Date: 06/19/2021
Author: Inspector Z

Two new Cubans for Germany, Austria, and Poland. The exclusive Habanos distributor for the three countries, 5th Avenue, is introducing two new Cuban cigars. Both are regular production cigars for smaller Cuban brands

Por Larrañaga Galanes

 In the 19th century, Por Larrañagawas one of the most famous Habanos brands of its time. At that time, their cigars were among the finest and most expensive ever. They were found in the finest shops, restaurants, and hotels on five continents and have received numerous awards. Some went so far as to claim that the Por Larrañaga brand made the Havana cigar famous in the first place. 

And the following quote about his favorite cigar has been passed down from the Nobel laureate for literature and author of the “Jungle Book”, Rudyard Kipling: “There is peace in a Larrañaga”.

The brand was founded in 1834. That makes it the oldest Habanos brand that still in production today. Unfortunately, the number of their formats has been decreasing significantly over time until only two vitolas we left standing. 

The announcement of a new format for the brand was therefore somewhat surprising: the Por Larrañaga Galanes, which are now on the market. “Galanes” (in Spanish “the lover”) is also the name of the ne a somewhat shorter but thicker Robusto. The Por Larrañaga Galanes are packed in lacquered, single-layer natural wooden boxes with 10 pieces. The price in Germany is 9 euro per cigar.

La Flor de Cano Elegidos

Last year, Habanos was announcing a new Flor de Cano, the Elegidos. That translates to the chosen one. It is a 5×50 robusto with the factory name Lirios. The La Flor de Cano Elegidos come in unpainted wooden boxes of 10 pieces and cardboard boxes of 3 pieces. They are made as a completely hand-made short filler – totalmente a mano, tripa corta. The price in Germany is €4,20 per cigar.

For a long time, La Flor de Cano was an important Cuban cigar brand, especially on the Spanish and English markets. In Germany, it was and is little known to this day. The origins of the brand go back to 1884. At that time it was registered by the brothers Tomás and José Cano under the company name Cano, Loma & Co. Their cigar factory was located on Calle Rayo No.66 in the Centro Habana district. Nothing more is known about the two brothers and the development of their cigar business.

The brand then made a name for itself especially from the 1930s onwards. During this time Juan Cano Sainz made La Flor de Cano a success. Possibly he was a descendant of the brothers Tomás and José Cano. From 1932 Juan Cano Sainz began making cigars, initially in a chinchal. Chinal was the name given to small production facilities that were often housed in ordinary living space and usually only employed a handful of cigar rollers. Cano cigars, however, quickly became so popular that production had to be expanded. Juan Cano Sainz founded his own company and named the brand after his family name: “La Flor de Cano”. Juan’s son, Ernesto J. Cano, joined the business in 1939 at the age of 16.

The trademark is registered in the commercial register of 1940. In addition to the main brand, cigars of the brands Caracol, Trocadero, and La Rica Hoja were also produced at this factory. 

Larger production facilities had to be moved into as early as 1941/42. The main focus was on machine-made cigars, which were in high demand. In 1942, cigars from La Flor de Cano, Partagás, and H.Upmann are said to have been the three best-selling cigar brands in Spain. The machine-made cigars were also very popular in England because the British military bought cigars in large quantities during the war. In 1947, son Ernesto Cano was offered a partnership in the business.

In a modern and effectively working cigar factory, in which more than 300 workers were employed, thousands of cigars were produced daily with more than 30 machines. Juan Cano Sainz died in 1955, the company name was changed to “Hijos de J. Cano y Co.”. Ernesto Cano continued to run the company until the revolution. After the revolution, the new regime under the leadership of Fidel Castro nationalized the factories and stole the brand from the Cano family. 

Production continued unabated thereafter. Some of the cigars were completely hand-rolled long-fillers, such as the legendary Short Churchill or the Diademas, which were particularly valued by British aficionados. In the last few years, the brand only existed with one vitola, the Petit Corona in the standard format. 

 

 

3 thoughts on “Two new Cubans for Germany

  1. So basically the dutch regional edition becomes a world wide regular edition? Has this happened before?

    1. the size is different, a small difference but still

      1. Oh yeah you’re right, the dutch regional was 124 mm x 50 and the new regular production is 127 mm x 50. But that difference is so incredibly small it’s very sketky. Kinda defeats the idea of the dutch regional.

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