What is a Habano or Cuban cigar?

Until the 19th century, Cuban cigars were the monopoly of the monarchy under Philip V of Spain, reserved exclusively for Spanish and Portuguese sailors.
Since 1817, habanos have been exported from Havana.

It is in Cuba that the famous Havana cigars are manufactured. Specifically Habanos or sometimes puros, a protected designation of origin of Cuban tobacco, planted, harvested, processed and then rolled in this country. These are cigars with a fine taste, offering an aromatic complexity. The top brand cigar havanas that cigar smokers around the world know and love fall into four main regions.
cigar cases
Flor De Copan
Alec Bradley

The production of the real Cuban cigar covers four areas of the island with sunny climates and sandy soils naturally rich in minerals (nitrates). The harvest of Cuban tobacco leaves takes place at the beginning of April, after the preparation of the soil (September) and the sowing of the plants (October). As for the production of seeds for sowing, the activity takes place around the Semi Vuelta.
Trinidad
Cuaba
Partagas

Terroir first defines the character of a Cuban artisan cigar. The best land for tobacco plantations is found at the western end of Cuba, Pinar del Río province in the heart of the fertile plains of Vuelta Abajo. This is where the wrapper leaves are produced and where all kinds of filler leaves are grown. The tobacco leaves will be used to cover the cigar or to garnish it.
It was in Remedios in an agricultural area, in the capital Havana, that the factories were concentrated from the 17th century. The name of the capital with its export port has merged with the name habanos. The tobacco plantations of the José L. Piedra and Guantanamera brands are located in the Remedios region: the largest and oldest of the tobacco producing regions.
cohiba
Monte Cristo
Ramon Allones

After three long years of working the plant and the leaves, it is the turn of the torcedor to give the cigar its full expression by developing the cigar by hand (or hecho a mano).
The most famous tobacco farms called Vegas Finas Primera have their own way of selecting tobacco leaves and their own style of cultivation and aging:
- the tapado tobacco method in greenhouses of the leaves used for the cigar wrapper
- the other method ground tobacco with the maturation of mixed leaves, crushed or not, for the tripe)
- aging process of tobacco tapado wrapper leaves. Successively in an open wooden house with a palm roof for the first drying in the open air (for 25 days). then in the place of selection and transformations including fermentation for 30 days and then humidification. The wrapper leaves are transported to a warehouse to age 6 months before manufacture (at least 2 years for limited editions)
- aging process, from the top leaves of the Cuban cigar (a long operation of two years), from the middle leaves and from the bottom leaves of the habano cigars.
Honduras
Rafael González
San Cristobal

After long stages of drying, moistening, stripping and selection, it is the turn of the torcedor worker, who now has all the raw materials. He will roll the cigar by hand with the utmost care following the resting, banding and individual wrapping stages.
Cuba
Nicaragua
Santo Domingo

Reference brands: new and limited edition Cuban cigars

Only about thirty major cigar brands of Cuban origin have been exporting their products since 2003:
- Trinidad, moderate strength cigars with a woody aroma (produced for Fidel Castro or offered to foreign diplomats)
- Cohiba, long cigars of which Fidel Castro was an aficionado
- well-established Jose L. Piedra hand-rolled cigars since the 19th century, medium-bodied with floral notes
- Vegueros, cigars with a unique intensity and offering medium-bodied smokes
- powerful Bolivar cigars with expressive aromas (in reference to the South American independent fighter Simon Bolívar nicknamed El Libertador)
- Juan Lopez, entirely handmade production from soft blends (notes of musk, leather and wood)
- Quai d'Orsay habanos, distinguished by a clear wrapper and offering delicate aromas (poured on French soil for the SEITA monopoly)
- El Rey Del Mundo cigars, considered the standard of Havana with a light flavor (brand created in 1848)
- Montecristo, one of the five best brands of habanos and benefiting from the worldwide recognition of Cohiba cigars. It is the favorite brand of Cuban sommeliers
- Quintero puros, stamped Totalmente a mano and short tripe (preserved in an aluminum tube)
- Partagas, from the famous eponymous factory, are cigars with aromatic richness and the fullness of its power. Ligada cigars made from leaves from Vuelta Abajo
- La Flor de Cano Cuban cigars, small Coronas filled with a mixture of cut tobacco with a sweet floral flavor
- Cuban Havanas with Mr Punch character (originally intended for British smokers), rich and powerful
- Habanos Romeo y Julieta since 1875 by Inocencio Alvarez and Manin Garcia. Cigars recognizable by the largest modules and a simplistic ring.
Davidoff Series 702
Bolívar
Juan Lopez

How to recognize an original Cuban cigar?

The main categories:
- parejo cigars (Perla and Especial; length 102 mm for 15.87 mm in circumference to 235 mm long for 18.60 mm in diameter)
- figurado cigars (Exquisito (the favorite of the philosopher Sigmund Freud; 145 mm long and 18.26 mm in diameter and Pyramid, 156 mm long and 20.64 mm in diameter).
Davidoff Primeros and Cigarillos
Davidoff series "Royal"
Davidoff Nicaragua Series

Buying from a certified dealer verifies the habanos cigar guarantee seal (introduced in 1889, formalized in 1912). This authentication was updated in 1999 with a serial number marked with a red hot iron as in the old style and a watermark visible only under ultraviolet light and in 2009 thanks to the bar code.
The Protected Designation of Origin “Habanos” has been notable for a logo since 1994 through a label on the cigar box. The indication of the type of products with a figure on the bottom of each box.
The bottom of habano boxes also includes three quality indices.
The premium quality cigar is totally handmade with whole leaves or long tripe (“Totalmente a Mano - Tripa Larga“), with chopped leaves or short tripe (“Totalmente a Mano - Tripa Corta“). In addition to the two acronyms for home-made habanos, industrial habanos bear the acronym “Mecanizado”.
Davidoff Cigars
Limited Editions
Davidoff series "Anniversary"

Finally, another sign of identification of an original Cuban cigar is the ring invented in 1845 in Havana. The real cigars made in the rules of the art are unearthed in the Casas del Habano,
Davidoff "Millennium Blend" series
Davidoff Escurio
Davidoff series "Grand Cru"

Why buy a Cuban cigar online from your specialist retailer?

Discover a wide selection of Habano boxes or cellars online from a renowned specialist. You access a library of relevant information and expert advice on the best choices in premium Cuban cigars in the world.
Davidoff Yamasa Series
Davidoff Sir Winston Churchill
Davidoff Signature Series

Explore the coveted universe of Havanas and its explanation, the links between the dark to light wrapper, the ligero and the power of the cigar. The different parts of the cigar and their specificity, tripe, volado, seco, etc.