Montecristo No 2 Cigar Reviews Ep16 Pt2

Описание

Montecristo was established in 1935 when Alonso Menendez purchased the Particulares factory (which previously manufactured the now discontinued Particulares and Byron cigar brands) in Cuba. The name of the brand was inspired by Alexander Dumas' novel, "The Count of Montecristo," a supposed favorite among the factory workers / torcedores, who would listen to the book read by the "lector," as they rolled cigars.

The logo, a triangle composed of six swords in pairs (the positioning of the swords is very unique as the three sets of handles are each in specific positions) with a Fleur-de-Lis at the center, was designed by the brands British distributor, John Hunter Morris and Elkan Company, Ltd.

The brand grew rapidly, and in 1936, Menendez partnered up, founding a new firm, "Menendez Garcia y Cia." The firm purchased the H. Upmann factory, which at the time was encountering difficulties regarding quality of production and overall success, from its then owner, J. Frankau SA. Production of the Montecristo brand was then transferred and the factory continued to be home to both the Montecristo and H. Upmann brands through and after the revolution.

J. Frankau continued to operate as the sole distributor of the H. Upmann brand in the United Kingdom, while John Hunter Morris and Elkan Company, Ltd. was the sole distributor of Montecristo cigars in Britain. In 1963, these three firms (Frankau and Elkan Company being two) merged, creating the renowned, "Hunters & Frankau," now distributor of all Cuban cigars in Great Britain and known worldwide among aficionados for their impeccable quality control and production standards.

They have become even more famous as of late with the release of many Regional Edition cigars for the "Reinos Unidos," and "Gran Bretana" regions (United Kingdom and Great Britain - Many people think these are one and the same or that Great Britain refers to England and the UK is England and the other countries under the rule of the Crown / monarchy. Technically, Great Britain refers to England and the isles of Wales and Scotland. The United Kingdom / UK refers to Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It did at one time include all of Ireland, until 1922 when most of Ireland seceded and claimed independence from the UK, but for Northern Ireland which chose to remain a part of the UK. Just some interesting facts regarding distribution and just whom certain Regional Editions are for. There has ever been an "Irish Regional Release!"

The Montecristo brand is legendary. It is the number one selling Cuban cigar brand, accounting for about 25% of all Habanos SA cigar sales (give or take depending on year). As far as I know, it has been as such for a long time. Exact cigar revenue statistics are difficult to come by, especially when it comes to Cuban cigars. However, according to CubanCigarWebsite,com (my absolute favorite Cuban cigar information source) in 2006, Montecristo accounted for 23% of all Habanos SA sales and brought in 29% of total revenue. Considering there are 26 other brands (30 if you count the 3 machine made brands) these figures are incredible!

After the revolution, when the Cuban cigar industry was nationalized (if you are unsure this term basically means "taken over by the government by force") and many of the owners of the brands in production at the time, fled to other countries. One of these people was none other than Alonso Menendez, rightful owner of the Montecristo brand.

Menendez chose to move to the Canary Islands and re-establish his brand. However, Cubatobacco opened up a lawsuit claiming they held the rights to Montecristo. As one man, Menendez folded. But in the mid 1970's, with corporate backing, Menendez moved the Montecristo brand to La Romana in the Dominican Republic, and released a newly blended version of the brand for the U.S. market where Cuba's rights to the brand were not recognized due to the embargo!

***Check out my write up regarding "non-Cuban" versions of Cuban cigars in this section of part 3 of this episode... (if you care to!)