Sancho Panza Cigars

The brand of Sancho Panza cigars is named after the simple farmer recruited as a squire by the fictional Don Quixote in the famous 1605 novel by Miguel de Cervantes. It may have been the unique, earthy wit of the Sancho character in the story that prompted Emilio Ahmsted, the creator of the brand to name the unique, earthy cigars after him.

Emilio Ahmsted created the Sancho Panza brand in 1852, making it one of the oldest Cuban cigar brands. The line is greatly admired for its large sizes within its range, especially the shaped head Belicosos and the enormous Sanchos. The cigars are all hand made and described as a medium body in flavor.

Sancho Panza cigars use the finest tobacco from the lush Vuelta Abajo region in Cuba and are produced in the Romeo y Julieta factory. They are classified by Habanos SA as a local brand and have a very small share of the market.

Sancho Panza Vitolas

• Belicosos – measures 5.5 inches long (140 mm) x 52 ring gauge. It was officially named the Campanas by the factory, and is commonly referred to as the Pyramid by smokers. The B25 cigars used the standard bands “A”, “B” and “C” and the SLB 50 had no band. The cigars were packed in sets of twenty-five in a Dress Box. Before 2003, the cigars were also available in a slide lid box of fifty cigars. The Belicosos size was released prior to 1960 and is still in production.
• Non Plus – measures 5.1 inches long (129 mm) x 42 ring gauge. It was officially named the Marevas by the factory, but smokers call it the Petit Corona. It uses standard “A”, “B” and “C” bands. The cigars are packed in groups of twenty-five in a Dress Box. The Non Plus size was released prior to 1960 and is still in production.

Discontinued Sancho Panza Vitolas

• Bachilleres – measures 4.6 inches long (116 mm) x 40 ring gauge. The line was officially named the Franciscanos by the factory, but smokers referred to it in slang as a Petit Corona. The cigars wore the standard “A”, “B” and “C” bands, except the SLB 50 cigars which didn’t have a band. They were packed in batches of twenty-five in a Dress Box until the line ended, and in a slide lid box of fifty cigars until sometime before the year 2000. The Bachilleres size was released prior to 1960 and discontinued in 2006.
• Cabinet Petit Royals – measures 4.6 inches long (118 mm) x 46 ring gauge. The official factory name is unknown, but smokers commonly called it the Corona Extra. They were packed in a slide lid box containing twenty-five cigars each. The Cabinet Petit Royal size was released prior to 1960 and discontinued sometime during the 1970s.
• Coronas – measures 5.6 inches long (142 mm) x 42 ring gauge. It was officially named the Coronas and commonly called the Corona. It was dressed with the standard “A”, “B” and “C” bands, except for the SLB which didn’t have a band. The cigars came in three different types of packaging:
• Dress Box containing twenty-five cigars – discontinued in 2006
• Slide lid box containing fifty cigars – discontinued sometime before the year 2000
• Dress Box containing twenty-five cigars, each individually wrapped in cellophane – discontinued in the early 1990s
• The Coronas size was released prior to 1960 and officially discontinued in 2006.
• Coronas Gigantes – measured 7 inches long (178 mm) x 47 ring gauge. It was officially named the Julieta No. 2 by the factory, and commonly called the Churchill by smokers. The cigars wore the standard “A”, “B” and “C” bands. They were packaged in Dress Boxes in groups of ten. The Coronas Gigantes size was released prior to 1960 and discontinued in 2006.
• Dorados – measured 6.5 inches long (165 mm) x 42 ring gauge. It was officially named the Cervantes by the factory and commonly referred to as the Lonsdale by smokers. The cigars used the standard “A” band and were wrapped in gold foil and packaged in a Dress Box containing ten cigars each. The Dorados size was released prior to 1960 and discontinued in the 1980s.
• Dulcineas – measures 9.1 inches long (232 mm) x 47 ring gauge. The cigar was officially named the Manolin by the factory and commonly referred to as the Giant Perfecto by smokers. They wore the standard “A” band and were wrapped in aluminum foil. The cigars were packaged in Dress Boxes containing ten cigars each. The Dulcineas size was released prior to 1960 and officially discontinued during the 1970s.
• Molinos – measured 6.5 inches long (165 mm) x 42 ring gauge. The cigars were officially named the Cervantes by the factory, and commonly called the Lonsdale by cigar aficionados. They were dressed in standard “A”, “B” and “C” bands and packaged in sets of twenty-five in a Dress Box. The Molinos size was released prior to the 1960s and discontinued in 2012.
• Panetela Larga – measured 6.9 inches long (175 mm) x 28 ring gauge. The official factory name of the cigars are inknown, however smokers referred to them as the Slim Panetela. They used the standard “A” band and were packed in a Dress Box of twenty-five cigars each. The Panetela Larga size was released prior to 1960 and discontinued during the 1970s.
• Quixotes – measured 5 inches long (127 mm) x 44 ring gauge. The official factory name of the cigars is unknown. Smokers commonly referred to them as the Petit Corona. The cigars used the standard “A” band and were packaged in a Dress Box containing twenty-five cigars each. The Quixotes size was released before 1960 and discontinued during the 1970s.
• Sanchos – measured 9.3 inches long (235 mm) x 47 ring gauge. It was officially named the Gran Corona by the factory and commonly called the Giant Corona by cigar aficionados. The cigars used the standard “A”, “B” and “C” bands. They were packaged in two different ways – a Dress Box containing five cigars individually housed in a slide lid box, which was discontinued in 2006, and in a Dress Box containing ten cigars, which was discontinued prior to the year 2000. The Sanchos size was released prior to 1960 and discontinued in 2006.
• Tronquitos – measured 5.6 inches long (142 mm) x 42 ring gauge. The cigars were officially named the Coronas and simply called the Corona by smokers. They used the standard “A” and “B” bands and were packaged in a special tree branch humidor containing twenty-five cigars. The Tronquitos size was released prior to 1960 and discontinued during the 1980s.

Sancho Panza Special Releases

• 1999 – the Siglo XXI Millennium Humidor
  The special edition, free standing Siglo XXI Millennium Humidor contained 2000 cigars, comprised of twenty different brands.

There were twenty-one numbered humidors produced to commemorate the millennium. Sancho Panza cigars included in the collection were:

• Bachilleres – named Franciscanos, measuring 4.6 inches (116 mm) x 40 ring gauge
• Belicosos – named Campanas, measuring 5.5 inches (140 mm) x 52 ring gauge
• Molinos – named Cervantes, measuring 6.5 inches (165 mm) x 42 ring gauge
• Quixotes – name unknown, measuring 5 inches (127 mm) x 44 ring gauge
• Sanchos – named Gran Corona, measuring 9.3 inches (235 mm) x 47 ring gauge.
• 2010 – the Regional Edition Spain (Edicion Regional Espana)
  This special edition was slated for release in 2010, but wasn’t actually available until 2011. The cigars used a standard “D” band and a special Regional Edition band for Spain, and were packaged in sets of ten in numbered Dress Boxes. The cigar selected for this release was the Quijote vitola, officially named the Prominentes, measuring 7.6 inches long (194 mm) x 49 ring gauge, and commonly referred to as the Double Corona. Two thousand five hundred sets were produced.
• 2011 – the Regional Edition Germany (Edicion Regional Alemania)
  This special edition was released in 2011. The cigars used a standard “D” band and a special Regional Edition band for Germany, and were packaged in sets of ten in numbered Dress Boxes. The cigar selected for this release was the Escuderos vitola, officially named the Dobles, measuring 6.1 inches long (155 mm) x 50 ring gauge and commonly called the Robusto Extra. Three thousand sets were produced.