If there would be a striking difference between cigars of Cuba and cigars from all over the world, the difference would only be the remarkable skill of the Cuban tobacco growers and blenders. And among the proof of which is the Hoyo de Monterrey Cigars, the magnum opus of the Don José Gener y Batet which for over two centuries is still incredibly popular amidst today’s 20th century standards.
Most skilled tobacco growers would agree that Cuba’s Vuelta Abajo district has the micro climate suitable to sustain even the most selective species of tobacco. And they could never be more right because those tobacco leaves harvested from the Vuelta coincidently creates also the best cigar brands whose popularity would reach the northernmost extremes of the planet. That was the story of Don José Gener y Batet and his “Hole of Monterrey”, whose humble beginnings with the La Escepción slowly morphed into one of the largest manufacturing in Cuba.
Though Don José Gener y Batet later on sold La Escepción and the Hoyo de Monterrey cigars to Palicio y Cia while it was still thriving, the change of ownership was then marred with difficulties. The first was the totalitarian rule of Fidel Castro who sought to capitalize on the heavy profits made by cigar export. The next gigantic blow was when the United States Embargo against Cuba was set in place. Fernando Palicio fled Cuba, and sold rights of the Hoyo de Monterrey to the Villazon family who was also responsible for distributing other exceptional Cuban cigars like Punch and Belinda. The proprietorship was again short lived as Cuba subsequently nationalized all tobacco trade under the government ownership.
Even though the enmity between Fidel Castro’s government and the United States government (and resulted the embargo), Hoyo de Monterrey cigars are still very much coveted around the world. There would then be some that would downplay Hoyo de Monterrey cigars’ quality, claiming that the Cuban cigars’ quality was far inferior from those when Don José Gener y Batet was still the tobacco blender, but Hoyo de Monterrey cigars would never stop being a popular, internationally sold Cuban cigar line.
Maybe it really is the quality workmanship of Cuban tobacco growers who had indulged in the practice since the age of sails and colonization, that while most tobacco growers around the world are still learning the intricacies of tobacco growing, Cuban growers had already mastered the art.
