Cohiba

The story of one of the most coveted and prestigious cigar brands in the world.

Cohiba is a post-Revolutionary brand, which was officially registered in 1966. However, its origins date back three years earlier, in 1963, when Bienvenido Pérez, head of Fidel Castro's close guard after the revolution, offered him a "fuma" (rolled cigar for personal use) rolled by his friend Torcédor working at the La Corona factory in Havana, Eduardo Rivera.

"El Líder máximo" was immediately seduced by this cigar and asked Torcedor to produce more of them so that he could offer them to government, national and foreign personalities and of course for his personal consumption. Thus, in 1964, a small cigar factory in the hinterland was appointed to take charge of the production of these cigars, which was then to become the Laguito No.1. In 1966, during a discussion between Bienvenido Pérez and his assistant, the name Cohiba came up to baptise this vitola. This was to pay homage to the name given to the cigars smoked by the Tainos, an Amerindian ethnic group that occupied Cuba at the time of Christopher Columbus.

Following this, the production of Cohiba cigars was transferred to an old villa built by an English industrialist in the 1920s: El Laguito. From the outside, El Laguito is without doubt the most beautiful cigar factory in Havana and perhaps even in the world. The two-storey villa is majestic and stands amidst tall, sturdy palm trees in a sumptuously landscaped park. In fact, a year after the factory opened, Zino Davidoff, who obtained permission from Cubatabaco to create cigars in his name, decided to transfer the production of the Davidoff Château range to El Laguito because of the experience of the Torcédores who work there.

Although it is one of the newest Habano factories, El Laguito is not one of the least traditional. In fact, its creation has involved long experience and generations of knowledge and expertise in the art of cigar rolling to give birth to the best Habanos.

It was not until 1969 that the first band appeared on Cohiba cigars.

The brand was therefore born in 1966 but remained for many years, destined to be offered as a diplomatic gift. It was only in 1982 that the brand began to be exported to various countries. Today, Cohiba is one of the most prestigious cigar brands in the world and is coveted by the most demanding aficionados.

All Cohiba vitolas are rolled "Totalmente a Mano con Tripa Larga" with a long filler made of the best tobacco leaves from the region of Vuelta Abajo. The Seco and Ligero filler leaves undergo a third exclusive fermentationin casks. This very special recipe, of which you can see the original recipe documents dated 1966 (see photo), gives an aroma and flavour that can only be found in Cohiba vitolas.

The brand now offers four different lines: the Linea Classica, introduced in 1989, made up of seven cigars (Coronas Especiales, Espléndidos, Exquisitos, Lanceros, Panetelas, Pirámide Extra and Robustos), the Línea 1492, introduced in 1992, consisting of six vitolas (Siglo I, II, III, IV, V, VI, each bearing the name of a century since the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus), the line Maduro 5, introduced in 2007, composed of three cigars (Genios, Mágicos and Secretos) and the line Behike (BHK), introduced in 2010, consists of three cigars (Behike 52, 54, 56).

Thanks to this constant innovation, Cohiba is still the leading brand in the world of cigars, having been the first to introduce a Reserva edition in 2002 and a Gran Reserva in 2009, made with tobacco leaves aged for at least 3 and 5 years respectively.

To learn more about Cohiba cigars and the history of the brand, we are delighted to invite you to our Art and Culture area, where you will find exclusive pieces - the original recipe documents for the different Cohiba cigars.

(Pieces from our private collection)

For more information, contact us on +41 22 552 2799