Bock y Ca.

The cigar brand Bock y Compania (roughly: “Bock and Company”) is one of the oldest cigar brands from Havana (Cuba). Founded by the German emigrant Gustavo (“Gustav”) Bock, these cigars were very popular in the 19th century. According to legend, he was the one who came up with the idea of placing a cigar band on each cigar so that customers would not soil their white gloves.

The Renaissance of Bock Cigars: From Havana to the Dominican Republic

After the brand’s decline as a Cuban Habano, it was revived at the end of the 1990s. The cigar importer Villiger (at the time with its now defunct subsidiary El Mundo del Tabaco) reintroduced this brand in 1998 as a Dominican cigar.

The filler consists of Dominican Piloto and Nicaraguan tobacco, wrapped in an Indonesian binder (capote). For the wrapper (capa), an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade was chosen. These are medium-bodied, aromatic cigars offered at fair prices with very good draw and burn characteristics. Our recommendation is the Torpedo, which impressed us with its well-balanced spiciness.

Bock y Compania: A Historic Brand Revived

The manufacturer for the distributor Villiger is Matias Maragoto, a Cuban exile who established Tabacalera ABAM Cigars in the Dominican Republic. Matias is a very personable contemporary and has long been a trusted in-house supplier for numerous cigars from the Villiger portfolio. Among other things, Matias also produces the Villiger 1888 cigars, which now come in a striking bright red.