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Intro To Cohiba Cigars

The brand name Cohiba is associated with two types of premium cigars. One is produced for Cuban state-owned tobacco company Habanos S.A. in Cuba. The other is produced in the Dominican Republic for General Cigar Company, a U.S. based company. The word “cohiba” is based on the Taino word for tobacco.

In the mid-1960s, a bodyguard to Fidel Castro shared a private supply of cigars made by Eduardo Ribera. The Cuban Cohiba brand began as a private brand of this blend in 1968, supplied only to high level officials within the Cuban government and Communist Party of Cuba, including Mr. Castro. The brand grew to acquire cult status because it was often provided as a diplomatic gift.

Tight security was essential when producing this brand due to ongoing and later substantiated fears of CIA assassination against Mr. Castro. In association with the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Cohibas were first released for commercial sale to the public. Lancero, Corona Especial, and Panetela where the three sizes included in the public launch. Three more sizes, Esplendido, Exquisito, and Robusto, were added in 1989, completing the Linea Clasica.

The first five sizes in the Linea 1492 were launched in 1992 to commemorate the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the Americas. Each size was named for a century since the discovery of this new land, called Siglo I through IV. In 2002, Siglo VI was added to the line. Habanos S.A. also regularly makes limited-release Cohibas for events like brand anniversaries, the annual Habanos Festival, and limited-edition special sizes that are wrapped in a darker vintage leaf.

Three sizes of Maduro 5 maduro-wrapped Cohiba cigars were released in 2007. When making the Cuban brand of Cohibas, the tobacco undergoes an extra fermentation process that is unique to the brand. Unlike its U.S. brand counterpart, the Cuban brand cannot legally be sold in the U.S.