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El Rey del Mundo (cigar brand)
Encyclopedia
El Rey del Mundo 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 Honduras
by the Villazon
family.
businessman Emilio Ohmstedt in 1848, El Rey del Mundo (King of the World in Spanish
) was at one time the most expensive and prestigious cigar brand in the world.
Spanish businessman Antonio Allones took over the brand sometime around 1882 (a rival version of the brand's history claims the brand became defunct after Ohmstedt's death and Allones re-registered it, but cigar connoisseur Min Ron Nee maintains the brand was passed to Allones from Ohmstedt's company, based on records stating Allones as the owner of El Rey del Mundo from as early as 1873). Under Allones, the brand reached the height of its worldwide prestige. In 1905, Allones' company was bought by the Díaz Hermanos y Cía venture, owned by Cándido Vega Díaz (supposedly the namesake of Don Cándido cigars), which was later renamed the Rey del Mundo Cigar Co. to reflect its most famous asset. The company also produced such famous brands as Sancho Panza, Rafael González, and Don Cándido.
Production continued after the Revolution and the brand maintained its popularity through the 1960s and 1970s, but as the world taste started to run towards stronger cigars, the milder El Rey del Mundo brand began to lose its status as a foremost brand of Cuban cigars. Despite its loss of popularity, El Rey del Mundos cigars are still prized for their mild, complex flavors, with the Choix Supreme, Grandes de España, and Demi Tasse sizes being particularly popular among connoisseurs.
Hand-Made Vitolas
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...
brands, 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 other produced in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
by the Villazon
Villazón
Villazón is a town in southern Bolivia, on the border with Argentina. It sits directly across a river from La Quiaca in Argentina. The town is a busy trading hub, with large quantities of goods flowing north....
family.
History
Believed to have been created, along with Sancho Panza, by GermanGermany
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...
businessman Emilio Ohmstedt in 1848, El Rey del Mundo (King of the World in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) was at one time the most expensive and prestigious cigar brand in the world.
Spanish businessman Antonio Allones took over the brand sometime around 1882 (a rival version of the brand's history claims the brand became defunct after Ohmstedt's death and Allones re-registered it, but cigar connoisseur Min Ron Nee maintains the brand was passed to Allones from Ohmstedt's company, based on records stating Allones as the owner of El Rey del Mundo from as early as 1873). Under Allones, the brand reached the height of its worldwide prestige. In 1905, Allones' company was bought by the Díaz Hermanos y Cía venture, owned by Cándido Vega Díaz (supposedly the namesake of Don Cándido cigars), which was later renamed the Rey del Mundo Cigar Co. to reflect its most famous asset. The company also produced such famous brands as Sancho Panza, Rafael González, and Don Cándido.
Production continued after the Revolution and the brand maintained its popularity through the 1960s and 1970s, but as the world taste started to run towards stronger cigars, the milder El Rey del Mundo brand began to lose its status as a foremost brand of Cuban cigars. Despite its loss of popularity, El Rey del Mundos cigars are still prized for their mild, complex flavors, with the Choix Supreme, Grandes de España, and Demi Tasse sizes being particularly popular among connoisseurs.
Vitolas in the El Rey del Mundo Line
The following list of vitolas de salida (commercial vitolas) within the El Rey del Mundo marque lists their size and ring gauge in Imperial (and Metric), their vitolas de galera (factory vitolas), and their common name in American cigar slang.Hand-Made Vitolas
- Choix Supreme - 5" × 48 (127 × 19.05 mm), Hermoso No. 4, a corona extra
- Demi Tasse - 3⅞" × 30 (98 × 11.91 mm), Entreacto, a short panetela
- Grande de España - 7½" × 38 (191 × 15.08 mm), Delicado, a small panetela
- Lunch Club - 4⅝" × 40 (117 × 15.88 mm), Franciscano, a petit corona
- Petit Corona - 5⅛" × 42 (130 × 16.67 mm), Mareva, a petit corona