HABANOS KNOWLEDGE

MASTERFILE (I)
INDEX

1. Cultivation – Agriculture

2. Science – Research

3. Production – Manufacture

4. Distribution – Retail

5. Authenticity

6. Marketing – Communication

7. Smoking – Pairing

8. General

9. Other
CULTIVATON – AGRICULTURE
1. QUESTION:
Could you share some information regarding the reason the flower on the tobacco
plant gets covered?

ANSWER:
After advising with Dr. Amaury Borges and Dr. Eumelio Espino, they provided the
following answer:

As it is known, tobacco is a plant that can be self-pollinized, but insects can also carry
pollen particles attached to their bodies and transfer them to the flowers of the plant.

This causes the seeds that are produced later by these affected flowers, to not have
the desired genotype with a certain crossover.

Therefore, covering the top of the plant prevents unwanted pollination by insects, but
first the covered plant must be judged by a geneticist as a true representative of the
variety.

This practice, which takes place only in the experimentation stations of the Tobacco
Research Institute in Cuba, can secure the occurrence of self-pollination and avoid
the appearance of a mosaic of genotypes in the offspring of that plant.

SCIENCE – RESEARCH
1. QUESTION:

PRODUCTION – MANUFACTURE
1. QUESTION:
The first Habanos Reserva Series (Cohiba Reserva 2003) comprises of 5 Vitolas out
of which ‘Media Corona’ is unfamiliar to us by not falling in any Cohiba
Classification,ideally a Cohiba Lanceros would’ve been a perfect match! kindly shed
some lights on it

ANSWER:
After advising with the members of the panel, we have the following answer:

The period around the year 2000 was a period of experimentation for Habanos,
motivated on the one hand by the increase in demand and on the other hand by the
possibility of having a stock of aged tobacco leaves, which permitted the
development of projects starting with the creation of the Limited Edition concept, and
culminating with Reserva presented to the market in 2003 (Cohiba Seleccion
Reserva).
From the consumer point of view, that same period, there were many releases that
included regular production sizes and special vitolas that were unique to the humidor.
In some cases these special vitolas were commercialized later by Habanos and in
some cases they were not, i.e.:

Cohiba Reserva Seleccion (2003)

• Esplendidos – Julieta No.2 – 47 X 178mm
• Robustos – Robustos – 50 X 124mm
• Coronas Especiales – Laguito No.2 – 38 x 152mm
• *Piramides – Piramides – 52 X 156mm
• *Medias Coronas – Medias Coronas – 38 x 142mm

*Habanos introduced two formats that were not in the brand: a figurado format
(Piramides) successfully used in previous projects and Medias Coronas.
Medias Coronas had a size that Habanos was considering at the time to produce for
the Classic Line and for which even the molds were available. However, this vitola de
galera was never produced again by Habanos.

Montecristo Compay 95 (2002)

• No.4 – Marevas – 42 X 129mm
• *Salomones II – Salomon II – 57 X 174mm

*This vitola de galera has been produced only one more time, which was for the Siglo
XXI Humidor in 1999.
Trinidad Farm House (2002)
• Fundadores – Laguito Especial – 40 X 192mm
• *Double Robustos – Robustos Especiales – 50 X 192mm.

*In addition to the Trinidad Farm House, this size was produced for the 1 st time for
the 1996 Cohiba 30 Aniversario and, after that, for Siglo XXI Humidor in 1998 under
the commercial name Ensueños.

510 Anniversary Humidor (2003)

• Cohiba Esplendidos Julieta No.2 – 47 X 178mm
• Montecristo No.2 – Piramides – 52 X 156mm
• Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure No.1 – Coronas Gordas – 46 X 143mm
• *Partagas Royales – Felipe 24
• *Romeo y Julieta Hermosos No.3 – Hermosos No.3 – 48 X 140mm

*The last 2 vitolas were a special production in their brand for this occasion.
The Partagas Royales had a vitola de galera of Felipe 24 which has never been
produced again until now in Habanos. The commercial name Royales in the Partagas
brand existed in the past as well, but under a different factory name which was
discontinued in the 1980’s.
On the other hand, the Hermosos No.3 was the vitola de galera that was later
commercialized with the commercial names of Bolivar Super Coronas LE of 2014
and of Punch Punch 48 (CDH) which was a 2016 item.
Robaina 5 Aniversario (2002)
• Clásicos – Cervantes – 42 x 165mm
• Don Alejandro – Prominentes – 49 x 194mm
• Famosos – Hermosos No.4 – 48 x 127mm
• Unicos – Pirámides – 52 x 156mm
• *Maestros – Gorditos – 50 x 141mm

* Since the creation of the brand in 1997, there were 5 vitolas under it: Familiar,
Clasico, Famosos, Don Alejandro and Unicos. Out of all the vitolas in the brand, only
the Familiar was not included in the humidor. Instead Habanos included the Maestros
which was not a vitola in the brand and has never been produced again by Habanos.

Vegueros 135th Aniversario (2003)

• Especiales No.1 – Laguito No.1 – 38 x 192mm
• Especiales No.2 – Laguito No.2 – 38 x 152mm
• Marevas – Marevas – 42 x 129mm
• Seoane – Seoane – 33 x 126mm
• *Cepo – 49 x 141mm

*The Cepo is the commercial name of the only cigar that did not exist in the brand’s
portfolio and there is no record of any other cigar ever having produced with these
dimensions again.
 El Rey del Mundo 120 Anniversary (2002)
• Taínos (25) – Julieta No.2 – 47 x 178mm
• *Pirámides (25) – Pirámides – 52 x 156mm

*The Piramides, was the only vitola from these two that has never been
commercialized under El Rey del Mundo brand.

H. Upmann 160 Anniversary (2004)

• Connoisseur No.1 (30) - Hermosos No.4 – 48 x 127mm
• Upmann No.2 (30) – Pirámides – 52 x 156mm
• *Prominentes (40) – Prominentes – 49 x 194mm

*The Prominentes was a special release for this production, as this vitola de galera
has never been commercialized under H.Upmann.

2. QUESTION:
Can anyone tell me about these cigars? I couldn't find any information in the sources
we all know not in MRN book and CCWsite nor in Internet. The box was purchased
over 20 years ago. And it is still sealed. Stored in pristine conditions all this time.
Machine-made? Long filler? I would appreciate any help! Thank you!
ANSWER:
After advising with the members of the panel, we have prepared the following answer.

Such boxes have been produced under the Romeo y Julieta brand in both undressed
and dressed style of box presenation, as can be seen by the below examples:

Romeo y Julieta Belvederes:

Romeo y Julieta Plateados de Romeo:

It is important to highlight though, that Romeo y Julieta Condes is not mentioned in
any of the known catalogues of Cuban cigars from that period.

COSTERO
The red sticker on the side (costero) can be identified in other boxes produced the
same period, as seen in the below link (and photo) which bears the same design as
the one in your box:
https://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/img/boxgallery/cubatabacocatagloue19717-jpg

BRAND STAMP
The stamp on the top is in line with other boxes from the same period, as per the
photos below:

HECHO EN CUBA
This stamp looks very fresh compared to the age of the boxes. However, the style of
the stamp seems to be from 1972-1979 style (as seen on Cuban Cigar Website).

STAMP: 7/70
It is not clear how the box could have been produced in 1970, and at the same time
bear the Hecho En Cuba stamp which was introduced in 1972. However, it is worth
mentioning that in the past there have been cases where there is a year stamped on
the box that does not match the dating of the rest of the stamps. So, it is not clear
whether this stamp has another significance (other than the year).

WARRANTY SEAL
The warranty seal looks very fresh compared to the age of the box in your photo,
however the design seems to match with the period that this box seems to be created.
 FILLER
At the time, cigars in cellophane could be either short filler or long filler. However,
there is no specific feedback which we could find for this cigar regarding this, or
whether if it is machine made or premium.

3. QUESTION:
Hello and happy new year. Who created the 898 packaging? Thank you!

ANSWER:
The packaging 8-9-8 was first introduced in the 1970’s, during the period of
Cubatabaco (which was created in 1962), as an attempt to increase the types of cigar
presentation.

The 1st brand to implement this type of packaging was Ramon Allones under the
commercial name 8-9-8 Cabinet Selección. The Ramon Allones brand was produced
(since 1927) in the Partagas factory – which after the revolution was named Francisco
Perez German.

After, other brands introduced this type of packaging as well, like:

La Gloria Cubana – Series Médaille D’Or (No.1-No.2-No.3 & No.4)
Partagas – 8-9-8

Currently this type of presentation exists only under the Partagas brand.

However, it is not known who was the person that suggested this type of presentation.

4. QUESTION:
Cleaning at home I just stumbled into this. Trying to figure out which year it is.

ANSWER:

HISTORY
Trinidad, as a Habano brand, dates back to 1969 but for many years, like Cohiba, it
was made only for gifts to foreign diplomats. Not until 1998 was it released for general
sale and then only in small quantities. At the start there was only one size of Trinidad:
Fundadores which replaced the previous vitola which was Laguito No1 produced from
1969 to 1997.

Regarding the box of this vitola, there is no record that it was produced in a box with
“Habilitaciones”, like we see in your photos. On the contrary, it is known that it was
produced only in wooden boxes without any decoration. Also, until today, all the
vitolas produced in Trinidad brand are in a wooden box without decoration, as per
the photo below.

Furthermore, this Trinidad box looks very similar to the Cohiba Lancero released in
1970s, especially the gold lace pattern framing the box.

It is important to mention that the authenticity of the boxes destined to be given as

gifts with cigars produced in the El Laguito Factory, cannot be proven since El Laguito
was only handling the production part of "Diplomatic Trinidad". The packaging of the
cigars was done by a different Department, which was specially handling the
packaging for both Cohiba and Trinidad as diplomatic gifts.

Another important point is that before the revolution, there was another brand called
Trinidad y Hermanos which took the name of a person called Trinidad (and not the
name of the city of Trinidad like in the case of the current brand), and was mainly
focusing on producing cigarettes until 1958. On the ring the cigars in this brand, the
name stated was “LA TRINIDAD”.
LOGO
After an article by Cigar Aficionado in 1992-1993 regarding Trinidad, the logo of the
brand was designed at the time for registration purpose. The initial logo was seen on
the Trinidad Diplomatico boxes in the Cena de Siglo (“Dinner of the Century”). The
only known logos for Trinidad are the following:

Old logo of Trinidad (seen in the Cena de Siglo) and was commercially used for the
global launch of Trinidad in 1998:

Current logo of Trinidad (since 2003):

With respect to the logo in your photos, there is no record of this kind of logo ever
being used for Trinidad.

WARRANTY SEAL
The warranty seal is the same with the one that was used in the period of 1931-1970.

CONCLUSION:
Based on the above, we cannot confirm that this box was ever produced under the
Trinidad brand. However, given that this specific warranty seal was produced until
1970 and that Trinidad started being produced in 1969, if this box is original then it
would be dated back to either 1969 or 1970.
 Nevertheless, we must take into consideration that during the period of 1969 to 1998,
all the production of Trinidad was dedicated to the official diplomatic gifts from the
Cuban government to foreign ambassadors, politicians and diplomats, therefor all
information regarding Trinidad during this period was not public and there are no
records regarding its production.

5. QUESTION:
Why does Habanos no longer use cellophane?

ANSWER:
After advising with the members of the panel, we have the following answer.

In the Cuban industry, cellophane has never been used in a generalized way, since
it has always been preferred that the Habano be presented as natural as possible,
and that the consumer can appreciate the work of art of a Habano at the first glance.

In the mid- 1980’s, cellophane was used for some cigars. For example, it was used
on the following cigars:

Partagas Presidentes,

Partagas Súper Partagas

Partagas Londres Extra

Partagas Habaneros

Partagas Perfectos

Partagas Chicos

H. Upmann Especiales

H. Upmann Aromáticos No.1

H. Upmann Aromáticos No.2

H. Upmann Petit Upmann

Romeo y Julieta Celestiales Finos

Romeo y Julieta Regalías de La Habana

Romeo y Julieta Sport Largos

Davidoff – No.1 (pack of 5)

At the end of the 1980’s only a small number of totally handmade cigars carried
cellophane, which were destined for certain duty-free markets.

At the beginning of the 90's, with the new EU regulations on the materials used in
food packaging, cellophane was completely eliminated for hand-made Habanos and
only remained for the machine made cigars, mainly destined for Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union.

After 2001 all Habanos are entirely handmade, and machine-made cigars are not
considered Habanos.
 The story behind Habanos S.A. decision to stop using cellophane, is due to the fact
that cellophane limits the exchange that occurs between the cigars of the same
packaging, as well as between the cigars and the cedar wood of the packaging (when
it comes to a cigar box or a cabinet). This causes the following:

• The cigar aging process to be delayed.

• A decrease in homogeneity of the cigars of the same box

6. QUESTION:
Why and when Cubans stopped using cellophane in their production?

ANSWER:
In the early 90’s Cubatabaco stopped producing some of the premium cigars with
cellophane and in 1995 it was decided to have a different company called ICT in order
to produce machine made cigars exclusively.

The factory started to be operational in 2001. Until 2005 Habanos continued to

commercialise these products and from 2005 onwards Promocigar was responsible
for commercializing machine-made cigars and cigarillos internationally.

Last production years for some machine-made cigars by ICT that they were using
cellophane, are listed below:
Quintero: Last production 2014
H. Upmann: Last production 2006
Saint Luis Rey: Last production 2006
La Gloria Cubana: Last production 2006

Currently, Belinda and Troya are the only 2 brands of machine-made cigars that are
still produced with Cellophane and are available only in the Domestic Market of Cuba.

In addition, the only brand with machine made cigars that is being commercialised
internationally, is Guantanamera that uses cellophane for the items Minutos and
Decimos.

7. QUESTION:
Can anyone tell me the stories and origins of these cigars?
ANSWER:
Hi Richard, with regards to your question we have numbered the cigars from left to
right as 1 to 6.
1. Cigar Used to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the H. Upmann brand
Such cigars were offered at the dinner held at the Restaurant “Las Ruinas”, in
Havana, on September 20, 1994 in order to commemorate the 150 years of the
brand H.Upmann.
In addition to the Diademas distributed at the event, H.Upmann No2 as well as
another Corona cigar were offered, all with a special ring.

Factory name: Diademas.

Dimensions: 55 x 233 mm

2. H.Upmann Coronas
This cigar is an H.Upmann Coronas with a vitola Coronas. The ring is 42 and the
length 142mm.
This cigar with such ring, appeared in catalogues from the 1950’s and from
1972. The 1972 Catalogue is by Empresa Cubana del Tabaco.
3. Cigar commemorated Habanos Festival 2000
These cigars were manufactured at the H.Upmann (“José Martí”) factory, to
commemorate the Habanos Festival in 2000. We do not have a specific idea
regarding the total production of the cigars.

Factory name: Mareva.

Dimensions: 42 x 129 mm.
Quantities per box: 25

4. Wu Li Chang
Wu Li Chang was a popular 1930s Spanish language film.
This film was also performed as a play in Cuba in the late 1950s, and this
theatrical version was performed on Cuban television in 1959.
This cigar was a special edition released in Cuba to promote the theatrical
production.
 A special thanks to Mr. Alexander Groom who helped us check with the
collector.

5. This cigar is probably a gift given from Cuban officials during the 1968 Mexico
Olympic games, which was produced in small quantities and was not for sale.

6. 1995: Partagas 150th Anniversary Humidor

 This cigar was produced in the Partagas factory and belongs to a humidor that
was produced by the Havana House company, to celebrate the 150th anniversary
of Partagas, in September of 1995.

There were 150 humidors produced numbered from 1 to 150. In addition, 3

prototypes were produced numbered 0, 00 and 000, that if we include them the
total production would be 153. Two of these prototypes (00 and 000) are currently
in Hong Kong.

Each humidor contains 150 cigars, divided in 3 drawers and 3 vitolas:

1st vitola: Robusto, 50 x 124 mm.
2nd vitola: Coronas Grandes, 42 x 155 mm.
3rd vitola: No. “109”, 50 x 184 mm.

8. QUESTION:
Hello, looking to have a bit more information about the cigars shown at the Cena del
Siglo dinner, held in Paris in 1994. Two Cohiba cigar boxes (ten from each) were
auctioned that night: 10 Cohiba “A” boxes and 10 Cohiba Torpedos boxes, 50 count
each. All those were signed by Fidel.
Have anyone had information of the existence of more of these extremely rare boxes,
outside of those signed and auctioned that night?

ANSWER:
Regarding the Cena del Siglo, there were three different types of cigars specially
produced for this event, all signed by the Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro, dated
October 10th of 1994. The event took place on the 22nd of October 1994 at the
Laurent Restaurant, Avenue Gabriel 41, Paris.
 There were 14 boxes auctioned that night, but the production was for 27 boxes, as
per below:

Trinidad Diplomatico: 7 boxes of 50 cigars

Cohiba Torpedos: 10 boxes of 50 cigars
Cohiba “A”: 10 boxes of 50 cigars

More information regarding the event can be found on:

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/great-moments-dinner-of-the-century-7711

These cigars have never been produced or sold after this occasion.

Trinidad Diplomático Cohiba Torpedos Cohiba “A”

DISTRIBUTION – RETAIL
1. QUESTION:

AUTHENTICITY
1. QUESTION:
Purchased 8 single Pyramids EL2001 from a group member, from my own
knowledge,I said it is fake. While the seller insisted it is real. I need our group's
support. Details as follow: Number 2 is my own empty box that I have smoked years
ago, No. 1 is the seller's.
ANSWER:
Cohiba Piramides EL 2001 was produced in boxes of 25 cigars. This cigar was the
first vitola to be under the limited edition concept for the brand Cohiba.

Below you can see some photos of an original product:

Allow us to focus on some differences between the photos of the original that we site
and the photos of box No.1 that you shared with us.
1. Sticker inside the box:
a. The official box has a white frame around the gold frame, whereas box
No.1 does not have one.
b. On box No.1, on top of the brand name on the sticker there is a part of the
white boxes appearing, like the brand is covering the other part of these
boxes. However in the original box this is not the case.
c. The gold head of the Taino has a symmetrical white frame on all sides on
the original box. On box No.1 the frame is not symmetrical.
d. The gold frame on the sticker is worn out on some parts, and you can
identify the white boxes underneath, which will never be the case with an
original box of Habanos.
e. The sticker that is used in box No.1, is similar to the current sticker that is
used for the classic line of Cohiba. This sticker was not used at the time of
the 2001 Limited Edition. Below is a photo of Cohiba Exquisitos’ current
packaging:
2. Writing on the side of the box “25 PIRAMIDES Hecho a Mano”
a. The format of the letters on the original box is totally different than the
format on box No.1.
b. During that period, the printing on the sides was done with a hot iron stamp
which inside had the writing “25 PIRAMIDES Hecho a Mano”. This way,
the hot iron stamp was leaving as evidence parts of lines framing the
wording that was on the hot iron stamp, which is the case in the photo of
the original box. However, the writing on your box No.1 seams to have
been encarved which is not the way of that period.

As a conclusion, we believe that box No.1 is fake, however we cannot have an opinion
on the cigars , the rings of the cigars or the colour of the outside stickers because
they need to be examined in person.

Furthermore, it is important to mention that even though this cigar is a 2001 item, a
lot of the production took place in 2002. The Cohiba Piramides EL 2001 that were
rolled towards the end of 2002 were produced with the Cohiba ring that started being
used in 2003 for the regular production of Cohiba. This ring had the name of the brand
in gold format (instead of black on the previous ring) and 3 white boxes on top of the
brand (instead of 2 white boxes on the previous ring), as per the photo below:
2. QUESTION:
How can we check if our Habanos cigar is real or fake?

ANSWER:
After checking with the member of the panel, Mr. Alain Fauchier, we have the
following answer:

It is important to mention that one should purchase Habanos from authorized

retailers, Casa del Habano, Habanos Specialists, Habanos Points, Cohiba
Atmosphere and Habanos Lounge or Terrace, to be sure that these are original
Habanos.
If there are doubts if a cigar is original, there are several techniques that could
reveal the authenticity of a Habano.

a. First, the warranty seal must have the barcode on the one side and the
hologram on the other. In addition, the barcode number is hidden somewhere in
the green part of the seal.

Habanos has developed its website with a search engine

(http://verificacion.habanos.com/), where you can confirm if indeed the product
in the box is related to the barcode.

b. Another point is that all stickers must be applied on the box. There are many
cases that on fake boxes, the stickers are not applied, and you get many
excuses on why they are not.
▪ The warranty seal must be on the left, occupying space from the top lid
and the front side (Larguero). The Cote d´Arms should be on the front
side (as much as possible) along with the barcode, and the hologram
should be on the top side.
▪ The Habanos D.O.P. sticker should be applied on the top right corner of
the top side.
▪ The Habanos D.O.P. sticker should be applied on the top right corner of
the top side.
3. QUESTION:
Can someone tell me more about this cigar and humidor? This does not belong to
me, and the information I’m getting from the person who’s the owner is that these
were a gift to him by a prominent cigar smoking diplomat (I will not say his name
here), and that these were specially made Behike that were 52 x 7 1/4, and that they
only made either 18 or 36 humidors containing 40 cigars each. Personally, upon
closer inspection of the bands, the bands do not appear to be genuine Behike bands
(the border around “COHIBA” on the back side of the band seems to be touching or
overlapping the white squares), but I’m no expert. Any information helps!

ANSWER:
After checking with the whole Habanos production, we can say with certainty that
Habanos never produced such humidor and cigars.

In addition, even though some LDCH in Cuba offer cigars in unusual sizes and
custom humidors (which are legitimate cigars if not official Habanos release), the fact
that the size is 52 X 184 which has never been produced under any brand or factory
name before, means that there are no moulds for this size to be used.

So, based on the above we believe that these cigars are fake.
MAKETING – COMMUNICATION
1. QUESTION:

SMOKING – PAIRING
1. QUESTION:
Why does this happen?

ANSWER:
We have advised with the members of the panel and we have the following answer:

Such a burn could occur due to a variety of reasons, like bad or excess lighting,
construction issue, uneven burn due to windy environment, uneven humidity or a
combination of these. Moreover, it is good to remember that in theory the wrapper
has less humidity than the filler and therefore it peels and burns quicker, and that
different tobacco leaves (volado, seco, ligero, medio tiempo) have different
combustion characteristics.

Below are the most probable reasons that have caused such a burn like in the photo:

▪ Broken wrapper: If the wrapper is broken close to the foot, after lighting, the
smoke will be partly extracted from the broken part which will cause the broken
part to contract and create an opening very similar to your photo.

▪ Construction of the cigar: In case the cigar is underfilled or unevenly filled in

some part, and overlapped by the wrapper or other filler, then it would cause
the burn to appear jumping up the cigar (jump in the burn).

▪ Different relative humidity of the wrapper, than the humidity of the filler and the
external humidity of the environment: Often, phenomena of this type are
detected, and the wrapper burns quickly whilst the combustion process is
triggered for the “tripa” (filler) causing a slower burn, especially if:
a. The cigar has not been left out of the humidor to be exposed sufficiently to
the conditions (temperature and humidity) of the environment where it will
be smoked, and/or
b. There is a difference in the amount of water molecules in the tobacco cells
of the wrapper compared to the tobacco cells of the tripa.
GENERAL
1. QUESTION:
Will the Spanish cedar impact the flavor of the cigars. And if so, how he can
mitigate this impact?

ANSWER:
Spanish Cedar is as good as any material to finish a humidor, and it very much ticks
the tradition box. In addition to the fact that you will be storing the cigars in their
original packaging, the cedar will not have any unwanted impact on the Cigars.

2. QUESTION:
In what year did Partagas start using the now iconic red & gold ring on the Serie
D#4?
I once had an interesting conversation with the (then) brand manager from
Condega cigars. When I asked him why did they copy the Partagas Serie D #4 ring,
he told me that they used that design before Partagas did. It was later repeated by
other people from Condega.
But today Mike Choi shows me a picture of Partagas Serie D #4 from the 1990s
with that ring. I'm confused now.

ANSWER:
After advising with the members of the panel, please see below our answer:

The Partagas Serie D No. 4 was introduced in the 1930’s, and was part of the
“Series” from Partagas:
Series No 1 No 2 No 3 No 4

A 38 X 170mm 38 X 156mm 38 X 140mm 38 X 125mm

B 42 X 170mm 42 X 156mm 42 X 140mm 42 X 125mm

C 48 X 170mm 48 X 156mm 48 X 140mm 48 X 124mm

D 50 X 170mm 50 X 156mm 50 X 140mm 50 X 124mm

The production of the “Series” was discontinued by the mid-1960's. However, Serie
D No.4 was re-introduced in 1975, because of the increasing popularity of the
Robusto size.

The “Series” from Partagas were presented from the beginning with a ring quite
similar to the current ring (with minor changes on the text): Red color, gold letters and
two sets of 2 gold lines at the top and the bottom of the ring.

Rings Serie A, B, C and D from the 1930’s:

 Ring of the Serie D No. 4 re-introduced in 1975:

Current ring of Serie D No.4:

What we can say with certainty is that the overall design of the ring of Partagas Serie
D No.4 exists since the 1930’s.

3. QUESTION:
How many versions of the German distributor logo are available?
ANSWER:
The exclusive Habanos distributor for Germany, Austria and Poland is 5 th Avenue.
Since the distributor commercializes Habanos products in 3 different countries, they
have to follow 3 different regulations as per any stickers to be applied on the boxes,
along with the company policy of the distributor and sub-distributors.

Through the years, the warranty seals had to follow any changes in company policy
and the fiscal stickers any changes in the legislation of these countries. Having said
this, we confirm that all the stickers shown in your photos are older original sticker
versions of 5th Avenue products.

Below you may find the current stickers that are used by the distributor:

For Germany:
Warranty seal, mentioning the address of 5th Avenue in Germany:

As the prices are regulated by the government in Germany, a fiscal sticker is used as
per below photo:
 Austria:
Warranty seal mentioning the importer name in Austria (“tobaccoland”) and that the
goods are destined to be sold in Austria:

Poland:
Warranty seal for Poland having the logo of the exclusive sub-distributor in Poland
(“Premium Cigars”):

No fiscal stickers are used for Austria and Poland, as the prices are not regulated by
the government.

4. QUESTION:
Old and New Habanos Certificates in each box ; old one carries the Cuba Tobacco
Leaf Emblem on top and the new one without it; when did Habanos changed it to the
new one?

ANSWER:
Below you can follow the evolution of the “Vitolina” (Habanos Certificate) inserted in
each Habanos box.

Cubatabacco introduced the idea of having something similar to the “Vitolina”

between 1985 and 1986 with the purpose to not only educate consumers about
product conservation, but for it to also be an impervious part of the campaign against
falsifications.

In some cases, the information was printed on a piece of paper placed inside the box,
and in other cases it was imprinted on the box itself. The text contained information
about the cigars or the brand of the box. In example, as per below:

Box of Rafael Gonzalez – Serie Medaille d’Or

Inscription:
“The cigars have been hand-rolled in Havana by expert cigar makers and are made exclusively from
the highest quality Vuelta Abajo leaves. Their perfect mildness and fragrance will delight even the
most discerning of cigar connoisseurs.”

With the establishment of Habanos in 1994, the “Vitolina” was altered and the word
“Cubatabaco” was replaced by “Habanos – Unicos desde 1492”:

Through-out the years the “Vitolina” may be modified to correct mistakes and to
introduce different colors on its frame or different types of text formats and fonts, as
well as additional information:

In reference:

• In 2005:
 1. A mistake was corrected in the English text, which was the missing space after
the “temperature (16oC – 18oC)” text
2. The color of the frame was changed.
3. The word “Havanas” was changed to Habanos in the English, French and
German texts.

• In 2007:
1. Some grammatical corrections in the French and German texts.
2. The color of the frame was changed.
3. The word “Habanos” in the English, French and German text was changed
back to “Havanas”, probably by mistake.

• In 2012 - Habanos decided to redesign the “Vitolina” extensively:

1. Removed the tobacco leaf logo from the top header and included the Habanos
D.O.P. sticker on the top right corner.
2. Changed the text “Habanos – Unicos desde 1492” to “Habanos s.a. – Hecho
En Cuba – Totalmente a Mano”.
3. Added the website address of Habanos SA, on the right side at the bottom of
the text: www.habanos.com
4. The text was modified to highlight the D.O.P. characteristic of the tobacco
growing regions and of Habanos. The rest of the text remained the same with
minor changes.
5. The color of the frame was changed.
6. The word “Havanas” was corrected again to “Habanos”
5. QUESTION:
Why do some Habanos cigars such as the HDM Epicure No. 2 become very soft after
being lit? Taking into consideration smoking slowly.

ANSWER:
After advising with the members of the panel, we have the following answer.

All cigars become soft to some extent after being lit, due to condensation of water.

However, there could be cases with some cigars (independently of the vitola) having
quality problems with their construction (underfilling), due to the fact that they are
handmade. This would result to these cigars becoming unusually soft after being lit.

In the case of the whole production of a vitola having construction issues, then this
would have been identified at some point by the quality control and the cigars would
have been rejected.

But both scenarios could happen to any cigar, and not necessarily only to HDM
Epicure No.2.

6. QUESTION:
What’s the best way to age tubos?

ANSWER:
While aging cigars, the most important factor is the time you want to age them for
prior of smoking them.

If you want to smoke them soon (within months or few years), then you should age
them faster. For this, there should be good ventilation at the place of storage. Reason
being that ventilation will help to remove the remaining ammonia on the cigars and it
encourages fermentation that generates a lot of substances that create the pleasant
taste and flavor of a cigar.

However, this will not help the cigars to achieve their maximum potentials and they
will lose part of their quality, as large quantity of oxygen will cause some of the flavors
to evaporate.

On the other hand, if you do not mind smoking them in years’ time, it is better to allow
a slow fermentation that causes the elements of tobacco to interact and produce more
 complex flavors. To reduce the pace of fermentation, you should allow less oxygen
in the humidor.

Whether you should "breathe" your cigars periodically depends on the time frame you
wish to age newly purchased Habano before consumption. if it is just a few years, or
even a few months, do "breathe" your cigars. If you want a beautifully aged cigar and
time is no concern, never "breathe" your cigars.

With that said, cigars in tube should be aged as they were produced (in tubes, caps
on, in the box or pack they were released in), in a humidor which will provide optimal
conditions. Knowing that the risk of mould proliferation is higher when a cigar is in a
tube, it is advisable to open the tube once or twice a year which will allow you to see
if there is any problem and address it quickly.

7. QUESTION:
How can we tell which factory the cigars where rolled in from the box code? Can
Habanos provides a list of codes with its corresponding Factories?

ANSWER:
At the bottom of the box there are two ink-stamps, one of which is a secret code that
tells in which factory the cigars were made and the other is the month and year where
the cigars were boxed.

Regarding the factory codes, this is related to Tabacuba and not Habanos. These
codes are changed often and sometimes more than once a year. By this you can
understand that Tabacuba keeps such codes confidential, for customers not to track
factories and prefer some factories over others.

Once the cigars pass the quality control of Tabacuba and of the Habanos warehouse
prior to export, they are supposed to be of uniform quality, disregarding the factory
they were produced in.

OTHER
1. QUESTION:
Dear Aficionados,
Currently I am studying details of history of the Montecristo brand. As far as I know
in spring of 1935 Menendez, Garcia y Cia. bought Particulares factory and rights to
produce Particulares and Byron brands. Particulares factory was founded by
Segundo Lopez probably in 1895.

Does anyone know the address of old Particulares Factory?

First source I found says that Particulares factory was located at Calle 23 between
16th and 18th streets (actual Jose Marti factory). When in 1937 Menendez, Garcia y
Cia. acquired license to produce H. Upmann both with Montecristo were produced at
C/ Virtudes 609. Then in 1944 production was moved to factory at C/ Amistad 407.
And finally in 2004 production of Montecristo, H. Upmann and Diplomaticos was
moved back to Calle 23.
Link: https://www.cigarjournal.com/empresa-jose-marti.../
Next source says that Particulares factory was located at C/ Virtudes 609.
Link: http://www.jaberni-coleccionismo-vitolas.com/1C.5.999...

Another source says that acquired in 1937 factory of H. Upmann was located at C/
Virtudes 609. Then in 1955 it was moved to C/ 20 de Mayo 520. It says that at the
moment it was the most modern factory in Cuba, that could produce cigarettes with
filters.
Source: "Las empresas de Cuba 1958" Guillermo Jiménez Soler

I already get lost in it... Please help me find the truth!

Also where was originally located the factory of H. Upmann?

Best regards from Poland,
Kamil

ANSWER:

PARTICULARES
The Menendez, Garcia y Cia company was created in 1935 by Alonso Menéndez
and José García and at that time the company offices and warehouse were located
at Calle Virtudes 609, in Old Havana, dedicated to store and commercialize cigars.

In the same year, they bought Byron (brand and factory), as well as the Particulares
S.A. (brand and factory).

- Byron was located at Maximo Gomez No.234 – logo of the factory below is from
the national museum in Cuba (CubaMuseo.com).

- Particulares S.A. was located at 23 Esquina a 16, Vedado, Habana.

- Also, Menendez, Garcia y Cia registered Montecristo as a third brand which was
part of the portfolio of Particulares S.A.

Below you can see an advertisement of Particulares S.A. (which included all 3
brands) in the issue of the “Habano” magazine of August 1935.

In 1936 Menendez, Garcia y Cia sold Particulares S.A. (but they kept the ownership
of the name of the Montecristo brand), in order to raise capital for acquiring the H.
Upmann brand and factory, which they purchased in 1937, and they moved it from
Meyrelles 11 St., Calabazar, Havana to Virtuedes 609 (which was the address of the
Menendez, Garcia y Cia).
H.Upmann
Regarding the H. Upmann factory, it was founded in 1844 by two German brothers
Hermann and August Upmann. The actual family name of the brothers was Hupmann
but they used the name Upmann instead. One of the reasons could be that in Spanish
the letter ‘H’ is not pronounced, so eventually they removed from the brand. Another
reason could be that they separated the ‘H’ from Hupmann to make the logo as
‘H.Upmann’ and imply that the ‘H’ stands for ‘Hermanos’ (Spanish word for brothers).

The initial location of the factory was at San Miguel 85, in La Habana. This information
appears in most of the historical documentation existing in Cuba for that period.

However, H.Upmann factory changed many locations after its creation.

1844: San Miguel 85
1891: Carlos III 159 – at this point the factory became known among its workers as
‘La Madama’:

1905: Meyrelles 11 St., Calabazar, Havana

1937: Virtuedes 609: The offices of Tabacuba’s department related to production are
currently located in this address.
1944: Amistad St. 407-409: After renovating this building, it is currently used as a
school.

2003 to date: 23rd St. 14-16: The previous location of H.Upmann factory (Amistad St.
407-409) was decided to be renovated, therefor forcing production to move to the
23rd street.

The change of the addresses was mainly associated with the facts that:
• The factory was purchased by different owners who were moving it to new
locations.
• The production of the factory was not meeting the increasing demand for the
brand, therefor it had to move to a bigger building.
2. QUESTION:
I found the post below regarding that Trinidad box interesting. I have an envelope
from a Trinidad y Hno from 1960. Any thoughts on its' origin?

ANSWER:

After advising with the members of the board, we have prepared the following answer:

It is known that before the revolution there was a brand called Trinidad y Hermano
which was named after a family called Trinidad (and not the name of the city of
Trinidad like in the case of the current brand).

“Ranchuelos” that is written on the letter head of this letter, is the town where Trinidad
y Hno was located and its building where it was established operates currently as a
cigarette factory.

This brand was mainly focusing on producing cigarettes until 1958. It is not known
what happened to the brand after that.

In addition, the nationalization of the factories in Cuba started in September of 1960.

This letter has a stamp dated in May 1960. Having said this, it looks like “Trinidad y
Hno” brand remained operational when this letter was sent, which is prior to the
nationalization.