The Montecristo brand has a rich Cuban history. In the Cuban cigar factories of the 1930’s, professional readers would read books to keep the workers entertained. At the Particulares Factory, the Count of Monte Cristo was an extremely popular book. It was so popular, in fact, that the cigar was named after one of the settings in the novel, Monte Cristo.

The Montecristo brand of cigars has been around for 80 years, so the Montecristo 80^th Anniversary cigar was launched at the 2015 IPCPR to commemorate the anniversary. A limited edition production, the 80^th Anniversary cigar is an homage to the brand. It features the rare Dominican Pilotico tobacco, which also has an interesting history. Pepe Mendez took the seeds from Cuba in the sixties.

Grown in a region of the Dominican Republic called Navarrete, the Pilotico has strong flavors. Other fillers include Nicaraguan ligero and Nicaraguan viso. With an sumatran wrapper from Ecuador and a binder from the Dominican, the cigar is full-bodied and flavorful.

After the first day of the IPCPR, the Montecristo 80^th Anniversary cigar was sold-out. There were only 3000 boxes manufactured, but there’s still time. You can buy them in hand-made boxes of 12 from Cuenca Cigars. Try one before it’s too late.