HOYO DE MONTERREY

Literally translated from Spanish to English as “the Hole of Monterrey” in reference to the concave terrain favoured by growers of premium tobacco, the brand became incredibly popular, especially in the British market and José 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 sugarcane properties. The firm of Fernández, Palicio y Cía bought the Hoyo de Monterrey and La Escepción brands and added them to their impressive line-up, 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. Dürr Co. After the death of partner Ramón Fernández, Fernando Palicio became sole proprietor of the business and by 1958 his cigar lines accounted for 13% of all Havana cigar exports.