Rafael González is a historic pre-Revolution Cuban marque whose origins date to the late 1920s and early 1930s. By the mid-1930s it was associated with the Rey del Mundo company, and after a brief interruption in production in the early 1960s the brand returned in 1965. Rafael González is also credited with popularising the name “Lonsdale” for the Cervantes format, in honour of Lord Lonsdale. Traditionally light in strength, its cigars use tobacco from Vuelta Abajo in Pinar del Río. The marque is also remembered for the unusual ageing advice printed on its boxes, encouraging smokers either to enjoy the cigars soon after shipment from Havana or allow them a period of careful maturation. Today the regular range is small, giving Rafael González a quietly traditional place among Cuba’s historic cigar brands.
