Cohiba Cigars

Cohiba is two very successful and highly established cigar brands. One is produced in the Dominican Republic under the company General Cigar and the other is produced by the Cuban state owned tobacco company, Habanos SA in Havana Cuba.

The Cohiba brand was initially a private label brand solely supplied to Fidel Castro and other high level Cuban government and communist party ranking officials. The cigar is often presented as diplomatic gifts to various individuals and has developed into a highly sought after brand synonymous with cigar. In 1982, the Cohiba was released internationally in commercial sales for the first time to the public.

Cuban Cohíba

The Cuban Cohiba is well known as using some of the finest and purest cigar tobacco in Cuba. The first class tobacco fields of Finas de Primera is where the tobacco for these cigars is selected. This tobacco is unique due to the fact that it undergoes a three tier fermentation process in barrels. This has been stated to give the tobacco a smoother and more even flavor from other cigars. In the beginning all of the Cohiba cigars were developed at the El Laguito factory which was a converted mansion located on the fringe of Havana. Sometime later, production of the Cohiba vitolas were expanded throughout other factories. Cohiba cigars tend to have a medium to full bodied flavor.

History

The Cohiba cigar began when these cigars were smoked by Bienvenido "Chicho" Perez, a confidant and bodyguard of Fidel Castro. Castro took notice of the frequent smoking by Chicho and commented that it was a very nice, aromatic cigar. When Castro asked him, Chicho said they were rolled by a friend and he would get Castro some as gifts.

Eduardo Rivera was the man rolling the cigars and he was working in the La Corona factory. Castro immediately contacted Rivera and asked him to roll some cigars for him. He then set him up in a mansion with 5 other rollers within the suburb of Havana called El Laguito. This factory would become the first factory only staffed by women torcedoras. For a significant period of time, the cigars were only for Castro himself and various other esteemed Cuban officials. They were also presented to foreign dignitaries as gifts often. Castrol became fond of the Corona Especial and Lancero types.

In 1982 and in combination with the World Cup being showcased in Spain, Castro released his personal cigars as exquisite and premium cigars to the public. At its launch in 1982, the Cohiba brand was composed of three vitolas or sizes: the Lancero, the Panetela, and the Corona Especial. In 1989, three more vitolas were added to the mix including the Esplendido, the Robusto and the Exquisito. The six first vitolas are commonly called the Linea Clasica.

In order to honor Christopher Columbus' successful voyage to the Americas, Habanos SA brought to marke the Linea 1492 in 1992 and each size of this line was named for a century that had passed after the discovery by Columbus. Therefore the initial launch was composed of Siglo I, Siglo II, Siglo III, Siglo IV, and Siglo V. Siglo VI was added in 2002. Away from the regular product lineup, Cuban Habanas SA will release limited edition cigars for the annual Habanos festival and brand anniversaries.

Cigarillos

The Cohiba brand additionally produces two machine made cigarillos: the Club and the Mini.

Habanos SA also utilizes the well known Cohiba brandname on Cohiba cigarettes since 1987 and on the Extra Cohiba Cognac that has been in production since 1999.

As of 2007, cohiba had officially released four different types or Edicion Limitada Cohibas including a remake of the Piramide in 2006, the Sublime in 2004, the Double Corona in 2003 and the Piramide in 2001.

Vitolas in the Cohíba Line

The Cohiba brand is composed of the following list which includes the size of the cigar as well as the vitola de galera or factory name of the cigar. Lastly the popular name of the cigar in the American vocabulary is included.

La Línea Clásica

* Lancero - size: 7 1/2" x 38 (192 x 15.08 mm) Laguito No. 1, a long panetela
* Corona Especial - size: 6" x 38 (152 x 15.08 mm) Laguito No. 2, a panetela
* Panetela - size: 4 1/2" x 26 (115 x 10.32 mm) Laguito No. 3, a cigarillo
* Exquisito - size: 4 7/8" x 36 (125 x 14.29 mm) Seoane, a cigarillo
* Robusto - size: 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a robusto or rothschild
* Espléndido - size: 7" x 47 (178 x 18.65 mm) Julieta, a churchill

La Línea 1492

* Siglo I - size: 4" x 40 (102 x 15.87 mm) Perla, a tres petit corona
* Siglo II - size: 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
* Siglo III - size: 6 1/8" x 42 (155 x 16.67 mm) Corona Grande, a long corona
* Siglo IV - size: 5 5/8" x 46 (143 x 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda, a corona gorda
* Siglo V - size: 6 3/4" x 43 (170 x 17.07 mm) Dalia, a lonsdale
* Siglo VI - size: 5 7/8" x 52 (150 x 20.64 mm) Cañonazo, a toro

Edición Limitada Releases

* Pirámide (2001) - size: 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo
* Double Corona (2003) - size: 7 5/8" x 49 (194 x 19.45 mm) Prominente, a double corona
* Sublime (2004) - size: 6 1/2" x 54 (164 x 21.43 mm) Sublime, a large toro
* Pirámide (2006) - size: 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo; a remake of the 2001 EL

Special Releases

* Millennium Reserve Pirámide - size: 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo
* Behike - size: 7 1/2" x 52 (192 x 20 mm) Released in a special humidor in 2006; only 100 humidors with 40 cigars each are made

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