Some Cigar History to
Go With That Smoke

Cigar history may or may not be your cup of tea. Or shall I say coffee, seeing as it is the perfect companion to a great cigar.

However...

As a cigar smoker becomes more involved in this wonderful past time, curiosity does raise it's head, doesn't it?

There are different versions of cigar history being bantered about, especially on the internet. I'm providing what seems to be the most widely accepted ones.

The tobacco plant is believed to have originated in South America and eventually made it's way over to Cuba.

After leaving the Americas in October 1492, Christopher Columbus, not having clue where he was, happened upon Cuba.

Columbus sent two of his sailors, Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres ashore to scout the island.

They were surprised to find the natives smoking some kind of substance wrapped in dried palm leaves, corn husks or plantain leaves.

Wouldn't you know it... old Rodrigo de Jerez succumbed to peer pressure and took a puff. The first European cigar smoker was born!

In the early 1600's the first plantations in Cuba for growing tobacco were erected along the Alemandares River. By the middle 1800's, tobacco replaced coffee as the #1 cash crop on the island. This was aided by the British occupying Cuba in 1763. Although it only lasted 1 year, it opened up the lucrative and large European market.

By the early 18th century, cigar making had spread to Spain, having already been established in Europe. Spain is attributed to having created the modern day cigar we are familiar with.

Cigar making didn't come into it's own in the United States until the mid 19th century, and different brands started to emerge in the latter of that century.

Although cigars were produced elsewhere, it wasn't until the 1961 Cuban embargo by President Kennedy that these other countries would slowly emerge from darkness and into the limelight.

Many skilled Cuban exiles and cigar makers that knew their way of life was being threatened by the Castro regime, sought other countries for tobacco growing. Off they went, Cuban seed and all, to continue their fine art of cigar making.

And there were indeed countries to look to...

Nicaragua and Honduras held high hopes, along with the extremely promising Dominican Republic. Mexico and Brazil would also come to play supporting roles in providing tobacco.

Other countries such as Cameroon, Ecuador, the island of Sumatra in Indonesia and the state of Connecticut in the United States provide exquisite wrappers.

Cuba is still known for it's fine cigars, but there are signs this may be changing.

I have but scratched the surface of cigar history by giving you what I hope has been a simple, yet interesting overview of some of the events that have made the cigar industry what it is today.

The future of cigars looks bright indeed...

Light them up ladies and gentlemen!

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