Briones Montoto (Romeo y Julieta Factory)

The building at Belascoain 852 was constructed in the first decade of the twentieth century for Romeo y Julieta under Jose Rodriguez Fernandez, the owner who turned the brand into an international name. After 1959 it took the name Briones Montoto, in the pattern applied across Havana's factories, though it is still commonly referred to by the brand it was built for.

It is one of the busiest Havana houses. Alongside Romeo y Julieta it produces El Rey del Mundo, Saint Luis Rey, Sancho Panza and Cuaba, and since 2011 it has carried H. Upmann, whose own workforce was transferred there when the Vedado building was taken out of service. It also rolls modules of Montecristo, Cohiba and Diplomaticos. The building has been in continuous cigar production for more than a century.

The concentration of brands in one house is characteristic of the Cuban system, where the state allocates production and blends are assembled from centrally graded leaf. For collectors, Briones Montoto box codes now cover a wider spread of marcas than almost any other Havana factory. The house is also one of the few Havana factories regularly open to visitors, and its rolling gallery is a standard stop on organised tours of the city.