Question? is it possible to get consensus on the top two premier CC brands (decade by decade) over the last 120yrs

[99call]

Anyone got any ideas for 1930-1940? Or can we shore up the order of anything 1900 through to 1950?

 

[99call]

9 hours ago, ATGroom said:

Also, while maybe not in the eyes of the consumer or reflected in their sales numbers, I'd say between 1996 and 2004 that Cuaba outranked Trinidad, at least as far as Habanos was concerned.

"The eyes of the consumer" was exactly what I was angling for. In essence to get into a time machine to any of these decades and for an CC enthusiast to say "I'm going to go bonkers, I want to buy two boxes the from the top of the tree, from the most two expensive/luxurious brands".  I just thought it would be interesting to see if we can collectively chart the rise and fall of the big boys over this era.

[ATGroom]

20 minutes ago, 99call said:

I had removed La Corona temporarily, as I wanted to double check its dates when it became a more utilitarian UK cigar,  which seems to be 1932 onwards

Around 1931 is when the brands owned by The Trust, the biggest being La Corona and Henry Clay, moved production from Havana to Trenton, New Jersey.

Reduced labour cost and avoiding the high import taxes on finished cigars that the US had at the time allowed them to basically halve the cost of the La Corona, which as I understand it had been one of the most expensive and top-level cigars in the US at that time.

I believe the brand was still produced in Cuba by a spin-off company. Not sure if the UK would have been getting US or Cuban stock but anyway, that's why it drops off in the 1930s.

 

 

 

[Fugu]

20 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

If you're solely going off price Don Candido might have been more expensive than the standard Dunhill line. I believe it was marketed as a super premium Dunhill brand. 

Absolutely! When I mentioned “certain Dunhill” I was referring to the Dunhill exclusives, in particular Don Cándido. Dunhill, the brand, aimed at competing with Davidoff, never really took off (despite today being highly valued by collectors).
MRN also mentions that while ERDM had been considered a “super-premium” Don Candido was a “super-super-premium” (a bit obscure but he’s likely referring to the 1940s/50s period). Both brands owned by and being produced by the Rey del Mundo Cigar Company.

[Fugu]

7 hours ago, ATGroom said:

Also, while maybe not in the eyes of the consumer or reflected in their sales numbers, I'd say between 1996 and 2004 that Cuaba outranked Trinidad, at least as far as Habanos was concerned.

Yeah, not sure we will get Ken’s approval on that… 😂

[99call]

Anyone got any ideas for 1930-1940? Or can we shore up the order of anything 1900 through to 1950?

[Puros Y Vino]

The fine folks at JJ Fox might have sales #'s over the decades given how long they've been around.  That might give some indication at least for the UK market. Its probably all in handwritten ledgers and will not be easy to get. 

[99call]

55 minutes ago, Puros Y Vino said:

The fine folks at JJ Fox might have sales #'s over the decades given how long they've been around.  That might give some indication at least for the UK market. Its probably all in handwritten ledgers and will not be easy to get. 

This sounds like homework for @El Presidente@ha_banos and the party boys.

[ATGroom]

2 hours ago, 99call said:

Anyone got any ideas for 1930-1940? Or can we shore up the order of anything 1900 through to 1950?

Perhaps one of the reasons you're struggling to come up with one is that the 30s had the Great Depression, uncertain times in Europe, and was a historically terrible period for Cuban cigars. For most of the 30s Cuba was producing 30-40 million sticks per year, down from 80-100 million during the 20s and around 150 million during the '10s.

A high price "best of the best" type cigar probably wasn't a high priority during those years.

[ha_banos]

1 hour ago, 99call said:

This sounds like homework for @El Presidente@ha_banos and the party boys.

This did occur to me. Maybe Mitch also has some info. I will ask 👍🏼