mjolnir01
El Cañón de Latón
I've found a lack of information on Cigar Pass regarding Dona Flor cigars, the Brazilian puros from Bahia that were ever so briefly popular with the American smoking public a couple years ago. Initially very promising after some positive ratings, a feud broke out between the manufacturers and the distributors. That argument has created a mess and my intent is to try to figure out the details.
The first real stirrings of publicity came with this article (linky) in Cigar Aficionado, which provides a very good background for the pedigree of the brand as well as the personal history of the man behind the brand, Felix Menendez. Felix is the son of Alonso Menendez, the man who created the Montecristo brand in Cuba before fleeing in 1960 when Castro seized their business. Felix Menendez began making Dona Flor in 1977. When the referenced article was writen in 2005, the cigars were made by Menendez's company, Menendez Amerino & Cia, and distributed in the US by Brazil Cigars & Tobacco (BCT), headquartered in Miami.
The attention piqued some curiosity in the brand on a national level, but what really propelled it was a 92 rating for the Dona Flor Seleçao Robusto in the December 2007 issue of Cigar Aficionado. Tobacconists in the US were overwhelmed at the sudden demand for a cigar they hadn't really stocked. That demand created a shortage and the fight began. BCT accused Menendez Amerino & Cia of rushing the cigars to sale too early, providing an unsmokable product. More accusations flew, and when the dust settled, the distributor had found a new company to produce its cigars and both manufacturer and distributor claimed the trademark. (citation) Nasty letters were sent to tobacconists, each claiming legitimacy over the other in a he-said/she-said battle that clearly only hurt the smokers.
I've read that each has had a booth at the IPCPR tradeshows for the last few years. Apparently, the BCT smokes made by the other factory have a little footband with serial number to differentiate them from the Menendez cigars. Can any folks in-the-know provide some additional insight on this craziness?
Questions I have now:
1. What company is producing the cigars for Brazil Cigars & Tobacco?
2. How do the new BCT smokes compare with the premeltdown Menendez smokes?
3. Presumably Menendez remained with his own company. If I were to buy Dona Flor in Brazil today, would they be Menendez Amerino & Cia cigars?
4. I've found the BCT smokes online-- where can I get the Menendez smokes?
Personally, I first tried a Dona Flor when I visited Brazil in late 2005. My tastes were still developing; I remember it wasn't a tremendously complex smoke, but I really enjoyed it. I have one more in my humidor to this day-- I plan on smoking and reviewing it soon. I also picked up a handful of the Seleçao Robustos in early '08 as the blowup was going down. I liked those as well, so I'll give one a revisit for comparison's sake.
I look forward to conducting the reviews and I appreciate anyone sharing anything he or she may know about this.
Additional references:
Perelman's 31 Mar 08 Article on the Meltdown
Tom's Cigars Video review of the BCT Dona Flor Seleçao Robusto from May 09- it's a long review, but interesting because they voice their support for Dana Shelton, head of BCT.
Brazil Cigars & Tobacco's Website
GVG International- possibly BCT's new manufacturer?
The first real stirrings of publicity came with this article (linky) in Cigar Aficionado, which provides a very good background for the pedigree of the brand as well as the personal history of the man behind the brand, Felix Menendez. Felix is the son of Alonso Menendez, the man who created the Montecristo brand in Cuba before fleeing in 1960 when Castro seized their business. Felix Menendez began making Dona Flor in 1977. When the referenced article was writen in 2005, the cigars were made by Menendez's company, Menendez Amerino & Cia, and distributed in the US by Brazil Cigars & Tobacco (BCT), headquartered in Miami.
The attention piqued some curiosity in the brand on a national level, but what really propelled it was a 92 rating for the Dona Flor Seleçao Robusto in the December 2007 issue of Cigar Aficionado. Tobacconists in the US were overwhelmed at the sudden demand for a cigar they hadn't really stocked. That demand created a shortage and the fight began. BCT accused Menendez Amerino & Cia of rushing the cigars to sale too early, providing an unsmokable product. More accusations flew, and when the dust settled, the distributor had found a new company to produce its cigars and both manufacturer and distributor claimed the trademark. (citation) Nasty letters were sent to tobacconists, each claiming legitimacy over the other in a he-said/she-said battle that clearly only hurt the smokers.
I've read that each has had a booth at the IPCPR tradeshows for the last few years. Apparently, the BCT smokes made by the other factory have a little footband with serial number to differentiate them from the Menendez cigars. Can any folks in-the-know provide some additional insight on this craziness?
Questions I have now:
1. What company is producing the cigars for Brazil Cigars & Tobacco?
2. How do the new BCT smokes compare with the premeltdown Menendez smokes?
3. Presumably Menendez remained with his own company. If I were to buy Dona Flor in Brazil today, would they be Menendez Amerino & Cia cigars?
4. I've found the BCT smokes online-- where can I get the Menendez smokes?
Personally, I first tried a Dona Flor when I visited Brazil in late 2005. My tastes were still developing; I remember it wasn't a tremendously complex smoke, but I really enjoyed it. I have one more in my humidor to this day-- I plan on smoking and reviewing it soon. I also picked up a handful of the Seleçao Robustos in early '08 as the blowup was going down. I liked those as well, so I'll give one a revisit for comparison's sake.
I look forward to conducting the reviews and I appreciate anyone sharing anything he or she may know about this.
Additional references:
Perelman's 31 Mar 08 Article on the Meltdown
Tom's Cigars Video review of the BCT Dona Flor Seleçao Robusto from May 09- it's a long review, but interesting because they voice their support for Dana Shelton, head of BCT.
Brazil Cigars & Tobacco's Website
GVG International- possibly BCT's new manufacturer?