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A NEARLY CENTENNIAL BRAND, MONTECRISTO’S LONGSTANDING QUALITY HAS TURNED IT INTO A STRENGTH AND TASTE BENCHMARK IN HABANOS S.A.’S PORTFOLIO

Eventful and teeming with adventures, like the character this brand was named after, the history of Montecristo has been woven through nearly two centuries when that moniker was first used to call an exceptional cigar brand produced in Cuba.
Researchers have managed to unravel that the very first references to Montecristo in the realm of Habanos harken back to shortly after the adventure novel entitled The Count of Montecristo, written by Alejandro Dumas Sr. (1803-1870) -it was published on the island nation in 1846 as a newspaper serial in the Diario de la Marina and translated by Agustin Palma, editor of the aforementioned newspaper- was known.
The novel, that quite rapidly caught on in the Havana intelligentsia and cigar workers, inspired the foundation of a couple of Habano brands nearly simultaneously: one registered in Matanzas by Jose Marati, on 19 Calle del Medio, as El Conde de Montecristo, and the other one by Jose Valdes, from the cigar and cigarette factory located on Obispo Street in Havana, was just called plainly Montecristo.
According to scholar Zoila Lapique, both registries stand as the oldest references to a Habano brand named after the larger-than-life Count. “However, they have nothing to do with the brand that saw the light of day roughly a century later in Havana and that was labeled Montecristo.
The brand’s origins were more linked to commercial matters than to literature, yet they were the result of a quest for a new Habano in a bid to pry into the U.S. and British markets, manufactured by the tobacco company made up of Asturian natives Alonso Menendez and Jose Garcia.
Both entrepreneurs had already garnered ownership rights over the H. Upmann brand, so no wonder by that time they launched a new brand called H. Upmann Montecristo, featuring five vitolas numbered from one to five and putting the word “Montecristo”, the factory where those Habanos were rolled and that had been basking in the British market for quite some time.
Quite soon, the Montecristo cigars started to sell in the U.S. and a year later Menendez and Garcia proposed British company Stanley Phillips to bring that brand into Great Britain. However, since at that time H. Upmann cigars were being distributed by Germany-based Frankau & Co., they were bound to drop that name and leave only the word Montecristo.
Since then, this Habano brand saw its international prestige shine brighter as it soon became a strength and taste benchmark in the realm of Habanos. Through the years, it panned out to be one of the most sought-after and bestselling Cuban cigars worldwide.
Montecristo’s historic stock was enhanced by other vitolas, such as Edmundo and Petit Edmundo, both equally inspired in Dumas’ famous novel. In 2009, the Montecristo Line Open was born with four new vitolas in tow that eventually added a much milder taste to the original blend in all of Montecristo’s previous cigars. The reason is they are designed to meet the demands of those who enjoy the pleasure of smoking in open places.
Montecristo cigars are completely rolled by hand with filler and wrapper leaves handpicked in Vuelta Abajo, the land of the world’s finest tobacco. Their characteristic scent and taste continue to enthrall either seasoned smokers or those who cut their teeth in the kingdom of Habanos.

*(D.O.P.) Denomination of Protected Origin

Línea Clásica

Edmundo   
Factory Vitola: Edmundo
Length: 135 mm
Ring Gauge: 52 (20.64 mm)
   
Joyitas   
Factory Vitola: Laguito No. 3
Length: 115 mm
Ring Gauge: 26

Montecristo A   
Factory Vitola: Gran Corona
Length: 235 mm
Ring Gauge: 47
   
Montecristo Especial   
Factory Vitola: Laguito No. 1
Length: 192 mm
Ring Gauge: 38
   
Montecristo Especial No. 2   
Factory Vitola: Laguito No. 2
Length: 152 mm
Ring Gauge: 38
   
Montecristo No. 1   
Factory Vitola: Cervantes
Length: 165 mm
Ring Gauge: 42
   
Montecristo No. 2   
Factory Vitola: Pirámides
Length: 156 mm
Ring Gauge: 52
   
Montecristo No. 3   
Factory Vitola: Coronas
Length: 142 mm
Ring Gauge: 42
   
Montecristo No. 4   
Factory Vitola: Marevas
Length: 129 mm
Ring Gauge: 42
   
Montecristo No. 5   
Factory Vitola: Perlas
Length: 102 mm
Ring Gauge: 40
   
Montecristo Tubos   
Factory Vitola: Coronas Grandes
Length: 155 mm
Ring Gauge: 42
   
Petit Edmundo   
Factory Vitola: Petit Edmundo
Length: 110 mm
Ring Gauge: 52
   
Petit Edmundo Tubo   
Factory Vitola: Petit Edmundo
Length: 110 mm
Ring Gauge: 52
   
Petit Tubos   
Factory Vitola: Marevas
Length: 129 mm
Ring Gauge: 42

Línea Open

Open Eagle   
Factory Vitola: Geniales
Length: 150 mm
Ring Gauge: 54

Open Junior   
Factory Vitola: Trabuco
Length: 110 mm
Ring Gauge: 38
   
Open Master   
Factory Vitola: Robustos
Length: 124 mm
Ring Gauge: 50

Open Regata   
Factory Vitola: Fórum
Length: 135 mm
Ring Gauge: 46