Temple Hall

Temple Hall is a factory name that became a brand name, and it is there that Macanudo was born.

The Kingston factory belonged to Gradiaz, Annis & Co. when General Cigar bought it in 1969 — the deal also gave it the rights to the Macanudo name outside Cuba. The group installed Alfons Mayer there, one of the great blenders of the era, and it was from that Jamaican factory that the Macanudo the whole world would later smoke was composed, once production had moved to the Dominican Republic.

The name Macanudo itself had arrived by another road: the Palicio family, who made Punch in Cuba, had taken refuge in Jamaica during the Second World War and given that name to one of their vitolas before turning it into a brand.

Temple Hall existed as a brand in its own right, with a Jamaican blend fuller than the Macanudo it sheltered. Hurricane Gilbert ravaged the island's tobacco in 1988, but the factory held on twelve years longer: General Cigar closed it in 2000 and moved its production to the Dominican Republic. The name resurfaces now and then, like a memory of what Kingston was.

Range Depth

• Temple Hall Estate

  Wrapper Cameroon · Strength Medium

  The factory's own Jamaican blend, fuller than the Macanudo it produced in the same workshop. Wood, leather, a touch of earth.

  Corona · Lonsdale

• Temple Hall No.625

  Wrapper Cameroon · Strength Medium

  A short format reissued now and then, like a memory of what Kingston was.

  Robusto

🥃 Pairings

• Jamaican Blue Mountain

  Coffee

  The island's own pairing, and the aptest on a blend without excess.

• Jamaican rum

  Spirits

  The esters of the rum stand up to the earthiness of the blend.