Cigar Facts

Cigar history goes back approximately two thousand years, however The origins of the the cigar itself are lost in time and Some scholars believe the word cigar is taken from the word sikar which is the Mayan word for smoking. There is a big cigar history within Central America dating back to the Mayans and Aztecs; They were known to have smoked tubes of loosely rolled tobacco leaves similar to the present day cigars.
When Columbus discovered the West Indies and other explorers whom visited the American continent numerous accounts
were written of these New World people who smoked tobacco and also used it for chew and as snuff for medicinal properties then used in their ceremonies.I remember an extremely funny record made by Bob Newhart depicting Sir Walter Raileigh upon his return from the America's explaining how you place it in your mouth and inhale the smoke. Hilarious!

Smoking came to Europe with the return of Columbus from the New World in 1492. He had been offered some dried leaves as a token of friendship and his men had witnessed how these leaves were used. Columbus himself was not particularly impressed by the custom, but soon Spanish and other European sailors fell for the habit, followed by the
conquistador's and colonists. The introduction of tobacco seeds or plants is attributed to Ramon Pane whom was Columbus priest on his second voyage. In due course the returning conquistador's introduced tobacco smoking to Spain and Portugal. The habit was considered a sign of affluence that then spread to France through the French
ambassador to Portugal Jean Nicot in 1560 whom the herb was given its botanical name Nicotiana tabacum the Latin name for tobacco.

Tobacco was introduced to England around 1565 when Hawkins returned from a voyage to America; Sir Walter Raleigh is believed to be chiefly responsible for making the
smoking habit fashionable. Sailors were really the first to be seen smoking cigars around 1557. It's always the sailors right!!

At the turn of the century smoking was becoming fashion with the upper classes although for many years the habit was still frowned upon by their womenfolk to such an extent that the men had to take themselves off to the kitchen or the stables, "So nothings changed then!" See my post on "Smoking Jackets". Although the first tobacco plantations were set up in Virginia in 1612, and Maryland in 1631, tobacco was smoked only in pipes in the American colonies. The cigar itself is thought not to have arrived until after 1762 when Israel Putnam an American general in the Revolutionary War returned from Cuba where he had been an officer in the British army. He came back to his home in Connecticut with a selection of Havana cigars and large amounts of Cuban tobacco. Not long after this cigar factories were set up in the Hartford area. Production of the leaves started in the 1820s and Connecticut tobacco today provides among the best wrapper leaves to be found outside Cuba. In the early 19th century not only were Cuban cigars being imported into the United States but domestic production was also taking off. The mid 1800's saw the cigar become well accepted and by the turn of the century cigar smoking was the most favoured of all smoking habits.

During the great depression and around the 1920's the total consumption of tobacco fell, cigar manufacturers turned to promoting smokers with their brands including beautifully designed, colored inserts in their packaging and boxes in order to attract cigar smokers a tradition that continues to this day with most manufacturers.

The 16th century saw Cuba lead the way in cigar production seeing Cuban peasants became tobacco growers and later on the cigar became the country's national symbol and the Havana cigar became recognized as the world's finest. When Fidel Castro took over the reigns leading to the subsequent United States embargo that started events that began to challenge Havana's supremacy in the world of cigars. Many Cuban cigar producers took their skills and seeds to the Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Mexico and began producing high quality premium and super premium cigars for the American public. The Dominican Republic alone produces almost half of the hand made cigars sold in the Americas.I have enjoyed just about every cigar you can name and although I have enjoyed them all, You still can't
beat a pure Cuban Cigar!