Bolivar

Habanos dates the creation of the Bolívar brand to 1902. It takes its name from Simón Bolívar, whom the Habanos page presents as one of the great figures of the nineteenth century, who went down in history as the Liberator of a large part of South America from Spanish rule.

The sources diverge on the beginnings: Wikipedia, which relies on Bati (The Cigar Companion, 1993), says the brand was founded, perhaps in Britain, around 1901 or 1902 by José F. Rocha and registered in Havana only in 1921; the retailer J.J. Fox writes that it was founded in Britain in 1901 by José F. Rocha; the site Quill & Pad, which names Jose Fernandez Rocha, holds 1902 to be the generally accepted date, without certainty. Cifuentes y Cía bought the brand in 1954 according to Wikipedia and J.J. Fox (1944 or 1954, more likely 1954, according to Quill & Pad), and production moved to the Partagás factory in Havana. Habanos writes that Bolívar is one of the brands of greatest strength and greatest flavour in its catalogue (“Fuerte” strength), in keeping with the character of the historical figure who gives it its name; its blend combines tripa and capote leaves from the Vuelta Abajo area, and all its vitolas are rolled entirely by hand, longfiller. Wikipedia writes that the Cuban Bolívar is full-bodied, with a notable share of ligero in the blend, and traditionally counts among the strongest of Havana cigars.

In 2023 the site Quill & Pad describes the Bolívar style as robust and full-bodied, with a high percentage of ligero, and notes a shift towards a milder style in the mid-1990s.

The Royal Corona is a robusto of 124 mm on ring gauge 50 (4 7/8 inches), according to Wikipedia's list and Cigars Connect (2017), which calls it a popular and atypical robusto. The Belicosos Finos, pyramidal (vitola de galera Campana), measures 52 × 140 mm according to Wikipedia; Cigar Coop gives the same measurement in 2020 for the Belicosos Finos Reserva Cosecha 2016, the brand's first Reserva. The Corona Gigante (Coronas Gigantes or Gigantes depending on the source), 47 × 178 mm (vitola de galera Julieta No. 2, i.e. a churchill), appears to have been withdrawn from the catalogue in 2017, writes the site Quill & Pad in 2023.

Habanos presents two recent limited editions: the Bolívar Soberano (54 × 140 mm, 2018), which introduced the vitola de galera Duke into the brand's range for the first time, and the Bolívar Regentes (52 × 130 mm, 2021), its most recent launch according to the brand's page.

Where is it rolled? In Cuba the question has a two-storey answer. Since 2002 each Habanos brand has had a mother factory, responsible for leaf selection and blend, and its cigars may be rolled in any of the island's few dozen factories under the mother's supervision; Habanos does not publish that map, the trade press reconstructs it. Its mother factory is Partagás. At the end of 2011 the trade press wrote that the Industria factory, mother of Partagás, Bolívar, La Gloria Cubana, Ramón Allones and Quai d'Orsay, was to close for building work and that its production would move to the former El Rey del Mundo factory; it writes in 2020 that the factory closed for renovation in 2011, whereas Wikipedia gives 2 January 2012 for the move. In October 2026 the “Brands Academia” page of habanos.com lists 27 brands and places Bolívar among five value brands (Brands Value section: Trinidad, Bolívar, Punch, Quai d'Orsay, Ramón Allones), alongside six global brands, three volume brands and thirteen others; in August 2019 the trade press described a portfolio of twenty-one brands including a group of four high-value brands — Bolívar, Punch, Ramón Allones, Trinidad — with Quai d'Orsay then among the other brands. The official page says it is based at the Partagás factory, which the trade press confirms.

Range Depth

• Belicosos Finos

  Wrapper Cuba (Vuelta Abajo) · Strength Full

  A pyramid (vitola de galera Campana) of 52 × 140 mm (5 1/2 inches, ring gauge 52) according to Wikipedia's list; Cigar Coop gives the same measurement in 2020 for the Belicosos Finos Reserva Cosecha 2016. Habanos classes the brand “Fuerte”.

  Belicosos Finos

• Royal Corona

  Wrapper Cuba (Vuelta Abajo) · Strength Full

  A robusto of 124 mm on ring gauge 50 (4 7/8 inches) according to Wikipedia's list and Cigars Connect (2017), which describes it as a popular and atypical robusto.

  Royal Corona

• Coronas Gigantes

  Wrapper Cuba (Vuelta Abajo) · Strength Full

  A vitola of 47 × 178 mm (vitola de galera Julieta No. 2, i.e. a churchill), named Corona Gigante in Wikipedia's list and Coronas Gigantes or Gigantes at Quill & Pad, which writes in 2023 that it appears to have been withdrawn from the catalogue in 2017.

  Coronas Gigantes

🥃 Pairings

• Artisanal Oaxacan Mezcal

  Spirits

  The smoke and earth of mezcal resonate with the telluric profile of Bolívar. A bold pairing for seasoned smokers.

• Ethiopian natural process coffee

  Coffee

  The fruity and fermented notes of a natural process coffee temper the raw power of Bolívar. An unexpected pairing.

• Imperial Stout 12%

  Beer

  The intensity of an imperial stout stands up to a Belicosos Finos. A cold-season pairing.

✨ Notable limited editions

• Bolívar Petit Belicosos Edición Limitada 2009
• Bolívar Soberano Edición Limitada 2018
• Bolívar Belicosos Finos Reserva Cosecha 2016
• Bolívar Regentes Edición Limitada 2021