The New Montecristo 80th Anniversary Cigars
This year I had the distinct pleasure in attending the 83rd Annual trade show for the International Pipe and Cigar Retailers. It was a truly magnificent experience, and one I will not soon forget. I had the chance to interact with some of the smartest minds in the industry and to see the products they have spent all year developing. One of the highlights of my journey was being able to attend the release party of the much-anticipated Montecristo 80th Anniversary cigars. To reach this milestone is a remarkable achievement, and this function spared no expense. Yet it wasn’t the dancing and the drinks that interested me – it was, of course, the cigars. To truly appreciate this creation, we need to get in our little time machine, I can’t say delorean because of copyright, but you get the idea. Lets go back to the year 1935, to the small the island of Cuba.
During the 1930s, a brand known as Paticulares was one of the better-known Cuban cigars. Its fields and factory were purchased in 1935 by a man named Alonso Menendez. Alonso purchased the factory and immediately created a new brand all his own. He named his brand after the famed novel, which was a favorite of the lectors hired to read to his cigar rollers. Two years later, Alonso relocated the production of Montecristo to the H. Upmann factory where it remains today. Together, with the help of British luxury company Alfred Dunhill, Montecristo became the most popular premium cigar brand in the world. Montecristo cigars were seen as luxurious and the epitome of the high-end lifestyle. Its use of tobacco from the fertile Vuelta Abajo region ensured that it was of pristine quality.
In 1961 after the Cuban Revolution, Menendez and his partners left Cuba to attempt to reestablish themselves and their brand. Their first stop was in the Canary Islands, where they recreated the Montecristo line. However, since the Canary Islands were eligible to receive and sell Cuban cigars, this became a trademark problem. During the 1970s, the company was moved yet again, but this time with a new goal. A factory was built in the city of La Romana in the Dominican Republic, where it still is today.
The history of Montecristo is filled with trials, tribulations and triumphs. Both the Dominican version and Cuban version are seen as some of the best in respective fields. All of this history and tradition has now combined in the exquisite Montecristo 80th Anniversary cigars. It is a beautiful box pressed belicoso that uses a rare Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, which is rich and bold. Its rolled over a superb blend of Dominican olor and vintage Nicaraguan Criollo and Corojo tobaccos. There are rich and nutty flavors upfront that then change to sweet with a perfect leathery accent. It’s a true representation of the craftsmanship that has become synonymous with Montecristo.
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