La Gloria Cubana (cigar brand)

La Gloria Cubana is the name of two premium cigar brands, one produced on the island of Cuba for Habanos SA, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and other produced in the Dominican Republic and Miami, Florida by El Credito for General Cigar.

History

The La Gloria Cubana brand was created in 1885 by the Sociedad Cabañas y Castro, then bought twenty years later in 1905 by José F. Rocha, who manufactured the brand from his factory at 364 Miguel Street in Havana. After Rocha's death in 1954, the Cifuentes family bought both La Gloria Cubana and Bolivar from Rocha's former company. Production was moved to the Partagás Factory, where it's still produced today, and became very popular as an export brand.

After the Revolution, it seems that production of La Gloria Cubana ceased for several years, until around 1965 when the brand was apparently resurrected at the Partagás Factory. It is produced in smaller quantities than other brands and maintains its popularity with connoisseurs, the Médaille d'Or No. 2 being a particularly prized vitola.

La Gloria Cubana also produces two machine-made cigarillos: the Mini and the Purito.

"Vitolas" in the La Gloria Cubana Line

The following list of "vitolas" (sizes) within the La Gloria Cubana line lists their measurements in English and metric, their "vitolas de galera" (factory name), and their conventional name in American cigar slang.

"Hand-Made Vitolas"
* Taíno - 7" x 47 (178 x 18.65 mm) Julieta, a churchill
* Médaille d'Or No. 1 - 7 1/4" x 36 (185 x 14.29 mm) Delicado Extra, a long panetela
* Médaille d'Or No. 2 - 6 3/4" x 43 (170 x 17.07 mm) Dalia, a lonsdale
* Médaille d'Or No. 3 - 6 7/8" x 28 (175 x 11.11 mm) Panetela Larga, a slim panetela
* Médaille d'Or No. 4 - 6" x 32 (152 x 12.70 mm) Palmita, a panetela

References

* Nee, Min Ron - "An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars" (2003, Reprinted: 2005), ISBN 3-9809308-2-3

See also

* Cigar brands

External links

* [http://www.habanos.com Official website of Habanos S.A.]
* [http://www.cigars-review.org/cigars/Gloria-Cubana.htm Reviews of La Gloria Cubana Cigars]