José L. Piedra
One of the most famous Cuban cigar brands of the late 19th century, which almost fell into oblivion.
The history of the José L. Piedra brand began in the late 19th century, in the 1880s, with the arrival in Cuba of the Piedra family, originally from the Principality of Asturias, a region in north-western Spain.
Unlike most Spanish families who arrived in Cuba at that time to work in tobacco, the Piedras did not choose the famous Vuelta Abajo region but the Vuelta Arriba region, near the town of Remedios, where tobacco growing had already begun in the 16th century.
The town of Remedios was founded between 1513 and 1524 and is considered one of the oldest Spanish colonies in Cuba. It is located in the centre of the island in the province of Villa Clara, of which Santa Clara is the capital.
As soon as he settled there, José Lamadrid Piedra established the eponymous factory and the José L. Piedra brand was created. Because of its geographical location, José L. Piedra is a very special brand. Unlike most other Habanos brands, the leaves used to make its vitolas come exclusively from this region of the Vuelta Arriba.
When José Lamadrid Piedra died, his nephew, José Lamadrid Piedra II, took over and developed the brand as we know it today.
José Lamadrid Piedra II died on 15 June 1942. The company, which had become prosperous, passed into the hands of his son, José Lamadrid Piedra III. During the 1940s and 1950s, the José L. Piedra brand enjoyed unprecedented popularity, particularly in the American market. It was one of the best-selling brands at the time, alongside Juan López and Quintero, a brand with which it shares many similarities, as we shall see later.
The Cubatabaco catalogue of the time lists 11 different José L. Piedra vitolas, all of them made "Totalmente a Mano con Tripa Larga".
Unfortunately, this prosperity was put to the test on 3 February 1962 when President Kennedy imposed an economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba.
With America as its main market, the brand's sales dropped dramatically after the embargo, leading the brand to drastically reduce its vitolario. Despite this, production continued uninterrupted after the Cuban Revolution.
A 1972 Cubatabaco catalogue shows that the brand was now offering only three different vitolas: the Panetelitas de Hebra, a vitola measuring (30 × 111 mm), the Royal Palms, measuring (30 × 140 mm) and the Superiors, a Superiores (40 × 146 mm). The first two were eventually discontinued at the end of the 1970s, leaving the Superiors as the only vitola produced by the brand in the 1980s and 1990s before it too disappeared. The José L. Piedra brand was then extinguished.
We mentioned a certain similarity with the Quintero brand. Indeed, like Quintero, José L. Piedra was repositioned as a brand producing mainly machine-made cigars, "Mecanizado", after being resurrected in 1996.
The mechanisation of cigar production began in Cuba in the 1950s or so and allowed for larger production quantities and, above all, lower costs compared to handmade cigars.
The José L. Piedra brand was relaunched in 1996 with a catalogue offering no less than six different vitolas: Brevas, a JLP Brevas (42 × 133 mm); Cazadores, a JLP Cazadores (43 × 152 mm); Conservas, a JLP Conservas (44 × 140 mm); Cremas, a JLP Cremas (40 × 136 mm); Petit Cetros, a JLP Petit Cetros (38 × 127 mm); and finally Nacionales, a JLP Nacionales (42 × 134 mm).
Another unique feature of the brand is that, with the exception of the Brevas, which shares its vitola with the Quintero Tubulares, the other five vitolas are exclusive to the brand and are not used by any other Habanos brand.
This revival has been a huge success for José L. Piedra, especially internationally. Indeed, until the launch of the Guantanamera brand in September 2002, José L. Piedra was the only export brand to use tobacco grown outside the Pinar del Rio region to make its cigars.
The year 2002 was a turning point for the brand, as it was for many other Habanos brands, as its vitolario was redesigned and reduced.
Indeed, 2002 marked the beginning of a new era for Habanos aimed at promoting Cuban cigars as high-end products. As a result, Habanos decided to abandon machine-made cigars in favour of hand-rolled cigars. Thus, since 2006, no more cigars from Habanos have been machine-made.
José L. Piedra's catalogue now only offers cigars made "Totalmente a Mano con Tripa Corta" (Short Filler) with leaves from the Vuelta Arriba. This rolling technique involves the use of pieces of tobacco leaf to make up the filler, rather than whole leaves as is the case with cigars "con Tripa Larga" (long filler). The wrapper is applied by hand in the traditional way.
Later, 2019 will have allowed Habanos to update the brand one last time with a new visual identity, a new band, new packaging and a new thicker cigar, adapting to new consumption trends: the Petit Caballeros, a Hermoso Corto (48 × 120 mm) that we are going to taste together. Like most of the brand's other cigars, it has a vitola exclusive to the brand. However, it takes the measurements of the Punch Regios de Punch Edición Limitada 2017, known as the "Hermoso Especial" vitola.
Like Quintero once again, despite this update to its catalogue, the José L. Piedra brand has managed to remain constant in strength and flavour unlike other brands considered the most robust, which have seen their flavours become rounder in recent years. The José L. Piedra blend remains strong and powerful, not minding the change in the dominant taste of the market towards lighter cigars.
This has allowed the brand, despite the total absence of special productions, Edición Regional, Edición Limitada or even commemorative humidors, to maintain its popularity among Spanish and Cuban aficionados in particular.
The José L. Piedra brand is now considered by Habanos as a volume brand producing low-priced cigars in large quantities.
Indeed, despite the fact that the brand now only offers hand-rolled cigars, its affordability compared to other premium Habanos brands is to be commended. Like Quintero, José L. Piedra is an interesting alternative for aficionados who want to taste the true flavour of an authentic Habano, with a medium to strong strength.
To learn more about José L. Piedra cigars and the history of the brand, we would be delighted to welcome you to our walk-in humidor, where you will find exclusive pieces from the history of the brand, as well as cigars in regular production.
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