In 1935, Alonso Menéndez created the Montecristo brand, meaning that this year marks its 80th anniversary—and of course, warrants an anniversary cigar. Because of the embargo on Cuban goods in the U.S., there are two Montecristo brands; one is owned by Cubatabaco, the state-run cigar business in Cuba, while the other is sold only in the U.S., owned by Altadis U.S.A. As many know, Habanos S.A., the marketing and distribution part of Cubatabaco, is actually a joint venture partially owned by Imperial Tobacco, the parent of Altadis U.S.A. While it remains to be seen what, if anything Altadis USA will do, Habanos S.A. has already announced its Montecristo 80th anniversary release, the Montecristo 80 Aniversario. It’s a special edition cigar in a 6 1/2 (165mm) x 55 vitola, making it slightly longer than the increasingly-popular Double Edmundo vitola. Habanos S.A. says it is using tobaccos only from the Vuelta Abajo region and is blended to be stronger than a typical Montecristo. The cigar is limited to 30,000 boxes of 20. It debuted at the Festival del Habano XVII earlier this year, where attendees were given three-pack samplers of the cigar. Cigar Reviewed: Montecristo 80 Aniversario Country of Origin: Cuba Factory: H. Upmann Wrapper: ...
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