Travel to Cuba – A Cigar Aficionado’s Paradise

Explore a world apart from the bustling beach resorts in the province of Pinar del Rio, located west of Havana. Here, amidst the lush landscapes, Cuba’s tobacco and coffee plantations thrive in the rich, fertile soil. This picturesque region, adorned with serene rivers and natural springs, is designated as an ecological biosphere, carefully conserved for…

United States Trade Embargo and Cuban Cigar Sales

On 7 February 1962, United States President John F. Kennedy imposed a trade embargo on Cuba to sanction Fidel Castro’s communist government. According to Pierre Salinger, then Kennedy’s press secretary, the president ordered him on the evening of 6 February to obtain 1,200 H. Upmann brand petit corona Cuban cigars; upon Salinger’s arrival with the…

Cuban Cigars and The Music of Cuba

Cuba is a Caribbean island that has imparted a wide spread influence on various musical styles in the last two centuries. The core of many Cuban musical identities lies in the “cabildos,” a type of social unification amongst African slaves transported to the island. Cabildos maintained African cultural customs, and this continued following the Emancipation…

The Cuban Cigar Factory : History & Background

You walk through the wide doorway of a typical Cuban cigar factory with the tropical heat following you inside, and step onto a cracked marble floor, wondering just how many shoes have walked this weathered path before you. The clamor of workers going about their business reaches your ears and grows in volume with every step:…

What’s the Weather Like in Cuba?

Cuban Weather? Cuba has a tropical climate, but with no extreme temperatures since it is cooled by the gentle breezes of the trade winds. It has two very definite seasons: the rainy season (from May to October) and the dry season (from November to April). There is a mean average of 330 sunny days a…

The History of Tobacco and Cuban Cigar Leaf

The history of tobacco and cuban cigar leaf starts in Cuba in 1492 when a Spanish expedition commanded by Christopher Columbus saw tobacco for the first time in the New World. The Taino Indians rolled and burnt some mysterious leaves, which they called “Cohiba”, in an unknown ceremony for the explorers. From that starting point more than…

The History of Cuba’s Cigar Industry

Globally, Cuba has one of the best reputations for its consistent exportation of quality cigars. Despite my personal beliefs differing, I will admit they do grow the best tobacco anywhere in the world. The first tobacco plantations most likely began harvesting sometime in the 18th century on the east end of Cuba’s island. As the popularity…