Bolivar

One of the cigars I have found readily available in just about every country I have been is the Bolivar brand and I have been drawn to this brand because of the dark tobacco leaf wrapper. The first Cuban Bolivar I enjoyed was in London at the Victoria Sporting Club Casino in Edgware Road which we used to frequent about three times a week in those days. I remember this memory clearly because I was standing around a craps table during a heavy game with an edge three deep and the shooter was Tele Savalas the movie star who was more famous as Kojack of the TV show then. Bolivar make a great cigar and I have lit more than one over the years and have sampled all they have to offer.

The Spanish industrialist Jose F. Rocha registered a cigar trademark with the name of the liberator Simón Bolivar which was acquired at a later stage by Cifuentes the firm owning Partagás whom I have written about in previous posts. Bolivar have been a member of the group of trademarks produced in that factory ever since. Its tobacco comes from Vuelta Abajo most famous for Cigar tobacco leaf and also some wrappers from this Havana province. Bolivar cigars are known for their strength which is somewhere between mid to strong with a full flavour and pleasant aroma.

As I have said the dark wrappers with reddish tones attract me as I prefer the flavour, aroma and strength that normally come with these wrappers. There are over twenty styles in the market at the moment and the Coronas Gigantes or the Churchill which was my father’s favourite choice and the only one that he would smoke; this cigar model stands out among the best of this trademark. Most people know the Bolivar Cigars from the Gold Medal Lonsdale style which is immediately identified by the golden wrapper which only covers half of the cigar.