The filler, binder, and wrapper may come from different areas of the island, though much is produced in Pinar del Río province, in the regions of Vuelta Abajo and Semi Vuelta, as well as in farms in the Viñales region.^[1] All cigar production in Cuba is controlled by state-owned Cubatabaco. The Cuban cigar is also referred to as "El Habano".^[2]

Cubatabaco and Habanos SA (held equally by the Cuban state and Altadis, a Spanish-based private concern) do all the work relating to Cuban cigars, including manufacture, quality control, promotion and distribution, and export. Habanos SA handles export and distribution, largely through its European partner Altadis.^[3] All boxes and labels are marked Hecho en Cuba (Spanish for Made in Cuba). Machine-bunched cigars finished by hand add Hecho a mano (handmade), while fully handmade cigars say Totalmente a mano (entirely handmade). Torcedores are highly respected in Cuban society and culture, and travel worldwide displaying the art of hand-rolling cigars.^[4] Today, most Torcedores are women, or Torcedoras.^[5]

History[edit]

Evidence of tobacco smoking by Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean dates back to the 9th century.^[6] Prior to the discovery of the New World in the 15th century, tobacco smoking was unfamiliar to Europeans. In the late 15th century, scouts sent by Christopher Columbus into the interior of Cuba reported seeing "men with half-burned wood in their hands and certain herbs to take their smokes, which are some dry herbs put in a certain leaf ... suck, absorb, or receive that smoke inside with the breath".^[7] The word cohiba means "tobacco" in the Taíno language spoken by the Indigenous Taíno peoples of Cuba.^[8]

Following the growth of European colonization in the Caribbean and the expansion of the African slave trade, tobacco became a major commodity shipped to Europe.^[9] Soon after the expeditions, the Spanish introduced tobacco to other parts of Europe and its popularity spread.^[10] The wrapper, filler, and binder of a cigar could all be grown on Cuba, due to favorable qualities in the climate and land. Because of Spain's claim to Cuba, the Spanish dominated the new tobacco industry in the region.^[11]

During the 17th century, widespread growth in tobacco use led to condemnation and regulation in Europe. In 1606, Philip III of Spain banned the cultivation of tobacco, though this ban was lifted in 1614. Nevertheless, a special tax was thereafter placed on tobacco imports, with Cuban imports subject to the highest rates.

In the early 18th century, increased regulation from Spain sparked armed protests from vegueros (settler growers). Additionally, Spanish settlers were becoming acculturated in Spain (and to the practice of smoking cigars), and many became involved in smuggling operations between trading nations.

Cigars rolled in Cuba were not popular in Spain at that time. The majority of tobacco arriving in Spain was processed in Cádiz to be made into cigars, or made into snuff. Spanish settlers in Cuba returning to Spain, however, retained the "expensive and aristocratic vice of smoking Havana cigars, which they had sent to them from Cuba."^[12]