Cuban Cigars

Of the many regions in the world that produce cigars, Cuba is by far the most famous, partly because the tobacco that is grown on the island remains unequalled anywhere else in the world, and partly due to the skill of the 'torcedores' (cigar rollers) that have worked in the industry for generations, and are considered by many to be the most adept rollers in the world. These torcedores are highly respected in Cuban society and travel the globe exhibiting their prowess at hand rolling cigars.

All cigar production in Cuba is controlled by the Cuban government, and each brand may be rolled in a number of separate factories in Cuba. Cuban cigars are rolled from tobacco leaves grown across the country; the filler, binder, and wrapper may come from different parts of the island. More than 25 brands of Havanas, and more than 42 different standard shape "vitolas", and a host of other different sizes and shapes are produced. The same shape may be rolled for separate brands, in different factories with assorted blends.

Habanos SA and Cubatabaco carry out all the work concerning to Cuban cigars, such as:

• manufacture
• quality control
• promotion
• distribution
• export

All labels and boxes for Cuban cigars are marked "Hecho en Cuba" (made in Cuba). Machine-bunched cigars finished by hand add "Hecho a mano", whilst fully hand-crafted cigars usually state "Totalmente a mano" in script text.

The US Embargo Against Cuba

On 7 February 1962, US President John F Kennedy imposed a trade embargo on Cuba to as a response to Fidel Castro's communist government. The embargo banned US residents from legally buying Cuban-cigars on the market, and Cuba was deprived of its major tobacco market. Although Cuban cigars are readily available across the northern US border in Canada and the southern border in Mexico, it's still illegal for US residents to buy or import these cigars no matter what country they are in. The result is that Cuban cigars are often smuggled into the USA and sold at high prices, in addition, counterfeiting is prevalent; it is thought that 95% of Cuban cigars sold in the USA are fake.

When Cuban private property was expropriated, many former Cuban cigar makers moved to other countries to continue production; in particular, the Dominican Republic. After they relocated, the majority of these ex-Cuban manufacturers carried on using their original company name, seed, and harvesting techniques, whilst Cuba's state tobacco monopoly after the Revolution (Cubatabaco), continued production of cigars independently, utilising the former private company names. Consequently, a number of cigar name brands such as Gloria Cubana, Romeo y Julieta and Montecristo (among others), can be found in both the Dominican Republic and Cuba.