Dunhill (cigar)

The Dunhill logo

The term Dunhill cigar refers to a Cuban-made cigar produced for and offered by Alfred Dunhill of London under its own varying brand names spanning several eras, as well as special lines made up of cigars produced by prestigious Cuban makers offered only by Dunill.

All such offerings were hand-rolled premium cigars.

The first "Dunhill" branded cigars were its Selección Supremas of the early 20th century, an exclusive line with various sizes made by many famous Cuban cigar makers such as Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta. Dunhill also offered such hard to find brands as Don Cándido.

After the Revolution, Dunhill was given the exclusive rights to three Cuban brands by the government-owned tobacco monopoly, Cubatabaco: Don Cándido, its own Don Alfredo, and La Flor del Punto, plus the numerous Selección Suprema sizes produced by the Cuban marques that had survived nationalization.

A line under the Dunhill name was produced for Dunhill from 1982 until 1991. Later, Dunhill sold the right to put its name on cigars not made for or sold by it to British American Tobacco.

History[]

In 1907, Alfred Dunhill opened his first tobacco shop on Duke Street, London. Before the Cuban Revolution, Dunhill had numerous distribution and marketing agreements with several Cuban cigar manufacturers, selling exclusive and hard to find brands such as Don Cándido and Dunhill's own Selección Suprema line, with various sizes from many famous cigar makers such as Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta.

Dunhill became famous as the tobacconist of choice for George VI and the prodigious cigar smoker Sir Winston Churchill. A popular legend tells that when the Dunhill store on Jermyn Street was destroyed in the London Blitz, Dunhill employees called Churchill at four o' clock in the morning to assure him his private collection of cigars (which he kept in the store's humidor) had been moved to safety.

After the Cuban Revolution, Dunhill's unique relationship with Cuban cigars would continue with the Communist government's tobacco monopoly, Cubatabaco. Dunhill was given the exclusive rights to three brands: Don Cándido, its own Don Alfredo, and La Flor del Punto, plus the numerous Selección Suprema sizes produced by the marques that had survived nationalization.

In 1967 the tobacco branch of Alfred Dunhill Ltd. was sold off and became its own separate entity. In 1981 tobacco blending (of the Dunhill pipe tobaccos, at least) was transferred to Murrays, of Belfast. In 2005 it was transferred to Orlik of Denmark, renewing debate about blending/flavor changes in Dunhill's pipe tobaccos.

Cigars[]

The following lists of cigars by marque include the size in inches and ring gauge with metric in parentheses. Also, the vitola de galera or factory name of each size is included (if known) along with its popular size name in American cigar vocabulary.

Don Cándido[]

Created in 1935 by Cándido Vega Díaz, Don Cándido cigars were meant as a super-premium brother to the El Rey del Mundo brand Vega already owned for distribution exclusively by Dunhill. Produced in a wide variety of vitolas in the Briones Montoto (formerly Romeo y Julieta) Factory in Havana, these cigars today command huge prices at auctions from cigar connoisseurs and collectors.

Vitolas[]

Selección No. 500 - 6½" × 48 (165 × 19.05 mm) Super Hermoso, a large toro
Selección No. 501 - 6½" × 42 (165 × 16.67 mm) Cervantes, a lonsdale
Selección No. 502 - 5⅛" × 42 (129 × 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Selección No. 504 - 5½" × 52 (140 × 20.64 mm) Campana, a belicoso
Selección No. 505 - 3⅞" × 30 (100 × 11.91 mm) Entreacto, a demi tasse
Selección No. 506 - 5⅝" × 46 (143 × 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda, a toro
Selección No. 508 - 6⅞" × 28 (175 × 11.11 mm) Panetela Larga, a long panetela
Lonsdale - 6½" × 42 (165 × 16.67 mm) Cervantes, a lonsdale
Short Coronas - 5⅛" × 42 (129 × 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona

Don Alfredo[]

Created sometime in the 1960s for Dunhill, named after Alfred Dunhill himself, and produced at the José Marti (formerly H. Upmann) Factory.

Vitolas[]

Selección No. 51 - 6½" × 42 (165 × 16.67 mm) Cervantes, a lonsdale
Selección No. 52 - 6⅛" × 52 (156 × 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo
Selección No. 53 - 5⅝" × 42 (142 × 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
Selección No. 54 - 5⅛" × 42 (129 × 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Selección No. 55 - 4" × 40 (102 × 15.87 mm) Perla, a tres petit corona
Selección No. 56 - 6⅛" × 42 (155 × 16.67 mm) Corona Grande, a long corona

La Flor del Punto[]

Very little is known about this Dunhill-exclusive brand. It is believed to have been introduced sometime in the 1970s and produced in the Partagás factory. The name may be a reference to the signature "White Spot" of inset ivory on the shank of every Dunhill smoking pipe, as one of the meanings of the Spanish word punto is "dot" or "point". The same "White Spot" also appeared on Dunhill-exclusive cigar bands, up until the creation of the Dunhill cigar itself.

Vitolas[]

Selección No. 301 - 6½" × 42 (165 × 16.67 mm) Cervantes, a lonsdale
Selección No. 302 - 5⅝" × 42 (142 × 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
Selección No. 303 - 5⅛" × 42 (129 × 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Selección No. 304 - 6¼" × 40 (160 × 15.87 mm), a long panetela
Selección No. 305 - 6¼" × 42 (160 × 16.67 mm), a lonsdale
Selección No. 307 - 4¾" × 26 (121 × 10.32 mm) Carolina, a cigarillo

Dunhill exclusive sizes[]

Post-Revolution Dunhill exclusive sizes.

Vitolas[]

El Rey del Mundo Dunhill Selección No. 98 - 5⅛" × 42 (129 × 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
H. Upmann Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 11 - 5⅛" × 42 (129 × 16.67 mm) Petit Corona, a petit corona
H. Upmann Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 13 - 5½" × 40 (140 × 15.87 mm) Crema, a corona
H. Upmann Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 23 - 7" × 33 (178 × 13.10 mm) Ninfa, a long panetela
H. Upmann Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 25 - 5⅛" × 42 (129 × 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
H. Upmann Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 30 - 6½" × 42 (165 × 16.67 mm) Cervantes, a lonsdale
Hoyo de Monterrey Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 622 - 5" × 35 (127 × 13.89 mm) Conchita, a small panetela
Montecristo Dunhill Especial - 7½" × 38 (192 × 15.08 mm) Laguito No. 1, a long panetela
Montecristo Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 1 - 6½" × 42 (165 × 16.67 mm) Cervantes, a lonsdale
Montecristo Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 2 - 6⅛" × 52 (156 × 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo
Montecristo Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 3 - 5⅝" × 42 (142 × 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
Montecristo Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 4 - 5⅛" × 42 (129 × 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Montecristo Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 5 - 4" × 40 (102 × 15.87 mm) Perla, a tres petit corona
Montecristo Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 32 - 4" × 40 (102 × 15.87 mm) Perla, a tres petit corona
Montecristo Dunhill Selección Suprema Tubos - 6⅛" × 42 (155 × 16.67 mm) Corona Grande, a long corona
Partagás Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 151 - 4⅞" × 34 (125 × 13.49 mm) Placera, a small panetela
Por Larrañaga Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 32 - 5⅛" × 42 (129 × 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Ramón Allones Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 11 - 5⅜" × 42 (135 × 16.67 mm) Cosaco, a corona
Ramón Allones Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 81 - 5½" × 40 (140 × 15.87 mm) Crema, a corona
Ramón Allones Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 82 - 6¼" × 39 (160 × 15.48 mm) Topper, a long corona
Ramón Allones Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 280 - 5⅜" × 42 (135 × 16.67 mm) Cosaco, a corona
Ramón Allones Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 622 - 5" × 35 (127 × 13.89 mm) Conchita, a small panetela
Romeo y Julieta Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 1 - 6½" × 42 (165 × 16.67 mm) Cervantes, a lonsdale
Romeo y Julieta Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 2 - 5⅛" × 42 (129 × 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Romeo y Julieta Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 3 - 5⅝" × 42 (142 × 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
Romeo y Julieta Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 11 - 5⅛" × 40 (129 × 15.87 mm) Petit Cetro, a petit corona
Romeo y Julieta Dunhill Selección Suprema No. 620 - 7" × 47 (178 × 18.65 mm) Julieta, a churchill

Dunhill brand[]

Beginning in 1977, Dunhill and Cubatabaco began discussing the possibility of producing a cigar brand bearing the name of Dunhill. An agreement was finally reached in 1982 and Dunhill cigars began appearing in stores in 1984, starting in ten countries and eventually expanding to thirty.

The ultimate downfall of the Dunhill brand was that it was out to compete head-to-head with the other high-end private label, Davidoff. Seeing that both brands were being produced by Cubatabaco, the Cuban tobacco monopoly wanted to make profits from both and had no wish to participate in the market competition between the two tobacconists.^{[citation needed]}

Unhappy with Cubatabaco's unwillingness, when the original contract expired in 1991 Dunhill chose not to renew, having already begun evaluating possible new locations in the Canary Islands, Dominican Republic, and Honduras for cigar production. Eventually, Dunhill would give up making cigars altogether and sold the rights to put its name on tobacco products to British American Tobacco.

Today, the original Dunhill Cuban cigars have become prized items for connoisseurs and collectors and demand high prices at auctions and from vintage merchants.

Vitolas[]

Several vitolas listed below most likely existed only on paper and were never produced in Dunhill's short history as a freestanding Cuban cigar brand.^{[citation needed]}