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The Habano
THERE ARE IN THE WORLD JUST A FEW THINGS THAT ARE KNOWN WITHOUT QUESTION TO BE THE BEST OF THEIR KIND. A HABANO – OR HAVANA CIGAR – IS ONE OF THEM.
Cuba in 1492 the Spanish expedition commanded by Christopher Columbus saw tobacco for the first time.
The Taino Indians rolled and burned mysterious leaves, which they called “Cohiba”. From that starting point
more than five centuries ago, tobacco has been traded and planted throughout the world. Since its
discovery, “Cuban Black Tobacco” has been considered the best in the world because
of the unique growing conditions in some areas of the Island. This distinction remains incontestably valid after more than five centuries.
The heart of the distinction is the tobacco and its taste born of a combination of four factors that exist only in Cuba: the soil, the climate, the varieties of Cuban black tobacco seed and the know-how of the tobacco growers and cigar makers. Other places may have acquired some Cuban skills, even some Cuban seeds, but never the natural gifts of the Cuban soil and the Cuban climate. These you will find nowhere else.
Nor will you find anything that matches the centuries-old culture of cultivating Cuban tobacco: the extraordinary labour that the tobacco farmer invests in his crop; the months and years of patient waiting before his leaf is deemed fit for a Habano.
A further distinction lies in the definition of the term “Habanos”. All Habanos are Cuban, but by no means all Cuban cigars are Habanos.
The title is the Denominación de Origen Protegida (D.O.P), or Protected Denomination of Origin reserved for a selection of the most outstanding brands whose cigars are manufactured to the most exacting standards from tobaccos grown only in particular areas, which are also protected as denominations of origin.
All Habanos are crafted Totalmente a Mano < totally by hand > using methods that were pioneered in Havana two centuries ago and remain virtually unchanged to this day.
More than 500 manual tasks are performed in both the agricultural and manufacturing processes from the planting of the seeds to the Habano’s final resting place in its box.
Every cigar must pass through the most stringent quality control processes established by the Regulatory Council for the Protected Denomination of Origin (D.O.P.) Habanos before they can earn the precious title of Habano.
A benchmark for excellence. Read on, and you will learn how.
Tabacco Paradise
NOWHERE IN THE WORLD GROWS TOBACCO BETTER THAN CUBA. BUT EVEN HERE, ONLY
A FEW SELECTED PLANTATIONS ARE JUDGED GOOD ENOUGH TO GROW
THE TOBACCO FOR HABANOS.
s a great wine is defined by its vineyard, so the character of a Habano is intimately connected with the land where
the tobacco grows. The locations where tobacco for Habanos can be grown are strictly limited to certain defined
regions of Cuba. These are the elite Vegas de Primera – first class fields. They enjoy a special status as Protected
Denominations of Origin (D.O.P). You will find each one marked with an asterisk in the text.
Pinar Del Rio
Pinar del Rio* is the name of the province that embraces all of the important growing zones in the west of Cuba, and the name of the provincial capital. It also gives its name to a tobacco region that is protected as a Denomination of Origin, and in which there are several tobacco zones such as Vuelta Abajo* and Semi Vuelta, and districts like San Juan y Martínez* and San Luis*.
VUELTA ABAJO
“The finest cigar tobacco-growing land in the world” Vuelta Abajo* is the main source of tobacco for Habanos, and the only zone that grows all types of leaf: wrappers, filler and binders. Indeed all tobacco for fillers and binders for “Long Filler” Habanos comes from this privileged zone. Even here less than a quarter of the tobacco-growing land enjoys the Vegas de Primera status that is required for the growing of tobacco for Habanos.
SAN LUIS
San Luis*: Small town at the epicentre of Cuban tobacco culture, known above all for the cultivation of wrapper leaves. Here you find the world-famous El Corojo Vega as well as the Cuchillas de Barbacoa farm. It is one of the two districts from which the leaves grown on its finest vegas are selected for the Cohiba brand.
SAN JUAN Y MARTINEZ
The other famous small town in Vuelta Abajo*. It has a particular reputation for the cultivation of fillers and binders, and the famous Hoyo de Monterrey plantation is located here. It is the other district where the finest vegas supply leaves for Cohiba.
SEMI VUELTA
The other tobacco zone, situated in the Pinar del Río region, known mainly for its cultivation of binder and filler leaves for “Short Filler” Habanos. The area of this zone employed for Habanos is very small, barely one percent of its tobacco growing land. Nevertheless it has good soil for producing seeds which are later sown in Vuelta Abajo*. Most Semi Vuelta tobacco is grown for other purposes.
PARTIDO
Founded during the early 17th Century, Partido* is a historic tobacco region which specialises in the cultivation of wrapper leaves for long and short filler Habanos.
REMEDIOS
Remedios* is Cuba’s oldest tobacco producing region. It is the source of the leaf for one particular Habano brand: José L Piedra.
VUELTA ARRIBA
It was at Bariay in the eastern part of this region that Columbus landed in 1492 and discovered Cuban tobacco. Tobacco is still grown here, but not for Habanos.
Growing the tabacco
EVERY LEAF IN A HABANO IS “TABACO NEGRO CUBANO” – CUBAN
BLACK TOBACCO – DIRECTLY DESCENDED FROM THE PLANTS THAT
COLUMBUS FIRST DISCOVERED HERE MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED
YEARS AGO.
WRAPPERS COME IN MANY FINELY DISTINGUISHED SHADES OF
COLOUR, AND GREAT CARE IS TAKEN TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF
THE CIGARS IN ANY ONE BOX ARE THE EXACT SAME SHADE.
THE ‘BANDER’ DELICATELY APPLIES A BAND TO EACH CIGAR.
