Montecristo

The Montecristo name comes from a novel. In the cigar factories of 1930s Havana, a lector would read aloud to the rollers as they worked, and Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo was a favorite. When Alonso Menéndez created the brand in 1935, he borrowed its title. Its logo, six swords around a fleur-de-lis, has barely changed since. After the Menéndez family left Cuba, the Montecristo sold in the United States settled in the Dominican Republic, where Altadis makes it at the Tabacalera de García. The Classic wears a golden Connecticut-shade wrapper, the White Series is creamy and mild, and the No. 2 keeps the famous torpedo silhouette alive. For many smokers, Montecristo cigars are the first brand that comes to mind, and a fair yardstick for premium quality.