Great Places Making Great Cigars
Making cigars, such as Davidoff Cigars, is a time-consuming, painstaking process. For this reason, the only people who produce them are those who take them seriously. Furthermore, to make a great cigar, you have to have a suitable climate for cultivating and fermenting tobacco leaves—specifically, humid soil with just the right amount of minerals and nutrients.
Contents
Places Where They Make Great Cigars
1. Cuba
Even though Cuba has been unnaturally denied cigars for a long time, Cubans have been making great cigars for centuries. Since the United States has occupied the island since 1961, it has maintained its agricultural potential to produce great cigars. The Cuban cigar industry is one of the largest in the world, with around 80% of all cigars being made in Havana and Matanzas provinces.
There are approximately 50 cigar factories located in Havana alone. The history of Cuba’s cigar industry goes back to the mid-1800s when it was a free and independent country. Since then, the trade has progressed and diversified, with cigars being exported all over the world.
2. Nicaragua
Nicaragua is one of the most recent producers of great cigars in the world. The first factory was founded there in 1994 by Toraño family member Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr., who became its master blender and principal consultant. In 2001, his son Oscar joined him as an executive at Tabacalera de Nicaragua South America, where they make great cigars using traditional Cuban methods from tobacco leaves cultivated on plantations throughout Nicaragua.
The Esteli Factory is a relatively new factory, with its first crop of cigars in 2008. Its investors include Don Alejandro and his brother Jose Alejandro Hernandez, the fourth generation of their family producing cigars in Nicaragua. This family has been making cigars for over 50 years under various ownerships, with some estimates claiming that their production has grown over 20-fold during the last few decades.
3. Honduras
Honduras was one of the first countries in the world to make cigars, with records of tobacco harvesting from 1570 to 1585. In 1793, tobacco production expanded significantly thanks to Don Miguel Angel Martinez, who founded a factory called La Calandria that turned out about 2000 cigars per day. It is said that “of all its products, the most renowned is the Hondo cigar.”
4. The Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic has tobacco plantations of the highest quality, and it is in the top five countries in the world for cigar production. It produces various cigars worldwide, including Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, El Rey del Mundo, Arturo Fuente, and La Gloria Cubana. Their post-revolution brands include cigar brands made in the United States and distributed by General Cigar Co., the world’s largest cigar manufacturer.
5. Mexico
Cigar production is a long tradition in Mexico, with its first cigar factory being founded at the end of the 19th century. The Cohiba brand was first produced in Cuba, but it is now legally owned by General Cigars (USA) Inc., which also owns Aganorsa Leaf Tobacco Co., Inc.
6. The United States
The United States is the second largest producer of cigars in the world. Its cigar industry began in 1844, when a Cuban named Vicente Martinez Ybor moved to Key West, Florida, and opened El Fumador Cigar Factory. Over time, Florida became the center of U.S. cigar manufacturing. In 1962, however, most U.S. cigar factories moved to Honduras after President John F. Kennedy imposed an embargo on all trade between Cuba and the United States.
7. Indonesia
Indonesia is known for producing a wide variety of tobacco products, including cigarettes and chewing tobacco, but it also produces premium-quality cigars.
8. The Philippines
The Philippines has been producing cigars for almost 200 years. It was famous for producing Manilas and Perlas, but the country is now known for producing Cuban-style cigars, including the RP Ambler and Romeo y Julieta brands. It is also home to the Tatuyan Cigar Factory, founded more than 100 years ago by General Emilio Aguinaldo.
9. Pakistan
Pakistan has a long history of cigar production that stretches back almost 200 years. Its most famous cigar brands are CPK, founded in 1883 by the Chaudhry family, and Habanos S.A.
It is important to note that all premium cigars are made to a standard, regardless of where they come from. For instance, the MOA (Measurable Operating Advisor) standard is a quality control benchmark established by the cigar industry. It is developed based on scientific and technical studies conducted in ISO laboratories and is stricter than the quality requirements set forth by WHO (World Health Organization) and FDA (Food and Drug Administration).
