Cigars Montecristo Linea Edmundo

Monstecristo Cigars Linea Edmundo

The Montecristo belong to the alto category, which is considered one of the five best brands of habanos according to Habanos, the state-owned company that controls the distribution, quality and export of Cuban cigars.

Montecristos are manufactured in La Romana (Dominican Republic) and distributed by Altadis SA, a division of Imperial Tobacco.

History of the brand

The brand Montecristo was created in 1935 in Havana by Alonso Ménendez, a Spanish businessman established in Cuba since 1930, following his acquisition of the Particulares cigar factory, which produced the Particulares and Byron brands.

In 1937, the Menendez family bought the H. Upmann factory, which was to produce Montecristo cigars. The commercial choice was to develop a range of high quality cigars, limited to five modules numbered from 1 to 5. This range quickly found a large export audience, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom, where it was distributed by Dunhill.

During the Second World War, the brand's biggest market was in the United States, until the blockade imposed after Fidel Castro came to power in Havana.

In 1969, the brand expanded its range with several new modules (Especiales No. 1 and No. 2 and Joyitas), which were offered in addition to the classic cigars. It will be further expanded in 1971 (modules A and B), then in the early 2000s (Edmundo and Petit Edmundo).

The Montecristo No. 4 is considered the Cuban cigar of reference, the most sold in the world, within a brand that represents one fifth of the world market.

The cigar's name comes from the practice of public reading that took place in Cuban cigar factories in the 19th century to entertain the workers making the cigars. According to the writer Alberto Manguel, Cuban cigar makers who immigrated to Key West, Florida, named the cigar after the famous novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas:

"The texts that were read, chosen with the prior agreement of the workers (...) included political tracts and stories as well as novels and collections of modern and classical poetry. There were favorites: The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, for example, became so popular that a group of workers wrote to the author shortly before his death in 1870 asking for permission to name one of their cigars after his hero. Dumas agreed.

The range

The Montecristo brand includes 13 modules, not including limited series (such as Montecristo C or D).

Classic or historical range: