Montecristo

MONTECRISTO BRAND HISTORY

A handful of brand names immediately conjure an image when they’re uttered. In the cigar industry, it’s hard to beat the immediacy with which brands like Montecristo, Cohiba, Partagas, and Romeo y Julieta plant a picture of a cigar in your head. Montecristo is an enduring brand with dualistic roots, both in its origination in Cuba and in its rebirth in the Dominican Republic following the Cuban Trade Embargo in the early 1960s.

Dating back to the mid-1800s, lectors (known as lectores in Cuba, meaning lecturer or reader) were introduced to educate and alleviate boredom among cigar rollers by reading books or newspapers aloud in the factories. The tradition actually continues to this day.

Today, the Montecristo brand logo is among the most recognized of any on a cigar band. The iconic design of six swords arranged in a triangle around a fleur-de-lis was created by the brand’s British distributor, John Hunter Morris and Elkan Co Ltd. The Cuban Montecristo accounts for roughly a quarter of the sales for Habanos S.A., parent company of the Cuban brand, making it the most popular Cuban cigar in the world. Although the blend is available in a number of shapes, the Cuban Montecristo No. 2, a gently tapering Torpedo, roughly 6 inches by a 52-ring gauge, is the most popular single cigar in the entire world.

Once you’re ready to buy your first Montecristo cigars, you’ll have no trouble spotting an iconic Montecristo cigar box on the shelves of nearly every premium cigar retailer on the planet. If you’re unsure where to begin exploring the brand’s popular library, take a gander at the many reviews our customers have left, or pick out a bestselling Montecristo sampler. No journey into premium cigars is complete without making a stop at Montecristo.