Hoyo de Monterrey

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History
In 1831, Don Jose 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 cigar factory in Havana and begin producing his own cigar line, La Escepcion. In 1865, after using his factory's profits to acquire one of the best tobacco farms in Vuelta Abajo, he registered a cigar line named for it: Hoyo de Monterrey.
Literally translating from Spanish to English as "the hole of Monterrey," the brand became incredibly popular, especially in the British market, and Jose 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 cigar brands in order to focus more on their sugar cane properties. The firm of Fernandez, Palicio y Cia bought the Hoyo de Monterrey and La Escepcion 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 Durr Co.. After the death of partner Ramon Fernandez, Fernando Palicio became sole proprietor of the business and by 1958 his cigar lines accounted for 13% of all Havana cigar exports.
After the embargo was set against Cuba by the United States, Fernando Palicio fled Cuba for Florida, where he subsequently sold his cigar lines to the Villazon family, which has continued to make Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, and Belinda cigars from Honduran tobacco for the American market.
Cuba subsequently nationalized the tobacco industry and Hoyo de Monterrey continued production and is still a popular, globally-marketted Cuban cigar line. Among connoisseurs, the Epicure No. 2, Double Coronas, and Le Hoyo series are particularly prized.
Being a globally-marketted brand, Hoyo de Monterrey has been chosen for Habanos' annual Edicion Limitada releases since 2000. Of interesting note is the Particular, which had some production problems during the first Edicion 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 Edicion 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.
Vitolas in the Hoyo de Monterrey Line
A cabinet box of Hoyo de Monterrey Petit RobustosThe following list of vitolas (sizes) within the Hoyo de Monterrey 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
Double Corona - 7 5/8" x 49 (194 x 19.45 mm) Prominente, a double corona
Churchill - 7" x 47 (178 x 18.65 mm) Julieta, a churchill
Epicure No. 1 - 5 5/8" x 46 (143 x 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda, a toro
Epicure No. 2 - 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a robusto or rothschild
Petit Robusto - 4 1/8" x 50 (102 x 19.84 mm) Petit Robusto, a petit robusto
Hoyo Corona - 5 5/8" x 42 (142 x 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
Short Hoyo Corona - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Machine-Made and Hand-Finished Vitolas
Palmas Extra - 5 1/2" x 40 (140 x 15.87 mm) Crema, a corona
Coronation - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Petit Corona, a petit corona
The Le Hoyo Series
Le Hoyo des Dieux - 6 1/8" x 42 (155 x 16.67 mm) Corona Grande, a long corona
Le Hoyo du Depute - 4 3/8" x 38 (110 x 15.08 mm) Trabuco, a short panetela
Le Hoyo du Gourmet - 6 3/4" x 33 (170 x 13.10 mm) Palma, a slim panetela
Le Hoyo du Maire - 3 7/8" x 30 (100 x 11.91 mm) Entreacto, a small panetela
Le Hoyo du Prince - 5 1/8" x 40 (130 x 15.87 mm) Almuerzo, a petit corona
Le Hoyo du Roi - 5 5/8" x 42 (142 x 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
Edicion Limitada Releases
Particular (2000 and 2001) - 9 1/4" x 47 (235 x 18.65 mm) Gran Corona, a presidente or giant
Piramide (2003)- 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Piramide, a pyramid or torpedo
Epicure Especial (2004) - 5 1/2" x 50 (141 x 19.84 mm) Gordito, a robusto extra
 

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