UK Cigar Scene Magazine January Issue 13 | Page 14

The Cohiba Story
In Late February 2016 the Habanos Festival in Havana Cuba will celebrate the 50th
Anniversary of the most famous cigar brand in the world.
Despite its relatively short life compared to some
of the ‘historic’ Cuban cigar brands Cohiba has
rapidly become the most recognised cigar in the
world and is the flagship range of Cuba. Much
of this has to do with its ultimate quality but
also with the story of its origins after the Cuban
Revolution.
Research reveals that very shortly after Castro
took power the US security services were already
researching a number of covert ‘Dirty Tricks’ to
attack Castro using his ever present cigar. Methods
explored included injecting Botulinus toxins into
his cigars and creating exploding cigars. It was
clear that for his security Castro needed his own
supply of cigars, produced by people he could trust
and in total security.
The history of the brand starts in 1963 as a Fuma,
a cigar rolled by a torcedor for his own use, which
was offered to Fidel Castro by Bienvenido Perez,
known as Chico, who was head of Castro’s body
guard. The cigar had been blended and made by
Eduardo Rivera and it instantly became Fidel’s
favourite.
In 1964, a small factory was set up to make these
cigars in a building which had previously been a
country club. Production was moved in 1967 to
a beautiful mansion in the Diplomatic district
which was christened ‘El Laguito’.
Initially the existence of the brand was somewhat
mythical. Produced just for the leader and with a
few hundred boxes each year being produced for

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his guests and gifted to important diplomats and
Heads of State.
The cigars remained unnamed until 1966 when
it was officially given the name ‘Cohiba’. The
name ‘Cohiba’ is taken from the native Cuban
Taino Indian word for the bunches of tobacco
leaves which the natives were smoking when
Christopher Columbus first landed in Cuba in
1492. The first known ‘cigar’.
Initially all Cohiba cigars were rolled by women,
despite some initial resistance, but more recently
male rollers have been introduced.
The original cigar was an unnamed Laguito No.1
(later called Lancero), and in 1967, two additional
sizes were added. A Laguito No.2 (Corona Especial)
and a Laguito No.3 (Panatela). The cigars remained
outside the commercial sphere for another 17
years until they were first shown to the trade and
the public at a party at the Ritz Hotel in Madrid in
1982.
The Tobacco for Cohiba is the very finest available,
selected from the five very finest Vega de Primera
farms in the San Juan y Martinez and San Luis
districts of the Vuelta Abajo zone.
In addition to selecting the finest tobacco Cohiba
has an extra special status because the three
filler leaves, Seco, Ligero, and the medio tiempo
used in the Behike, are given an additional third
fermentation in wooden casks. This may last up to
18 months and creates an additional smoothness
which is not found in other cigars.