Ask anyone to say where cigars come from, and they're likely to say Cuba. Few products are so closely associated with the climate and culture of a single community. So why are Cuban cigars so special?
The answer to that question begins with the long history of Cuban cigars, stretching back beyond the arrival of the first Europeans in the 15th century. But even today, the complex flavor profile of Cuban tobacco is still considered the best in the world.
Let’s take a look back over the centuries to see how tobacco (and especially Cuban cigars) became so firmly established on the island. We'll also touch on the US embargo on Cuban tobacco imports, and some of the alternatives for American smokers.
History of Cuban cigars
It's thought that the first tobacco plants, then called 'cohiba' in the local language, arrived in Cuba between 3,000 and 2,000 BCE. Before that, tobacco was already grown in South America.
Early uses involved religious ceremonies and medicinal applications, but over time, more Cuban tobacco was grown simply as an agricultural crop. Some of the first cigar-like creations involved tobacco leaves rolled in a palm leaf and then smoked.
When Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba in 1492, he witnessed the locals smoking these sticks. He took tobacco back home with him to Europe, and cigar-smoking grew steadily among the Spanish elite classes over the centuries that followed.
Why are Cuban cigars rolled locally?
Shipping finished cigars is easier than transporting tobacco leaves. This was known by the 1800s and led to a rapid rise in the number of cigar factories in Cuba, which reached 1,300 in Havana alone by 1859. Sticks made using only Cuban tobacco are known as Habano cigars.
During this long history of Cuban cigars, certain regions and cities rose to prominence. One example is Pinar del Rio, which was known as Nueva Filipina until the 1770s. During the early 1800s, Pinar del Rio grew as an important Cuban tobacco region. This was cemented once the railroad connected the tobacco farms there with the island's capital city, Havana, in the late 1800s.
Better transport links and a deeper understanding of how to handle tobacco leaves are at the heart of why Cuban cigars are rolled locally. The expertise of the local workforce is an important part of the production process, and it's one reason why Habano cigars are so distinctly linked with their homeland.
The unique growing conditions in Cuba
Cuban tobacco is so popular because the island's climate and rich soil allow for the cultivation of high-quality cigar tobacco. While there are several very well-respected growing regions elsewhere in the world, the flavor profile of Cuban tobacco is unique.
There's a complicated chemical process going on inside each Cuban cigar. Nutrients from the soil, including calcium, magnesium and iron, are in a delicate dance of sweetness and acidity. Cuba's soil is generally considered to have a near-ideal mix of these minerals, which is why Cuban cigars taste so good.
But that's not to say that you can plant tobacco anywhere in Cuba and get the same high standard of crop. Cuba's landscape and microclimates have led to the creation of several main growing areas:
Vuelta Abajo
The home of Pinar del Rio, San Luis and San Juan y Martinez, Vuelta Abajo is in the west of Cuba and is widely regarded as the best tobacco region in the world.
Semi Vuelta
Known for its stronger, full-bodied tobacco, most adult leaves grown in the Semi Vuelta are not used to make Habano cigars. However, the fertile soil is used to grow seedlings, which are later moved to Vuelta Abajo to continue their growth to maturity.
Partido
Partido is located near Havana, where many Cuban cigar factories can be found. In the past, the region's borders were unclear, with farms around its edge claiming to be part of Partido. More recently, Denomination of Origin protection — a regulatory geographical identification system — has been given to Partido and its true farms.
Vuelta Arriba
Vuelta Arriba is found in the east of Cuba and is divided into two main tobacco areas. Remedios, protected by Denomination of Origin status, is Cuba's oldest tobacco region. It's also the source of leaves used in Jose L Piedra cigars.
Finally, Oriente is also part of Vuelta Arriba. Most tobacco grown here is now used in cigarettes, not Cuban cigars. However, the region is still historically significant, partly because it is where the explorer Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba in 1492.
The quality of Cuban cigars
It's not only the flavor of Cuban cigars that gives them their sought-after status. Generations of artisan hand-rolling makes the island unbeatable in terms of artistry and experience.
Cuban Torcedores are the experts in their craft, often using knowledge handed down by their parents and grandparents. They bunch the filler leaves, gently bind them using just the right amount of pressure, and apply the beautiful wrapper to finish the stick.
Any stage in the process of hand-rolling cigars can go wrong in countless ways, and it's thought that around 500 hands touch each cigar from planting the seed to shipping the finished product.
The precision of the Torcedores ensures that this finished product is consistently rolled to perfection, with a firm bunch that is not too tightly packed, and tiny air spaces between the leaves that allow the smoke to be drawn smoothly through the stick.
An exclusive appeal
US embargoes on the import of Cuban products (including the import of Cuban cigars into the US) were put in place in 1958 and have remained ever since, with some adjustments over the years.
Each President and their administration has the option to make the Cuban embargoes tighter, or to ease them in some ways. Because of this, the rules on importing Cuban tobacco into America can change at any time.
One end result of the US Cuban cigar embargo is that Habano cigars have seen much higher demand in other parts of the world, where they are legal to import and sell. That's why, although many American cigar aficionados have never smoked a true Cuban cigar, the island's output remains at the top of the tree worldwide.
Cuban cigars in the US
For the domestic US market, Cuban-seed tobacco is the next best thing. This tobacco is grown from Cuban seeds, but cultivated in regions like Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
These crops allow for the creation of Cuban-like flavors and blends, giving Americans the nearest thing they can legally buy to a Habano cigar.