Montecristo
Alonso Menendez bought the Particulares factory in 1935, and after gaining ownership he immediately named it Montecristo. The name was inspired by a novel titled The Count of MouteCristo by Alexandre Dumas and it was very popular among the cigar rollers. Menendez founded a company in 1936 called Menendez Garcia y Cia. The Montecristo brand increased success led to the purchase of the H Upmann factory from J Frankau SA in 1937 where he then transferred production from the Particulares factory to the H. Upmann factory. John Hunter Morris and Elkan Company Limited were the only distributors of the Montecristo cigars in Britain while J. Frankau was the only distributor of the H. Upmann in the UK. Eventually both firms merged to become Hunters & Frankau. This company today is the only importer and distributor of Cuban cigars in the UK.
The Alfred Dunhill Company made a lot of effort to promote the Montecristo brand and these efforts paid off for it gained a lot of popularity worldwide. In 1961 there was a revolution in Cuba and the cigar industry was nationalized, it was during this time that Menendez and Garcia fled to the Canary Islands and restored the brand, however, they were not able to continue because of copyright disputes with Cubatabaco. In the mid-70s production was moved to La Romana in the Dominican Republic. With Menendez and Garcia gone, Jose Manuel Gonzalez who was a master cigar roller was promoted to floor manager and created new sizes of the brand. In the coming years Montecristo continued to gain popularity and has continued to produce new sizes and new brands. The following are some of the Montecristo brands that are largely popular among cigar smokers;
The Alfred Dunhill Company made a lot of effort to promote the Montecristo brand and these efforts paid off for it gained a lot of popularity worldwide. In 1961 there was a revolution in Cuba and the cigar industry was nationalized, it was during this time that Menendez and Garcia fled to the Canary Islands and restored the brand, however, they were not able to continue because of copyright disputes with Cubatabaco. In the mid-70s production was moved to La Romana in the Dominican Republic. With Menendez and Garcia gone, Jose Manuel Gonzalez who was a master cigar roller was promoted to floor manager and created new sizes of the brand. In the coming years Montecristo continued to gain popularity and has continued to produce new sizes and new brands. The following are some of the Montecristo brands that are largely popular among cigar smokers;
