Hoyo de Monterrey Cigars

Hoyo de Monterrey is the common name of two distinct brands of premium cigar. One of the brands is produced in Honduras for General Cigar and the other brand is produced by the state owned tobacco company on the island of Cuba Habanos SA.

History

The background of this distinguished cigar brand, began in 1831 when Don Jose Gener y Batet emigrated from Spain to Cuba. He was thirteen years old when he began work at Vuelta Abajo, his uncle's esteemed plantation. Twenty years later at the age of 33, he opened his own signature cigar production factory in Havana Cuba and immediately began producing and manufacturing his own brand of cigar called the La Escepcion. In 1865, he used his factory's profits to purchase one of the premier tobacco farms within the area of Vuelta Abajo. After careful thought, he registered a cigar line named for it, calling it Hoyo de Monterrey.

Hoyo de Monterrey when translated from Spanish to English literally means "the hole of Monterry." This is a reference to the type of concave terrain selected by the growers of premium tobacco brands. His brand of tobacco immediately became widely popular with an explosion within the British market. Gener's factory quickly became one of the overall largest factories producing cigars in Cuba. Around 1900, Gener died while in Spain, and Lutgarda Gener, his daughter assumed control of the business. The business would remain in the family for over thirty more additional years.

Around the year 1931, the Gener family began to focus more on sugar can properties and sold their very famous cigar brand. The Fernandez, Palicio y Cia Firm purchased the Hoyo de Monterrey brand as well as the La Escepcion brands and combined them with their illustrious lineup of cigars. This lineup already had Belinda and Punch. Somewehre in the 1940's the Le Hoyo series of cigar type was created for A Durr Co, a Swiss distributor. When Ramon Fernandez, a partner in the ownership passed away, Fernando Palicio assumed to be the sole proprieter of the overall business. In 1958, Palicio's cigar brands controlled 13% of all Havana cigar exports.

When the embargo was issued by the United States against Cuba, Palicio left Cuba for Florida. During this time, he sold his cigar company to the Villazon family, which continues to make several Honduran brands for the American market. Shortly thereafter, Cuba nationalized its lucrative tobacco industry. Hoyo de Monterrey remained in production and remains today a globally marketed and very popular Cuban cigar line. Among cigar enthusiasts, the Double Coronas, the Epicure No. 2 and the Le Hoyo series are highly prized.

The company, Hoyo de Monterrey additionally produces two machine made cigarillos: the Midi and the Mini.

Vitolas in the Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey Line

Hoyo de Monterrey has the following vitolas (sizes) in their line including their measurements. Additionally, we have listed their vitolas de galera (factory name), and their slang name in the American conventional market.

Hand-Made Vitolas

* Double Corona - size: 7 5/8" x 49 (194 x 19.45 mm) Prominente, a double corona
* Churchill - size: 7" x 47 (178 x 18.65 mm) Julieta, a churchill
* Épicure No. 1 - size: 5 5/8" x 46 (143 x 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda, a toro
* Épicure No. 2 - size: 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a robusto or rothschild
* Petit Robusto - size: 4 1/8" x 50 (102 x 19.84 mm) Petit Robusto, a petit robusto
* Hoyo Corona - size: 5 5/8" x 42 (142 x 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
* Short Hoyo Corona - size: 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona

Machine-Made and Hand-Finished Vitolas

* Palma Extra - size: 5 1/2" x 40 (140 x 15.87 mm) Crema, a corona
* Coronation - size: 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Petit Corona, a petit corona

The Le Hoyo Series

* Le Hoyo des Dieux - size: 6 1/8" x 42 (155 x 16.67 mm) Corona Grande, a long corona
* Le Hoyo du Député - size: 4 3/8" x 38 (110 x 15.08 mm) Trabuco, a short panetela
* Le Hoyo du Gourmet - size: 6 3/4" x 33 (170 x 13.10 mm) Palma, a slim panetela
* Le Hoyo du Maire - size: 3 7/8" x 30 (100 x 11.91 mm) Entreacto, a small panetela
* Le Hoyo du Prince - size: 5 1/8" x 40 (130 x 15.87 mm) Almuerzo, a petit corona
* Le Hoyo du Roi - size: 5 5/8" x 42 (142 x 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona

Edición Limitada Releases

* Particular (2000 and 2001) - size: 9 1/4" x 47 (235 x 18.65 mm) Gran Corona, a presidente or giant
* Pirámide (2003)- size: 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo
* Épicure Especial (2004) - size: 5 1/2" x 50 (141 x 19.84 mm) Gordito, a robusto extra

Trivia

- Boston Celtics former head coach, Red Auerbach was well known for smoking a Hoyo de Monterrey which he termed the victory cigar prior to the end of Boston Celtics basketball games. Auerbach served as coach and executive from 1950 to his death in 2006.

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