Bolivar (cigar brand)
Encyclopedia
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
, one produced on the island of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
for Habanos SA
Habanos SA
Habanos S.A. is the arm of the Cuban state tobacco company, Cubatabaco, that controls the promotion, distribution, and export of Cuban cigars and other tobacco products worldwide. The word habanos means literally from Havana, and is the word used in the Spanish-speaking world for Havana cigars...
, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
from Dominican and Nicaraguan tobacco for General Cigar Company
General Cigar Company
General Cigar Company is one of the largest manufacturers of cigars in the world. It has been owned by Swedish Match since 2005.-Company history:...
, which is today a subsidiary of Swedish Match
Swedish Match
Swedish Match is a Swedish company based in Stockholm that makes snus, tobacco, cigars , Red Man Chewing Tobacco, dipping tobacco, matches and lighters. It was founded as Svenska Tändsticksaktiebolaget by Ivar Kreuger in 1917 in Jönköping...
. Both are named for the South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n revolutionary, Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
.
The Cuban-produced Bolívar cigars are very full-bodied and said to be some of the strongest produced in Cuba.
History
The brand was founded (possibly in Great Britain) by José F. Rocha around 1901 or 1902, though the brand was not registered in HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
(Cuba) until 1921, under the ownership of Rocha's firm, J.F. Rocha y Cia.
During this time, the Bolívar brand produced the world's smallest cigar, the Delgado, measuring a mere 1 7/8 inches with a 20 ring gauge, and even had the honor of having a miniature box of its cigars featured in the royal nursery's dollhouse at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
.
The brand was bought in 1954 by Cifuentes y Cia after Rocha's death and production was moved to the famous Partágas Factory in Havana (today known as the Francisco Pérez Germán factory), where many of its sizes are still produced today. During this time, under Cifuente's direction, Bolívar gained popularity in the world market and became a major export brand.
The Cuban Bolívar has a reputation among cigar aficionados of being one of the strongest and most full-bodied cigars, with its Coronas Junior, Petit Coronas, and Belicosos Finos being famous examples of the marque. In 2002, when Altadis
Altadis
Altadis is a multinational purveyor and manufacturer of cigarettes, tobacco and cigars. Altadis was formed via a 1999 merger between Tabacalera, the former Spanish tobacco monopoly and SEITA, the former French tobacco monopoly...
bought a controlling share in the Cuban government-owned cigar distributor, Habanos SA, a number of changes in cigar production were instituted. One of these changes was the decision to gradually turn the various brands of Cuban cigars to either all-handmade or all-machine-made lines. Bolívar, which has historically produced a variety of handmade and machine-made or machine-finished cigars, had several of its vitolas cut from production, with only one remaining, the cigarillo-sized Chicos. It remains to be seen if this size will eventually cease to be produced as well.
In 2005, Wolters in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, had a few thousand boxes of Bolívar Gold Medals produced by Habanos SA
Habanos SA
Habanos S.A. is the arm of the Cuban state tobacco company, Cubatabaco, that controls the promotion, distribution, and export of Cuban cigars and other tobacco products worldwide. The word habanos means literally from Havana, and is the word used in the Spanish-speaking world for Havana cigars...
exclusively for their shop. The cigars are an older, discontinued Bolívar size in the Cervantes (lonsdale) format, wrapped in gold foil on one half with a special Bolívar band in the middle and come packaged in boxes of ten. The Gold Medal has since become a regular production cigar again.
The Bolívar brand has also been chosen several times for special sizes in regional releases.
Vitolas in the Bolívar Line
Hand-Made Vitolas
- Belicoso Fino - 5½" x 52 (140 x 20.64 mm), Campana, a pyramid
- Bolivar Tubo No. 1 - 5⅝" x 42 (143 x 16.67 mm), Corona, a corona
- Bolivar Tubo No. 2 - 5⅛" x 42 (130 x 16.67 mm), Mareva, a petit corona
- Bolivar Tubo No. 3 - 4⅞" x 34 (124 x 13.49 mm), Placera, a small panetela
- Corona Extra - 5⅝" x 44 (143 x 17.46 mm), Francisco, a corona
- Corona Gigante - 7" x 47 (178 x 18.65 mm), Julieta No. 2, a churchill
- Corona Junior - 4⅜" x 42 (111 x 16.67 mm), Minuto, a petit corona
- Petit Corona - 5⅛" x 42 (130 x 16.67 mm), Mareva, a petit corona
- Royal Corona - 4⅞" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm), Robusto, a robusto
Edición Limitada Releases
- Petit Belicoso (2009) - 4⅞" x 52 (125 x 20.64 mm), Petit Belicoso, a petit pyramid
Edición Regional Releases
- Colosal (Germany 2006) - 6⅛" x 50 (156 x 19.84 mm), Doble, a robusto extra
- Libertador (France 2006, 2007) - 6½" x 54 (165 x 21.43 mm), Sublime, a double robusto
- Simon (Canada 2007, 2009) - 5" x 48 (127 x 19.05 mm), Hermoso No. 4, a corona extra
- Double Corona (Middle East 2007) - 7⅝" x 49 (194 x 19.45 mm), Prominente, a double corona
- Short Bolívar (Asia Pacific 2008) - 4⅜" x 52 (110 x 20.64 mm) Petit Edmundo, a petit robusto
- Armonia (China 2008) - 7¼" x 57 (184 x 22.62 mm) Salomónes I, a double perfecto
- Petit Libertador (France 2008) - 4" x 50 (102 x 19.84 mm) Petit Robusto, a petit robusto
- Legendario (Switzerland 2008) - 6⅛" x 50 (156 x 19.84 mm), Doble, a robusto extra
- Fabuloso (Benelux 2009) - 5⅜" x 52 (135 x 20.64 mm) Edmundo, a robusto extra
- 5at Avenida (Germany 2009) - 7¼" x 50 (184 x 19.84 mm) 109, a double corona
- Especial No. 2 (Germany 2009) - 7½" x 38 (192 x 15.08 mm) Delicado, a long panetela
La Casa del Habano Releases
- Gold Medal - 6½" x 42 (165 x 16.67 mm) Cervantes, a lonsdale
General Cigar Company's Bolivar
After tobacco was nationalized following the Cuban RevolutionCuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
, the Cifuentes family fled Cuba. In 1978, following a 17 year hiatus, Ramón Cifuentes licensed the Partágas and Bolívar brand names to General Cigar Company
General Cigar Company
General Cigar Company is one of the largest manufacturers of cigars in the world. It has been owned by Swedish Match since 2005.-Company history:...
, best known as the maker of White Owl
White Owl
White Owls are American-made, machine produced cigars. White Owl cigars are inexpensive, costing around an average of $1.50. The logo consists of a Snowy owl perched on a cigar.-History:...
, which relaunched the brand for the lucrative American market.
Recently, the Dominican Bolívar brand was reblended to better match the strength of the Cuban-made brand.
Further reading
- Richard B. Perelman, Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Havana CigarsPerelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of CigarsThe Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars is an annually published and updated reference of cigar brands available in the U.S., , including specifications and information regarding each cigar, as well as basic cigar knowledge in general, such as wrapper colours and shapes and sizes...
. Third edition. 2005. - Anwer Bati, The Cigar Companion. Philadelphia and London: Running Press, 1997.
- Min Ron Nee, An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars. Hong Kong: Interpro Business Corp., 2003.