Some of you may be familiar with the battle over the use of the brand name Cohiba for non-Cuban cigars. After the embargo, numerous manufacturers took out U.S. copywrites on Cuban brand names. That's, of course, why you have the same brand name used for both Cuban and non-Cuban cigars.
Some manufacturers jumped the gun and began making cigars using a Cuban brand name before registering it. The company, Tobacos de Montecristi, sometimes called Montecristi de Tobacos, produced the Cohiba brand in the Dominican Republic using a band that was virtually identical to the Cuban band. Early production did not say Dominican Republic on the bands. General Cigar did register the brand, sued Tobacos de Montecristi and won the ownership of the Cohiba brand in the U.S.. That was the virtual birth of the Cohiba Red Dot band.
Montecristi, ultimately, ceased production using the Cohiba brand label. They did not cease producing cigars, but switched the labeling to Taino. Currently there is a company named the Taino Cigar Company, which may be the U.S. marketing arm of Montecristi. The first generation of Montecristi made Cohibas weren't a bad mild cigar, but they were over priced to capitalize on the Cohiba brand name. During the litigation, it was charged that Montecristi produced tonnage of their Cohibas, awaiting a verdict against them, and a desist order. That's why you'll still find Montecristi made Cohibas still available around the web for $30.00 a bundle. They usually are trash! The new production is branded, Taino.
That said: Brand ownership can change hands and factories, i.e. Nestor Plasencia now makes Bering and CAO Maduro announced that it is moving production of that cigar from the Perdomo factory to a factory operated by the Toranos.
Before buying a bundle of Taino, one should smoke a sample from that bundle. You just can't tell what you're buying.
