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Cohiba

The youngest Cuban cigars are considered to be Cohiba (Cohiba) cigars. This is a very ancient name. Even the first inhabitants of the Cuban island rolled tobacco and smoked it. They called it Cohiba. Today these cigars are very popular both in Cuba and abroad.Exclusively the best tobacco varieties are used to create Cuban Cohiba cigars. The tobacco for these cigars is cultivated on the best plantations in the province of Pinar del Rio in Vuelta Abajo. Only the finest leaves of the Corojo tobacco plant are used for the cigars. These become the cover for the beautiful Cohiba cigars. The heart of the cigar contains the selected tobacco leaves. Among other things, the cigar filling undergoes a third fermentation, during which the cigars get their unique and recognisable taste and luxurious aroma.The modern history of Cohiba cigars dates back to 1966, when they began to be rolled at the school of spinners. Five years later this school became the ElLaguito factory. Eduardo Rivera, who was a master blender, is considered the creator of Cohiba cigars. It is Cuban Cohiba cigars that have become the trendsetters of taste and quality all over the world. Nowadays they firmly occupy the first places in the rating of cigar preferences.The company was officially registered in 1969. Even then, cigars of this brand became an attribute of inaccessible luxury. And it is understandable, because up to 1982 Cohiba cigars could afford only representatives of government circles. Often these cigars served as a memorable gift to diplomatic missions.In 1982 Cohiba cigars conquered the market. At that time the consumer was already familiar with such brands as Panetelas, Coronas Especiales, Lanceros. They were produced in honour of the World Football Championship, which was held that year in Spain. Cohiba cigars instantly gained popularity and became the number one cigar.In 1989, three more types of cigars were released - Esquisitos, Esplendidos and Robustos.Cohiba SIGLO cigars also have a very interesting history. The cigars of this popular series were released in 1992 in honour of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus. It should be noted that the cigars were released one for each century that has passed since that era.

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Montecristo

The best-selling brand among cigars is Montecristo (Montecristo). Before the Cohiba brand appeared on the market, Montecristo cigars were considered the most prestigious. The brand was created by the Spaniard Alonso Menendez, who owned plantations and a cigar business in Florida before moving to Cuba in 1930.There are two legends of the appearance of the name Montecristo. According to the first and most popular legend, the name comes from, you guessed it, the novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas, which was read aloud to cigar rollers. Another legend says that the Menendez family regularly holidayed in the mountain resort town of Altub. The Spanish word for mountain is monte, and the wine the family favoured for dinner was La Crima Crisri (meaning "Tears of Christ"). From the combination of the words Monte and Crisri the brand Montecristo was born. In general, this version is quite plausible, because at the very beginning on the whist and on the bow of Montecristo cigars there was no emblem with the image of swords. Menendez acquired the Particulares factory in 1935. At that time, the factory produced such well-known brands as Byron and Particulares. Although Particulares was the best-selling, Menendez put everything on Montecristo, wanting to make it the most prestigious havana. In order to realise his vision, he began to collaborate with a big man in the cigar business who had once run the Partagas factory - José Manuel Garcia.A year later, the company Menéndez & Garcia was established, and another year later this firm acquired the H. Upmann factory from J. Frankau S. A., where it completely transferred its production. In those years England was the main consumer of cigars. That is why Menedes & Garcia relied on this country, establishing co-operation with such major cigar distributors as Alfred Dunhill Ltd, John Hunter and Morris&Elkan Ltd. Incidentally, it is said that it was the manager of Morris&Elkan who came up with the logos that can now be seen on the vista and bow of Montecristo cigars - the heraldic lily and crossed swords.Initially, the cigars of this brand were produced in five formats. All were bought up very quickly, as the volume was limited. Cigars were popular in America, particularly in New York. By the way, the brand "Montecristo" was especially loved by American stars and businessmen. Among the admirers of the brand was, for example, the famous film director Alfred Hitchcock.Particular success to the brand "Montecristo" came after the Second World War, when in 1950 a new format Tubos was introduced.When there was a revolution in Cuba, the Menendez family was forced to move to the Canary Islands. There they launched the new cigar brand Montecruz (Montecruz). Subsequently, the birthplace of this brand became the Dominican Republic.New formats of Montecristo cigars appeared only in 1971 - four formats were released at once: everyone's favourite Montecristo A, Especial, Especial No. 2 and Joyitas. The Montecristo No. 6 and No. 7 vitolas came on the market in 1980 and were discontinued after 18 years. The next novelty came only in 2004. These were Montecristo Edmundo cigars, named after Edmond Dantes, the hero from the novel "The Count of Montecristo" by Alexandre Dumas.And finally, the most recent novelty in the Montecristo line - Montecristo Petit No. 2 - was released in 2013.

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Romeo y Julieta

The Romeo y Julieta cigar brand was created in 1875 by Inocencio Alvarez and Mannin Garcia. The brand was named after Shakespeare's famous tragedy Romeo y Julieta.Between 1885 and 1900, the brand won many awards at various tasting exhibitions (as evidenced by the gold medals on the brand logo).However, the brand really blossomed after Jose "Pepin" Rodriguez Fernandez, former manager of the Cabanas factory in Havana, became the brand's owner in 1903. Being a very active man, Rodriguez was constantly travelling around Europe and America, promoting his brand in all sorts of ways: for example, being a big fan of horse racing, he bought a thoroughbred racehorse, named it Julieta and raced it all over the world.As a result, his skills paid off and the brand became extremely popular all over the world with wealthy customers, many of whom demanded personalised bows for their cigars. The brand was also famous at this time with figurado cigar enthusiasts such as perfectos and Pirámides, more than a thousand such shapes are believed to have been in production.Following Rodriguez's death in 1954 (at the age of 88), the revolution and subsequent nationalisation of the tobacco industry, the brand was transferred to La Romana in the Dominican Republic, where production of Julieta by Romeo for the American market continues. Today - under the management of Altadis SA. The Cuban government nationalised the brand and still produces and distributes the cigars worldwide as the world's best selling brands.In 2006 a new addition was made to the list of Julieta by Romeo cigars produced. Churchill's short size, the Robusto, was introduced at the 8th Annual Havana Cigar Festival in Havana, Cuba in 2006.Sir Winston Churchill is perhaps the most famous connoisseur of the brand. One of the flagship cigars is named in his honour.‍

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Trinidad

Trinidad - the city and the cigarTrinidad cigars are a young Cuban brand, created in 1969 and named after the amazing city that has earned the love and recognition of tourists from all over the world for its elegance, beauty and rich culture accumulated over the centuries.This year the Trinidad cigar brand, with the three letters "T" on the bow, turns forty years old and three years old. 

HOLY TRINITY CUBES

The city of Trinidad (translated as "Holy Trinity") seems to have been specially created for lovers of the outgoing nature - truly authentic. The old part of the city delights with the sight of ancient cobblestone streets. The gates, railings and verandas of the houses in mixed style and the red tiled roofs give the impression of an open-air history museum.The year of the city's foundation is generally accepted as 1514, when Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar arrived in a village in the central part of the island. Accompanied by twenty Spaniards, he attended the first Mass celebrated at Christmas by the priest Fray Juan de Tesin in the church of Villa de la Santísima Trinidad. In honour of this church, the settlement was renamed Trinidad.The village developed rapidly until 1518, when Hernán Cortés left Trinidad with virtually no male population, taking them all to conquer Mexico.Between 1579 and 1585, the settlement was given the status of a town. Crafts and trade began to flourish there. Tobacco, leather goods, and meat became the main commodities for trade.From 1673 the area began to produce cane sugar, the harvest of which was enormous. The streets of Trinidad were paved with cobblestones, which served as ballast for merchant ships coming here. On their way back to Europe and America, the ships left with full holds of sugar. The place in the Valle de San Luis was called the Valley of the Sugar Mills. Here, in 1816, the Manaca-Iznaga tower was built to symbolise the prosperity of the province, with an incredible height of 45 metres for the time, necessary to monitor the slaves on the vast cane plantations.‍ The Manaca-Iznaga tower was built in 1816.

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CIGAR MILESTONES OF THE ELITE VITOLA

In the same factory where the Cohiba cigar was created, a new brand of cigar, Trinidad, was born in 1969. It was created to be used as gifts from the Cuban Council of State to monarchs, presidents, prime ministers and other leaders of states from around the world. The cigar format was named "Fundadores", which means "founders".By February 1998 this brand had won the hearts of the most demanding smokers, which created good conditions for the market and the establishment of a stream production of cigars.In 2003, three new formats of Trinidad cigars appeared: Reyes, Coloniales and Robustos Extra. In 2007, the Trinidad Ingenios limited edition (ring 42, 165 mm) was released.In 2009, at the XI Festival Del Habano for the 40th anniversary of the brand, Habanos S.A. released the Robusto T   (ring 50, 124 mm). The cigars were presented in gift aluminium tubes and packaged in 6 pieces in wooden gift boxes.Trinidad cigars are "a jewel in the lips", say the Cubans themselves. As for the city after which the cigar is named, many non-Cubans refer to it as "Cuba in miniature."

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H. Upmann

Founded in 1844 by German banker brothers Hermann and August Upmann, the brand was bought by the English company Frankau s.a. in 1924, then bought by Solan y Hermanos, who soon resold it to the Menéndez y Garcia brothers. In 1944 the factory moved to Amistad Street, where it is still located today.This factory produced both mass-market products like small cigars and "royal" "havana": Sir Winston, Magnum 46, or Gran Coronas.CigarsThe brand has firmly won the hearts of lovers of strong cigars. "H.Upmann" is characterised by the use of a more mature cover leaf than other brands, which results in a special fascinating aroma and taste with a sweet-spicy touch. In the last century, cigars were a favourite in Germany, where they were served on silver trays. Nowadays it is one of the favourite brands of the British. Taking care of preserving the consumer properties of Cuban cigars during long transatlantic transportation, Hermann Upmann invented to pack cigars in colourfully decorated special boxes. To this day, Upmann boxes are still adorned with medals received at trade shows. As the name with initials in the name of this cigar won a great success, to confirm the family ties, brothers August and Hermanni sacrificed the first letter of their names and chose the letter "H" of the word "Hermanos" which means "brothers" in Spanish. Thus in 1844 the H. Upmann brand was born. The brothers were so proud of their cigars that one of them - history has not preserved which one - decided to imprint his signature on the label adorning the cigar box. This was the first time an owner had ever signed a cigar bearing his name.‍

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INTERESTING FACTS

When it comes to these cigars, Cubans talk about the famous request of American President J.F.Kennedy. He asked his secretary Pierre Salinger to buy him a large stock of Cuban Petit Upmanns cigars the day before the American embargo was signed in 1961.Inviting I. S. Turgenev to visit him, the poet and playwright A. K. Tolstoy, humorously listing what he had in his possession in Cuba, mentioned the Cuban cigars he had in his possession. Tolstoy, humorously listing what he had in his estate, mentioned Upmann cigars (letter of 30 May 1862).The favourite brand of cigars of Sigmund Freud[source not stated 3046 days], who had undergone more than 30 operations for cancer of the palate towards the end of his life.

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Hoyo de Monterrey

The Hoyo De Monterrey cigar brand did not become world famous immediately. Its history has its ups and downs.Where did it all begin? The history of this Cuban brand begins in 1822 in Vuelta Abajo. Catalan Jose Herner bought several tobacco plantations here. The best of them was called Monterrey Valley (Hoyo De Monterrey). The tobacco leaf grown on Vuelta Abajo was famous for its high quality. Jose Herner valued it, but this turned against him: the price of his crop was so high that it was impossible to negotiate with the manufacturers to sell it. Then Herner decided to open a cigar factory.Together with his partner Miguel Janet, Jose rented premises and began to work. For their enterprise they selected tobacco leaves of the highest quality.Their factory quickly became famous. A few years later, the partners bought the company "La Escepcion" and began to produce their goods in bulk.In 1865, the cigars were called Hoyo De Monterrey. The idea was reasonable: by that time everyone knew the name of the plantation where the tobacco leaf used as raw material for production grew. In 30 years Jose left Cuba for good, but his son took over the factory. Until 1931 the brand belonged to the Herner family, then it was bought by Sociedad Fernandez y Palacio.By the end of the 1940s the concern underwent changes. But they did not affect the technology of production. In production, as before, the raw material is tobacco, the birthplace of which is the Monterrey Valley.Careful selection of tobacco leaves allowed the brand to become elite. These cigars are characterised by a more porous structure, which helps to ensure a good draw and even combustion of the tobacco leaf. For the filling, ligero leaves are used, the amount of which is strictly dosed. This helps to perfectly balance the aroma and flavour.The brand has won many awards. It was first awarded a gold medal for the quality of its products in 1867 in the capital of France. Since then, at all cigar exhibitions the company takes the first places.Today the brand is known in many countries. There are three reasons for its popularity: - high quality, which has become traditional;- wide range of varieties;- abundance of flavours.The brand offers cigars for any occasion: they can complement both a fine dinner and a morning cup of coffee.As for the flavours of Hoyo De Monterrey cigars, there are dozens of them. They can be simple or complex. Some are stable. Others change as the tobacco leaf burns. Cigars can give off spice and earth, wood and fruit. There are notes of chocolate, leather, nuts, cocoa and cream. The combination of flavours gives each of them an incredible rich taste and an excellent aftertaste.

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Partagas

The Partagas brand, as well as the cigar factory of the same name, appeared in 1845 on the island of Cuba. This means that this brand is one of the oldest in the world of all those on the market today. The brand is named in honour of the founder of the production Don Jaime Partagas. The main direction is the production of cigars from raw tobacco grown in Cuba. The line is represented by almost all forms, and the quality is reference. The strength of all products of the line is medium-strong. One of the best-selling brands in the world, which has a huge popularity. In Russia, the brand became known very long ago. In the 60-70s of XX century Partagas brand was represented by cigars and cigarillos, which were imported to the Union in exchange for consumer goods. These delights were sold even in village shops and had a relatively low price, but the working people did not like them. But after the 90s, when the culture of tobacco consumption is actively developing in the country, the brand was willingly recalled. Today it is a valuable and well-known brand, which enjoys excellent demand all over the world, including Russia. Partagas cigars are produced at the factory, which is located in the very centre of Havana, right behind the Capitol, the copy of the White House of the USA. Over the last 20 years the factory has been modernised with more light and modern equipment. The production combines manual and mechanical manufacturing methods. Apart from the Partagas brand, the factory rolls many other world famous cigars.To say that Partagas has competition is like saying that there is competition between Da Vinci and, for example, Dali. It is a true phenomenon of the tobacco world, which has a rich history and is popular with a wide range of consumers. A legendary brand that ranks alongside Romeo Y Julieta, Cohiba, Montecristo does not need marketing promotion. It is undoubtedly an eternal product that has been, is and will be appreciated at all times.

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Quai d`Orsay

Quai d`Orsay cigars are one of the youngest brands in the Habanos cigar range. It was created in 1974, exclusively for the French market. In 1969, Georges Pompidou, President of France, commissioned the Ministry of Finance headed by Valérie Giscard d'Estaing (President of France from 1974 to 1981) to create an elite cigar with French roots. SEITA, a state-owned enterprise (Service de l'Etablissement de l'Etablissement de la Production de Tobacco), took on this task. Control over the choice of cigars was entrusted to the maestro of tobacco business, master of blending and cigar connoisseur - Gilbert Belobre.After much research stopped on a bag of Cuban tobacco, but with a minimum use of leaf Ligero 1/8 (These leaves give the cigar strength). Negotiations with the Cubans were difficult: they did not agree for a long time to make cigars actually for the negociant. After long negotiations tobacco and rollers were provided. In 1974 the first Quai d`Orsay cigar appeared and Giscard d'Estaing became the president of France. Of course it is a coincidence, but we will think the other way round, smokers are more pleased.The name Quai d`Orsay is the address of the company SEITA. But there is a hidden meaning in the name: Quai d`Orsay is also the address of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, which is sometimes colloquially called "the house on Orsay". This name gives the cigars an aura of diplomatic respectability. Well-thought-out marketing policy and high professionalism of Mr Belobro led to the fact that cigars Quai d`Orsey became a resounding success (Quai d`Orsey is not the only successful brainchild of Belobro, Pleiades brand also owes him success).Today 4 types of cigars are produced. All cigars are produced with light-coloured cover sheets. This cigar can be called the lightest Cuban cigar.- Quai d'Orsay - Coronas: 16.67 × 142 mm rg 42- Quai d'Orsay - Coronas Claras: 16.67 × 142 mm rg 42- Quai d'Orsay - Gran Coronas: 16.67 × 155 mm rg 42- Quai d'Orsay - Imperiales: 18.65 × 178 mm rg 47‍

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СUABA

The young but already famous Cuban brand was born in 1996 on the initiative of Nicholas Freeman - the president of the English tobacco corporation Hunters & Frankau. At first, Cuaba were sold only in the territory of the Foggy Albion, but quickly won the sympathy of afficionados all over the world.The training of the staff of torcedores was taken up by the famous Cuban master Carlos Izguerdo Gonzalez. The cigar industry veteran was able to educate the spinners capable of producing true figurado format havanas. The first four cigars were small - the manufacturer emphasised on them.‍The advantages and features of Cuaba cigars:The key feature of the brand is a rare and expensive format. The brand produces shaped, double-edged cigars. Decorated in the style of the 19th century, they invariably attract the attention of collectors and connoisseurs.Production is carried out at the Romeo y Julieta factory, where the best tobaccos of the Vuelta Abajo region are supplied. Torcedores work by hand, using whole tobacco leaves. The Cuaba twist is traditionally tight, with no dips. The cigar products have an attractive dark colour and delicate aroma. The cover is invariably shiny, smooth, nobly oily, perfect, pleasing with a soft, woody odour.The figurado format makes it easy to light. Aficionado expects a strong, pleasant beginning, smooth transitions of flavours and aromatics, pleasant smoke, deep aftertaste. Cuaba cigars have different diameters at different stages of smoking, so the flavour becomes uneven - it gains momentum and then subsides. At the same time tasting remains very dynamic, lively.In the bouquet prevail characteristic sweetness, rich assortment of spices, spices. The sweetish dominance pleases the receptors, and notes of black pepper tingle the tip of the tongue. At every stage, the combustion is smooth, with excellent draught. The ideal characteristics of the raw materials, the construction and the enormous flavour and aroma fully justify the price of these unique havans.Strength: medium, above medium.‍

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