Welcome Guest! Sign In? | VIP Membership View Cart Order Status Shipping & Billing Bolivar Cohiba Cuaba Fonseca Guantanamera H. Upmann Hoyo de Monterrey Jose L. Piedra Juan Lopez La Gloria Cubana Montecristo Partagas Punch Quintero Ramon Allones Romeo y Julieta Saint Luis Rey San Cristobal De La Habana Sancho Panza Special Selection Trinidad Vegas Robaina CUBAN CIGARS You are here: Home > Cuban Cigars Bolivar Introduced in 1901, the powerful flavour of the Bolivar range is almost as widely know as it's namesake, Simon Bolivar (1783-1830), the celebrated Venezuelan warrior who liberated all or part of what is today Venezuela, Columbia, Peru and Bolivia. The cigar brand was developed by the Jose Rocha Company and manufactured at the El Crepusculo factory, but was later acquired by Menendez, Garcia y Cia. View Bolivar Cigars Cohiba A new brand which was introduced only in 1968, Cohiba quickly became the flagship brand of the Cuban cigar industry. Developed initially as a medium bodied protocol cigar for presentation only by officials of the Cuban government, Cohiba was marketed widely beginning in 1982. The initial sizes were the Lancero, the Corona Especiale and the Panetela, with the Esplendido, Robusto and Exquisito added in 1989. In 1992, in salute to the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the Caribbean, the Siglo series was introduced. The Cohiba series was initially made in the El Laguito factory in Havana, but production is now also in the Fernando Perez German factory. View Cohiba Cigars Cuaba First introduced in London in 1996, the Cuaba brand was the first new Cuban cigar brand to be introduced into commercial production since 1968. Historicaly, Cuaba is the Taino Indian word for the special cuban bush used to light the “Cohiba” or “Tobacco” on the Island. All four of the Cuaba vitoles are in the figurado (perfecto) shape: the Exclusivos, the Generosos, the Tradicionales and the Divinos. This shape was popular until the beginning of the 20th century. Habanos S.A. decided to revive the British tradition of smoking figurados; hence the fitting unveiling of the brand in London, England. Habanos, S.A. has since reintroduced other historic brands and shapes. View Cuaba Cigars Fonseca The image of Francisco Fonseca, who developed this brand in 1906, still adorns the box today. Only in limited distribution, the Fonseca brand is considered to exhibit a rich but mild flavour. View Fonseca Cigars Guantanamera This recently announced product from Cuba has now been released. Guantanamera's are very mild cigars originating from the Vuelta Arriba region, and are very competitively priced. This is the ultimate Cuban cigar for a beginner or for any cigar smoker who likes a very mild and light bodied cigar. View Guantanamera Cigars H. Upmann As famous a brand as there is in the world of cigars, the H. Upmann brand dates back to 1844, when Herman Upmann, a German banker, began using specially imprinted boxes of cigars as promotional items for his banking firm. The combination proved successful, so the H. Upmann brand was born and continues to this day. The success of this brand was buoyed by the award of seven gold medals in seven international exhibitions between 1862 and 1893; these awards still adorn the lithographed interior of the box today. The brand was sold to the British firm of J. Frankau in 1922 and finally in 1935 to Menendez, Garcia & Cia. prior to nationalization, continues today in the H. Upmann factory, now known as Jose Marti. The famous request of President John F. Kennedy to his press secretary, Pierre Salinger, to obtain cigars on the evening prior to the declaration of the American trade embargo in 1961, was for Petit Upmanns. Available in a stunning range of handmade and machine-made sizes, the brand offers a mild to medium strength. View H. Upmann Cigars Hoyo de Monterrey Established by Jose Gener in 1865, the name roughly means "valley of Monterrey," a particularly fertile site in the Vuelta Abajo, which had been farmed by Gener since at least 1860. The brand offers a lighter flavour and a wide range of sizes, the largest of which are much celebrated. The Le Hoyo series cigars was introduced about 1970 and presents a stronger flavour. View Hoyo de Monterrey Cigars Jose L. Piedra Jose L. Piedra is a popular brand for domestic consumption in Cuba. Apart from the original six smaller Jose L. Piedra cigars which are machine-made, this Jose L. Piedra brand started producing a new full range of hand-made sizes (which have recently become unavailable). Made in the regional factory in Santa Clara, Cuba, this Jose L. Piedra brand continues to have very competitive pricing. Jose L. Piedra brand cigars are considered to have a mild-to-medium body with strong flavours. View Jose L. Piedra Cigars Juan Lopez Here is one of the few Havana brands which is offered only in handmade styles, started in 1876 by Juan Lopez Diaz. The range of sizes is limited, but the workmanship is first-rate and the flavour is considered to be medium to strong, with light and almost aromatic overtones. A sampling of this cigar may develop into a long term love for it. View Juan Lopez Cigars La Gloria Cubana A very old brand that dates from 1885, "the Glory of Cuba" presents a wide variety of cigars sizes in a small, but beautifully made range. The strength is medium; note that this is one of the few brands which is only handmade. Developed by Jose Rocha and Rafael Garcia, the brand got off to a good start thanks to tireless promotion by Pepin Fernandez, owner of the Romeo y Julieta brand, who helped his friends introduce the La Gloria Cubana and El Crepusculo brands overseas. View La Gloria Cubana Cigars Montecristo The most famous of the many famous Havana brands started only in 1935 as a new brand from Menendez, Garcia y Cia., then the owners of the H. Upmann brand. The name is reported to have been inspired by Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel Le Comte de Montecristo. With a strong marketing effort from Alfred Dunhill of London, this brand became the most popular of all Havana exports. There are no machine-made shapes in this range and the strength is medium; in fact, it has become the standard by which all other Havanas are now judged. View Montecristo Cigars Partagas This brand is named for it's founder, Don Jaime Partagas, who began manufacturing cigars in 1827, but put his own name on his line of cigars in 1845. After his death, the brand passed to Ramon Cifuentes in 1889 and was owned by Cifuentes y Cia. prior to nationalization, earning a mention by name in English novelist Evelyn Waugh's 1945 work, Brideshead Revisited. Partagas cigars also won gold medals in at least three international expositions between 1867 and 1884. There is no doubt about the strong, intense flavour of this line and it is still produced in the Partagas factory, renamed Fernando Perez after nationalization. The range is immense and it would be hard for a smoker not to find a Partagas which fits his or her interest in size or shape. Buyer beware: the 8-9-8 selections vary greatly in size and strength; identification is made by whether the box is varnished or not. View Partagas Cigars Punch Created in 1840 by Manuel Lopez, this line takes its name from the popular character of Punch so widely seen in English puppetry in the 19th century. Today's lithographed boxes still show the comically-dressed Punch enjoying a cigar while his faithful pet stands by, questioning why he is wearing a rainbow-coloured collar. The cigars are quite popular, with the Punch Punch model the object of affection by many devoted followers. This full flavoured brand was made by Corujo y Cia. after 1859 and prior to nationalization, was owned by F. Palicio y Cia. View Punch Cigars Quintero Augustin Quintero and his brothers got their start in tobacco in their hometown of Cienfuegos in the Las Villas province of Cuba in the 1920's. In 1940, they created this full-flavoured brand which continues today, primarily in machine-bunched/hand-finished and all machine-made sizes. View Quintero Cigars Ramon Allones There actually was a Ramon Allones, who developed this brand way back in 1837. Originally from Spain, Allones (owner of the La Eminencia factory) was reportedly the first to employ bright, lithographed labels on his boxes, to help set his brand apart. Prior to nationalization, this lighter-bodied brand was owned by Cifuentes, Pego y Cia., also the owners of Partagas. View Ramon Allones Cigars Romeo y Julieta Developed in 1875 by Inocencio Alvarez and Mannin Garcia, this brand immediately showed its quality by winning gold medals in four universal expositions between 1885 and 1900. But it really took off after its acquisition in 1903 by Jose Rodriguez Fernandez, known as "Pepin." Named for the lovers in William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name (written circa 1596), the brand also is traditionally credited with the introduction of the "Churchill" shape in honour of the British statesman Winston Churchill (note the name of the factory shape for this size: the "Julieta 2."). Fernandez promoted his brand with endless energy and at one time, his Rodriguez, Arguelles y Cia. factory produced upward of 2,000 different cigar bands, personalized for their very best customers. Fernandez died at age 88 in 1954, but his efforts survive him as his full-flavoured Romeo y Julieta brand is one of the most widely known and appreciated in the world today. View Romeo y Julieta Cigars Saint Luis Rey Does the name of the brand refer to the San Luis region in the Vuelta Abajo, where some of the world's finest cigar tobacco is grown, hence the name as the "King of San Luis"? Or is it based on a reference to the popular 1927 novel by American author Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey? In either case, the brand was created in 1938 and leans toward the lighter side in strength. View Saint Luis Rey Cigars San Cristobal De La Habana The latest and probably the last of the new series of Havana brands launced since 1996 has been given the original name of the city of Havana when it was founded by settlers back in 1519 - San Cristóbal (St. Christopher) de La Habana. The brand boasts four sizes, each of which is named after one of the fronts that defended the city in its heyday, as the hub of the Spanish empire in Latin America. Two of the sizes, La Fuerza and El Morro, are entirely new and are unique to the San Cristóbal brand. View San Cristobal De La Habana Cigars Sancho Panza Named for the rustic squire to Don Quixote in Miguel de Cervantes' famous 1605 novel of the same name, this very old brand was originated by Emilio Ahmsted in 1852. It is much admired for the larger sizes in its range, including the enormous Sanchos and the shaped-head Belicosos. Sancho Panza cigars are medium-bodied and are all handmade. View Sancho Panza Cigars Special Selection View Special Selection Cigars Trinidad Since 1980, the Trinidad Fundadores has been produced exclusively for Fidel Castro. The only boxes that left Cuba were gifts to foreign diplomats. On February of 1998, the brand was officially launched as an export in Trinidad, Cuba. The cigars were first made available in Canada and Mexico in April 1998, and later became available to the world market. This line features one size, the Fundadore, which means Founder. It is similar in size to the Cohiba Lancero, measuring at a ring guage of 40 and a length of 7 and 3/4 inches or 195 mm. Named after one of Cuba's most beautiful cities, the Trinidad is produced only in the El Laguito factory, and packaged in an 'unusual' quantity of 24 cigars as well as in cabinets of 50. View Trinidad Cigars Vegas Robaina Vegas Robaina is the second of two new lines introduced by Habanos S.A. in the 90's. This line was officially launched in Spain, in the spring of 1997, and will be made available to the world market in the fall. The brand features five, hand rolled sizes, classified as: Don Alejandro (Double Corona) Famosos (Robusto), Classicos (Lonsdale), Unicos (Piramide), and Familiares (Corona). Vegas Robaina is named after D. Alejandro Robaina, who is famed for growing the finest wrapper in the Vuelta Abajo, (Pinar del Rio), region of Cuba for more than fifty years. The cigars are made from the best tobacco in Cuba, and feature wrapper grown on Sr. Robaina's farms. They are described as a medium-strong blend, characterized by an excellent aroma, wonderful presentation, and a fine burn. View Vegas Robaina Cigars Home | Disclaimer | Site Map | Contact Us Website By: Etrends (India)   © Copyright 2005 Cohiba International