Vegueros is a cigar totally made in Vuelta Abajo, the land of the best tobacco of the world. The solid building where this high-quality trade mark is manufactured was built in 1868.
At the beginning this building had the function of a hospital of the Spanish colony, since 1870 as a prison and later in 1959 the School of Arts was established there. In 1961 it became into the Cigarettes Factory "Francisco Donatien". Today, history and a good taste offer a new jewel to the most demanding and experts persons. Vegueros, from the very Pinar del Rio.

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Vegas Robaina is the second of two new lines introduced by Habanos S.A. in the 90's. This line was officially launched in Spain, in the spring of 1997, and will be made available to the world market in the fall. The brand features five, hand rolled sizes, classified as: Don Alejandro (Double Corona) Famosos (Robusto), Classicos (Lonsdale), Unicos (Piramide), and Familiares (Corona). Vegas Robaina is named after D. Alejandro Robaina, who is famed for growing the finest wrapper in the Vuelta Abajo, (Pinar del Rio), region of Cuba for more than fifty years. The cigars are made from the best tobacco in Cuba, and feature wrapper grown on Sr. Robaina's farms. They are described as a medium-strong blend, characterized by an excellent aroma, wonderful presentation, and a fine burn.

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This is an old brand which today displays the origins of its name in the lithography on its boxes, picturing an idealized warrior from the Trojan Wars as described by Homer in the Iliad. Originally produced by Martinez y Cia., the cigar is considered full-flavoured and is now offered only as a machine-bunched/hand-finished or all-machine-made brand.

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Since 1980, the Trinidad Fundadores has been produced exclusively for Fidel Castro. The only boxes that left Cuba were gifts to foreign diplomats. On February of 1998, the brand was officially launched as an export in Trinidad, Cuba. The cigars were first made available in Canada and Mexico in April 1998, and later became available to the world market. This line features one size, the Fundadore, which means Founder. It is similar in size to the Cohiba Lancero, measuring at a ring guage of 40 and a length of 7 and 3/4 inches or 195 mm.
Named after one of Cuba's most beautiful cities, the Trinidad is produced only in the El Laguito factory, and packaged in an 'unusual' quantity of 24 cigars as well as in cabinets of 50.

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America had the purpose of buying tobacco factories in Cuba and "El Soboney" was one of the 12 factories acquired between 1898 and 1902. This brand had a very small production and one anecdote is interesting about it. It was thought that, after the Revolution, Fidel Castro decided to eliminate all the cigar brands to found just one dedicated to exportations. The world did not like this new brand named Siboney and Castro was forced to reinstate all the popular brands as soon as possible. This never happened and has just been a popular rumour. Its taste is said to be similar to Montecristo Especial No.2 or even a bit stronger

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Named for the rustic squire to Don Quixote in Miguel de Cervantes' famous 1605 novel of the same name, this very old brand was originated by Emilio Ahmsted in 1852. It is much admired for the larger sizes in its range, including the enormous Sanchos and the shaped-head Belicosos. Sancho Panza cigars are medium-bodied and are all handmade

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The latest and probably the last of the new series of Havana brands launced since 1996 has been given the original name of the city of Havana when it was founded by settlers back in 1519 - San Crist�bal (St. Christopher) de La Habana. The brand boasts four sizes, each of which is named after one of the fronts that defended the city in its heyday, as the hub of the Spanish empire in Latin America. Two of the sizes, La Fuerza and El Morro, are entirely new and are unique to the San Crist�bal brand.

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Does the name of the brand refer to the San Luis region in the Vuelta Abajo, where some of the world's finest cigar tobacco is grown, hence the name as the "King of San Luis"? Or is it based on a reference to the popular 1927 novel by American author Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey? In either case, the brand was created in 1938 and leans toward the lighter side in strength.

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Developed in 1875 by Inocencio Alvarez and Mannin Garcia, this brand immediately showed its quality by winning gold medals in four universal expositions between 1885 and 1900. But it really took off after its acquisition in 1903 by Jose Rodriguez Fernandez, known as "Pepin." Named for the lovers in William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name (written circa 1596), the brand also is traditionally credited with the introduction of the "Churchill" shape in honour of the British statesman Winston Churchill (note the name of the factory shape for this size: the "Julieta 2."). Fernandez promoted his brand with endless energy and at one time, his Rodriguez, Arguelles y Cia. factory produced upward of 2,000 different cigar bands, personalized for their very best customers. Fernandez died at age 88 in 1954, but his efforts survive him as his full-flavoured Romeo y Julieta brand is one of the most widely known and appreciated in the world today.

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There actually was a Ramon Allones, who developed this brand way back in 1837. Originally from Spain, Allones (owner of the La Eminencia factory) was reportedly the first to employ bright, lithographed labels on his boxes, to help set his brand apart. Prior to nationalization, this lighter-bodied brand was owned by Cifuentes, Pego y Cia., also the owners of Partagas

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Here is a success story from the roaring 20's. Dating from approximately 1928, this brand was initially developed as La Flor de Marquez, with trademark registration in 1936 by the Sociedad El Rey del Mundo. Trademark records show that the current name dates from 1945. Considered medium in body, this brand is also reputed to have introduced the Lonsdale size, named in honour of Hugh Cecil Lowther, the Fifth Earl of Lonsdale.

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Augustin Quintero and his brothers got their start in tobacco in their hometown of Cienfuegos in the Las Villas province of Cuba in the 1920's. In 1940, they created this full-flavoured brand which continues today, primarily in machine-bunched/hand-finished and all machine-made sizes.

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Named for the famous bridge in Paris, this brand is one of two (the other is Siboney) which are devoted to the interests of a specific national tobacco governing body, in this case, the national tobacco monopoly of France, the SEITA (La Societe Nationale d'Exploitation Industriel de Tabac et Allumettes). Created in 1970, this is a lighter-bodied cigar and the range is all handmade

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Created in 1840 by Manuel Lopez, this line takes its name from the popular character of Punch so widely seen in English puppetry in the 19th century. Today's lithographed boxes still show the comically-dressed Punch enjoying a cigar while his faithful pet stands by, questioning why he is wearing a rainbow-coloured collar. The cigars are quite popular, with the Punch Punch model the object of affection by many devoted followers. This full flavoured brand was made by Corujo y Cia. after 1859 and prior to nationalization, was owned by F. Palicio y Cia.

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"These's peace in a Larranaga, there's calm in Henry Clay" reads the first half of the fifth couplet in The Betrothed, an 1890 poem by the celebrated English writer Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). From this high point, the brand has shrunk to just one handmade model and a few machine-assisted styles. It was created in 1834 by Ignacio Larranaga, likely making it the oldest continuously-produced Havana brand still in existence.

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This brand is named for it's founder, Don Jaime Partagas, who began manufacturing cigars in 1827, but put his own name on his line of cigars in 1845. After his death, the brand passed to Ramon Cifuentes in 1889 and was owned by Cifuentes y Cia. prior to nationalization, earning a mention by name in English novelist Evelyn Waugh's 1945 work, Brideshead Revisited. Partagas cigars also won gold medals in at least three international expositions between 1867 and 1884. There is no doubt about the strong, intense flavour of this line and it is still produced in the Partagas factory, renamed Fernando Perez after nationalization. The range is immense and it would be hard for a smoker not to find a Partagas which fits his or her interest in size or shape. Buyer beware: the 8-9-8 selections vary greatly in size and strength; identification is made by whether the box is varnished or not.

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The most famous of the many famous Havana brands started only in 1935 as a new brand from Menendez, Garcia y Cia., then the owners of the H. Upmann brand. The name is reported to have been inspired by Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel Le Comte de Montecristo. With a strong marketing effort from Alfred Dunhill of London, this brand became the most popular of all Havana exports. There are no machine-made shapes in this range and the strength is medium; in fact, it has become the standard by which all other Havanas are now judged.

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The brand was created by Jose Rodriguez Fernandez in honour of the famous Spanish singer Maria Guerrero and the brand was always linked to Romeo y Julieta. The Revolution did not affect the production of Maria Guerrero and 25 models were listed. When the brand was officially discontinued in 1985, the only model left was a new hand-made model introduced in the late 1970's decade, the Grandes de Espana.

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Los Statos de Luxe was created by Martinez y Cia. and offers a full-flavoured cigars in a machine-made or machine-bunched/hand-finished range only.

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A very old brand that dates from 1885, "the Glory of Cuba" presents a wide variety of cigars sizes in a small, but beautifully made range. The strength is medium; note that this is one of the few brands which is only handmade. Developed by Jose Rocha and Rafael Garcia, the brand got off to a good start thanks to tireless promotion by Pepin Fernandez, owner of the Romeo y Julieta brand, who helped his friends introduce the La Gloria Cubana and El Crepusculo brands overseas.

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