Popular Post Trevor2118 Posted September 23, 2015 Popular Post Posted September 23, 2015 (edited) Following a recent discussion with JohnS, I decided to put together a short history on Deletions before all my brain cells go. 1810 - Trade Mark Registration Begins The trademark registration of Cuban cigar brands started in 1810. The first registration was for Francisco Alvarez Cabañas who registered his brand Francisco Alvarez Cabañas. (Entry corrected May 2020.) The earliest registration of the still current brands was Por Larrañaga in 1834, followed by Punch in 1840 and Partagas and H. Upmann in 1844. By 1859 there were around 800 brands in circulation, although by 1887 that had reduced to 348 registered brands. 1959 - The Revolution Castro’s Revolution occurred on 2 January 1959. The Cuban cigar price list of 1st January 1959 showed 140 export brands in production, with a total of 1,185 vitolas available, comprising 999 in production and 186 available by special order. 1960 - Nationalisation On 15 September 1960, all private businesses were “nationalised” and become the property of the Cuban government. While many factory owners fled the country, many factories continued production, sometimes with only the employees operating the businesses. 1962 - Formation of Cubatabaco In February 1962, Cubatabaco was formed and immediately appointed Government officials to take over management of all Cuban cigar factories. Most small factories were closed down. Only major factories remained in operation, however they remained independent of each other and therefore from a production point of view, nothing changed from pre-revolution times. 1980 - Crop Failure It was not until 1980, when blue-mould plant disease wiped out the entire tobacco crop, did things change. With no tobacco, the factories became idle and some were closed. This period of inactivity initiated a historical rationalisation of the Cuban cigar industry. A new policy was developed that had three main principles. Every factory could make any brand; the vitola and packaging types were standardised; and uneconomic vitolas and packaging were eliminated. A massive trimming of many small selling vitolas occurred, with some 500 different vitolas remaining. Many of these vitolas were available in several “finishes”. Finishes are defined as Handmade, Machine-Made, or Machine-bunched & Hand-finished. In 1980 the number of cigar types available (vitolas/finishes) was reported to be around 700 in 1980. By 1992 only 549 vitolas were in production, and by 1995, this number had reduced to 438. By 1999 there were 33 brands covering 341 vitolas in 420 finishes. 1999 - Altadis S.A. purchase of 50% of Habanos S.A Through the recommendations of Altadis S.A., Habanos S.A. would continue to manufacture only 33 marquees of cigars. Almost all saw major changes. At this time brands such as Bolivar, H. Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, Partagas, Punch, Ramon Allones, and Romeo y Julietta marquees are produced in handmade, machine-bunched hand-finished or machine made. For example Boxes of 25 Romeo y Julietta Romeo No. 1 Tubos were available as totally machine-made ($44US), and machine-bunched hand-finished ($55US), and fully handmade ($116US). Prices shown are Cuban retail list prices. It was decided that the machine-bunched hand-finished phased out by the end of 2003 and the machine-made cigars would be totally phased out by the end of 2005. It was further decided to delete vitolas within a marquee that have the same dimensions but different blends, with only the best-selling cigar of a vitola to survive. It was intended that 319 vitolas would remain. 2001 to 2005 - ICT Formed & Further Brand Deletions In 2001 Internacional Cubana de Tabacos S.A. (ICT) was formed to manufacture three of the current Brands (Guantanamera, Belinda, & Troya) as well as the various brands of mini cigars (Mini, Club, & Puritos). This reduced the total number of Habanas SA brands to 30. In 2005 a further three brands, Cabanas, Gispert, & Los Statos were discontinued. This leaves the 27 Brands that are still current today. 2003 to 2014 - Cigar Deletions During this period, a number of cigars have been deleted. The following list also indicates the various ring sizes. Thin ring gauge is 39 or less, Medium ring gauge is between 40 & 45, and Thick ring gauge is 46 and above. There were no deletions in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2014, & 2015. In 2003, 23 cigars were deleted: 10 thin, 12 medium, 1 thick. In 2005, 19 cigars were deleted: 11 thin, 8 medium, no thick. In 2006, 22 cigars were deleted: 3 thin, 15 medium, 4 thick. In 2009, 20 cigars were deleted: 2 thin, 7 medium, 1 thick. In 2010, 19 cigars were deleted: 10 thin, 5 medium, 4 thick. In 2011, 4 cigars were deleted: No thin, 2 medium, 2 thick. In 2012, 16 cigars were deleted: 1 thin, 11 medium, 4 thick. In 2013, 2 cigars were deleted: No thin, 1 medium, 2 thick. Based on common names, the above deletions break down as follows (smallest to largest): 7 Cigarillos 8 Small Panetelas 3 Slim Panetelas 9 Short Panetelas 4 Panetela 4 Long Panetelas 27 Petit Coronas 18 Coronas 2 Long Coronas 10 Lonsdale 3 Grand Coronas 1 Giant Corona 8 Churchills 1 Robusto 1 Robusto Extra 1 Pyramid 1 Double Pyramid 5 Petit Perfectos 1 Perfecto 1 Giant Perfecto For a visual listing of the Common Name criteria click here 2015 There are current some 181 standard cigars in production, comprising 27 brands. All are handmade cigars, with the majority being long filler (Tripa Larga) tobacco. The exceptions are Por Larrañaga, Rafael Gonzalez, and Fonseca brands that currently contain a single cigar with short filler (Tripa Corta) tobacco; and Jose L. Piedra, La Flor de Cano, and Quintero brands that comprise only short filler cigars (Tripa Corta). Edited May 14, 2020 by Trevor2118 1810 First Registration changed to Cabañas by Trevor 18
garbandz Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 This should be pinned and saved forever......... 3
dangolf18 Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 27 brands?!?!?!?! Wow I only know of about 10.
Trevor2118 Posted September 23, 2015 Author Posted September 23, 2015 (edited) dangolf18, on 23 Sept 2015 - 1:27 PM, said:dangolf18, on 23 Sept 2015 - 1:27 PM, said:27 brands?!?!?!?! Wow I only know of about 10. The current brands are: (The links are clickable and will take you to the CubanCigarWebsite.com page for each brand) Global Brands - Worldwide Availability Cohiba H. Upmann Hoyo de Monterrey José L. Piedra Montecristo Partagás Romeo y Julieta Current Niche Brands - General Availability Cuaba San Cristóbal Trinidad Multi-Local Brands - General Availability Bolívar Fonseca Punch Quintero Vegas Robaina Local Brands - Limited Availability Diplomáticos El Rey del Mundo Juan López La Flor de Cano La Gloria Cubana Por Larrañaga Quai d'Orsay Rafael González Ramón Allones Saint Luis Rey Sancho Panza Vegueros Edited September 23, 2015 by Trevor2118 6 more added 1
dangolf18 Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 Well that's embarassing. I've heard of all of those, but's that's still only 21.
Trevor2118 Posted September 23, 2015 Author Posted September 23, 2015 dangolf18, on 23 Sept 2015 - 1:45 PM, said:Well that's embarassing. I've heard of all of those, but's that's still only 21. opps......I did say the brain cells were going Quai d'Orsay Rafael González Ramón Allones Saint Luis Rey Sancho Panza Vegueros
dicko Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 I wonder if anyone on FOH has tried all 181 standard production? I would guess yes! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Optic101 Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 Impressive and excellent Trevor ! Thanks for this.
jdo2110 Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 Great post! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
JohnS Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 Trevor, thank you for this timely article, it helps to put into concrete terms the changes you and I have discussed recently among Habanos brands over time. I found it interesting to note that the 7 Global brands (out of 27) have a total of 114 standard cigars out of a total of 181 (or 63%, almost two-thirds, a significant total, in my opinion). Cohiba - 19H. Upmann -13Hoyo de Monterrey - 13José L. Piedra - 7Montecristo - 20Partagás - 19Romeo y Julieta - 23 In my mind, this leads me to conclude that if you are a cigar enthusiast who, for example, may enjoy the chocolate flavour profile of a Vegas Robaina cigar now and again, then possibly you should not take for granted the changes that have been occurring. Thank you also for quantifying the ring gauges of recent deletions. 39 and under - 37 (or 32%) 40 to 45 - 61 (or 52%) 46 and over - 18 (or 16%). 2
PointFivePast Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 I worry about the continued shrinking of brands and vitolas. Already I can't find cigars that I remember buying a decade ago when I had my first Cubans. Now that I am diving in and really starting to explore CCs, there are so many that people speak highly of but that are no longer made. I wonder what the option will be in another decade. Thank you for the extensive list and history! Well made post 1
Scrubber Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 I worry about the continued shrinking of brands and vitolas. Already I can't find cigars that I remember buying a decade ago when I had my first Cubans. Now that I am diving in and really starting to explore CCs, there are so many that people speak highly of but that are no longer made. I wonder what the option will be in another decade. Thank you for the extensive list and history! Well made post I think Ken mentioned it in a video review...Habanos SA seem to be slowly discontinuing everything so that there is one cigar for all!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Elvis Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 Trevor, this is very informative. Thanks very much!
fingerburner Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 You are a good man Mr. Leask. Cheers!
dt2 Posted September 23, 2015 Posted September 23, 2015 This is a really wonderful post, thank you for the information!
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