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TWO BLASTS FROM THE PAST Print E-mail
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ImageTasting and grading two old brands now updated: Saint Luis Rey and Hoffman House

Los Angeles, June 27 – Cigar brands come and cigar brands go, but they seemingly never die.

That’s the case with both Saint Luis Rey and Hoffman House, two brands with very long histories, but not much currency with today’s smokers . . . until recently.

  • Saint Luis Rey is an old Cuban brand, created by the firm of Zamorra y Guerra in 1938, primarily for the British market. It was hardly a major player anywhere else, but somehow it survives to this day as a minor brand still produced by Habanos.

    In the U.S., the brand had essentially no presence for decades after the Cuban trade embargo was instituted, but in 1996, Hollco-Rohr re-introduced it as a Honduran-made brand. That firm was later purchased by what is now Altadis U.S.A., which came out with its own version – also made in Honduras – in 2003. We checked out what is now a popular brand on the U.S. market, along with its siblings, the Saint Luis Rey Serie G.

  • Hoffman House was a U.S.-made brand that debuted way back in 1861 when Edward Hoffman, a noted Chicago tobacconist, created his own blend. It grew in popularity and reached its zenith after Hoffman sold the brand in 1898 and was a popular cigar into the 1920s.

    Veteran Chicago tobacconist Chuck Levi decided to bring back one of the city’s historic cigars in 2006 and after plenty of work on the production aspects and a trademark fight, he debuted it in 2008. Given its pedigree, we had to try it right away.

    Saint Luis Rey Reserva Especial
    [Honduras: available in 9 sizes]
    The Havana-made Saint Luis Rey was designed for the British market and is known for its full body and strong flavor. When Altadis U.S.A. decided to create a new edition of this brand in 2003, it paid attention to its heritage. The result, made at the Flor de Copan factory in Honduras, is a full-bodied cigar with a rich taste.

    The new “SLR” blend features a Nicaraguan-grown wrapper and binder and Nicaraguan, Honduran and Peruvian leaves in the filler blend. It offers a toasty aroma along with a full body that’s very present in the mouth, but not overwhelming.

    The primary taste element is of dark caramel, with a note of spice on the finish, but the depth of the sweetness of this cigar hits you right away. The intensity of the caramelized flavor recedes at midway and is nicely balanced against the spiced elements for an interesting and engaging taste. Very well made, the burn is even and steady and the balance of caramel and spice continues through to the finish.

    The most staggering aspect of this cigar is not its quality, but its price! At retail prices of $3.00 to $3.75 each, Saint Luis Rey is an outstanding value and for those who enjoy fuller-bodied cigars, could be an excellent after-lunch or afternoon cigar. It’s offered in boxes of 25 for all but the two small-cigar sizes and the tubed Coronas, offered in 20s.
    Overall grade: A: Exceptional.

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    Did you know?

    “"If the birth of a genius resembles that of an idiot, the end of a Havana Corona resembles that of a 5-cent cigar" - Sacha Guitry.