"Cigars are no longer just for the seasoned smoker.      They have become a staple in society for rookies and veterans alike,        representing an air of character, class and pleasure. Whether it's a          satisfying smoke after dinner, during a round of golf, or out at the          bar for drinks, cigars are the perfect complement to your lifestyle        because that is exactly what defines cigar smoking:      -- your lifestyle. Welcome to the good life!"
CURRENT HOYO DE MONTERREY CIGARS
SPECIAL REALEASED CIGARS
DISCONTINUED CIGARS
HOYO DE MONTERREY CIGARS
HOYO DE MONTERREY CIGARS

Year of Foundation: 1865

Tobacco Country: Cuba

Tobacco Procedence: Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Rio)

Cigar Factory: La Corona

Cigar Strength: Light Strength


In 1831, Don José Gener y Batet emigrated to Cuba from Spain at the age of thirteen, where he worked on his uncle's plantation in Vuelta Abajo. Twenty years later, he would open his own Cuban cigar factory in Havana and begin producing his own cigar line, La Escepción.

In 1865, after using his factory's profits to acquire one of the best tobacco farms in Vuelta Abajo, he registered a Cuban cigar line named for it: Hoyo de Monterrey. Literally translating from Spanish to English as "the hole of Monterrey" in reference to the concave terrain favored by growers of premium tobacco, the brand became incredibly popular, especially in the British market, and José Gener's factory subsequently became one of the largest factories in Cuba.

In 1900, Gener died in Spain and his daughter Lutgarda Gener took over the business and it would stay in the family for another thirty years. In 1931, the Gener family sold their Cbuan cigar brands in order to focus more on their sugar cane properties.

The firm of Fernández, Palicio y Cía bought the Hoyo de Monterrey and La Escepción brands and added them to their impressive lineup, which already included Punch and Belinda.

Around this time in the 1940s, the Le Hoyo series (along with the Chateaux series which would later be used to create the Davidoff cigar line) was created for Swiss distributor A Dürr Co. After the death of partner Ramón Fernández, Fernando Palicio became sole proprietor of the business and by 1958 his Cuban cigar lines accounted for 13% of all Havana cigar exports.

After the government of Cuba unilaterally expropriated the company from its legitimate owners, Fernando Palicio voluntarily left Cuba for Florida. He subsequently sold his Cuban cigar lines to the Villazon family, which continued to make Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, and Belinda cigars in their Tampa, Florida factory from Honduran tobacco for the American market.

Hoyo de Monterrey continued production in Cuba and in Honduras and is still a popular, globally-marketed Cuban cigar line. Among connoisseurs, the Épicure No. 2, Double Coronas, and Le Hoyo series are particularly prized.

Being a globally-marketed Cuban cigar brand, Hoyo de Monterrey has been chosen for Habanos' annual Edición Limitada releases since 2000. Of interesting note is the Particular, which had some production problems during the first Edición Limitada lineup in 2000 with few of the cigars getting out to vendors. This prompted Habanos to release it again the next year, the only Edición Limitada cigar so far to have had this happen.

In 2004, a new size was added to the Hoyo de Monterrey line, the Petit Robusto, which also wore a slightly-redesigned Hoyo de Monterrey cigar band.

Hoyo de Monterrey also produces two machine-made cigarillos: the Mini and the Midi.