A century
and a half after arriving on the market, Romeo and Julieta cigars are still
very popular. With a history that began in Havana, Cuba, in 1875, the brand has
come a long way and has changed hands several times, but it remains high on the
palate of many.
Although
the brand was long associated with Don Pepin (Jose Rodriguez Fernandez), it was
created nearly three decades before he took over. Its creators were the Asturian
cigar makers Inocencio Alvarez Rodríguez and Jose Garcia (Manin) who in 1875
set up a small cigar factory in Havana, Cuba, to make them.
Although
between 1885 and 1900, the brand won several gold medals in four different
universal exhibitions, the international recognition that it has today would
not have been possible without the work and dedication of Don Pepin, a
visionary who used publicity to promote and position Romeo and Julieta as one
of the main cigar brands in the world.
Don Pepin,
another Asturian living in Havana, bought Romeo and Julieta in 1903, with the
backing of Spaniards Ramon Argüelles, Baldomero Fernandez and Antonio Rodes.
From that very moment, using innovative marketing and advertising techniques,
he devoted himself passionately to promoting his brand. He spent much of his
time traveling around Europe and the Americas and promoting his cigars to his
wealthy clients, many of whom demanded that the bands on their cigars be
personalized, which became a trend for some time.
In 1905 his
factory was already one of the largest in Havana and by 1916, it increased his
production from 2 to 18 million cigars a year. It was distinguished by its
excellent and efficient design and by having a perfectly organized production
flow, in which more than a thousand workers operated, including 750 “torcedores”.
Perhaps the
biggest and most famous admirer of this brand was Sir Winston Churchill, in
whose honor and as a show of respect, an exclusive cigar size was named after
him and remains at the forefront of his collections. This brand's flagship
cigar, in a 7-inch, 47 ring gauge vitola, was created with the elegant,
interested smokers in mind who are drawn to boutique cigars.
After
Rodríguez's death in 1954 and the takeover of the Cuban tobacco industry by the
Castro regime, the brand disappeared from many places, especially from the US
market. Current versions of Romeo y Julieta are manufactured under the
direction of Altadis USA, at Tabacalera de Garcia, in La Romana, Dominican
Republic. Cuba still has the rights to the Cuban variety and continues to
produce it to this day.
Romeo and
Julieta, in its Dominican version, is one of the best-selling premium tobacco
brands in the United States, and there will most likely always be a market for
it.
In our store
you can buy a wide variety of versions, all of excellent quality.
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