Saint Luis Rey

The Saint Luis Rey brand of Cuban cigars was founded in 1940 in Havana by the Zamora y Guerra company. The factory is located at 180 Calle Maximo Gómez in Havana. There are two theories about the choice of the brand's name. For some, it was inspired by the book "The Bridge of King St. Louis" by Thornton Niven Wilder. For others, it's a tribute to the town of San Luis, close to the tobacco-producing region of Vuelta Abajo. This second hypothesis is far more plausible. Saint Luis Rey should not be confused with San Luis Rey. The latter were machine-made cigarillos produced in Germany by the Villiger Söhne company.

Exclusive sales
Originally, Saint Luis Rey cigars were intended to be sold exclusively on the British Habanos market through the import company N.R. Silverstone Cigar Limited, owned by Michael de Keyser and Nathan Silverstone. This importer held a monopoly on the distribution of Saint Luis Rey cigars in the UK for decades. The Cuban revolution that broke out in 1953 neither altered nor cancelled this exclusive contract, which was renewed in 1960. From 1993 onwards, Cubatabaco, the Cuban state-owned company in charge of managing Cuban cigars, decided no longer to restrict the marketing of Saint Luis Rey cigars in the UK. The brand's creations are sold worldwide. In addition, Cubatabacco entrusts Hunters and Frankaula with the distribution of Habanos on the British market. Saint Luis Rey is not included in the new importer's catalog until 2003. Today, Saint Luis Rey Habanos are sold worldwide. However, these cigars are rather difficult to find.

Manufacture and special features
Saint Luis Rey cigars enjoy an excellent reputation among Habanos enthusiasts for their taste. Vitolas carry a rich range of copious aromas, dominated by spicy, earthy notes. The tobacco leaves come from Vuelta Abajo and Semi Vuelta. All cigars have a long filler and are hand-crafted in the factory Romeo y Julieta. Each wrapper has either a maduro (dark brown) or maduro (extremely dark brown) color. It is smooth and slightly shiny. The strength of Saint Luis Rey Habanos is in the medium-high range. This brand's premium cigars are much more accessible to experienced smokers. Famous admirers of Saint Luis Rey include singer Franck Sinatra and actor James Coburn. Slow smoking is recommended for these puros, particularly the stout vitolas Saint Luis Rey Regios (module robusto - calibre 48), Saint Luis Rey Double Corona (calibre 49) and Saint Luis Rey Serie A (module corona gorda - calibre 46).