar brand for public consumption when the 1982 World Cup was held in Spain. When first launched in 1982 the Cohíba marque consisted of three vitolas or sizes: the Panetela, the Corona Especial, and the Lancero. In 1989 three more vitolas, the Robusto, the Exquisito, and the Espléndido, were added; the six are referred to as the Línea Clásica (classic line).

In 1992 Habanos SA launched the first sizes in what it calls the Línea 1492, commemorating Christopher Columbus and his voyage to the Americas, with each size named for a century since Columbus' discovery. The initial launch included the Siglo I, Siglo II, Siglo III, Siglo IV, and Siglo V, with a Siglo VI added in 2002. A long-standing rumor is that the original Línea 1492 was a replacement for the Davidoff marque that recently ceased production in Cuba (each of the first five "Siglos" corresponded to a size in the Davidoff line-up).

Besides regular production, Habanos SA regularly releases limited release Cohíba cigars for such events as the annual Habanos Festival, brand anniversaries, and their annual Edición Limitada (limited edition) release of special sizes of their various cigar brands wrapped in a darker vintage leaf. In 2007, Habanos released a new line of maduro-wrapped Cohibas, called "Maduro 5," in three sizes.

Cohíba also produces two machine-made cigarillos: the Mini and the Club.

Habanos SA have used their Cohiba brand name for non-cigar products, manufacturing Cohiba cigarettes since 1987 and Extra Cohiba Cognac since 1999.

As of late 2006 Cohíba had released three different Edición Limitada Cohíbas: the Pirámide released in 2001 and re-released in 2006, the Double Corona in 2003, and the Sublime in 2004.

The following list of the Cohíba marque includes the size in inches and ring gauge with metric in parenthesis. Also, the vitola de galera or factory name of that size is included along with its popular size name in American cigar vocabulary.

La Línea Clásica

• Lancero - 7 1/2" x 38 (192 x 15.08 mm) Laguito No. 1, a long panetela
• Corona Especial - 6" x 38 (152 x 15.08 mm) Laguito No. 2, a panetela
• Panetela - 4 1/2" x 26 (115 x 10.32 mm) Laguito No. 3, a cigarillo
• Exquisito - 4 7/8" x 36 (125 x 14.29 mm) Seoane, a cigarillo
• Robusto - 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a robusto or rothschild
• Espléndido - 7" x 47 (178 x 18.65 mm) Julieta, a churchill

La Línea 1492

• Siglo I - 4" x 40 (102 x 15.87 mm) Perla, a tres petit corona
• Siglo II - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
• Siglo III - 6 1/8" x 42 (155 x 16.67 mm) Corona Grande, a long corona
• Siglo IV - 5 5/8" x 46 (143 x 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda, a corona gorda
• Siglo V - 6 3/4" x 43 (170 x 17.07 mm) Dalia, a lonsdale
• Siglo VI - 5 7/8" x 52 (150 x 20.64 mm) Cañonazo, a toro

Maduro 5

• Secretos - 4 1/2 x 40 (110 x 15.87 mm) Reyes, a tres petit corona
• Magicos - 4 1/2" x 52 (115 x 20.64 mm) Magicos, a robusto or rothschild
• Genios - 5 1/2 x 52 (140 X 20.64 mm) Estupendos, a robusto extra

Edición Limitada Releases

• Pirámide (2001) - 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo
• Double Corona (2003) - 7 5/8" x 49 (194 x 19.45 mm) Prominente, a double corona
• Sublime (2004) - 6 1/2" x 54 (164 x 21.43 mm) Sublime, a large toro
• Pirámide (2006) - 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo; a remake of the 2001 EL

Special Releases

• Millennium Reserve Pirámide - 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo
• Behike - 7 1/2" x 52 (192 x 20 mm) Behike, a double robusto