The name
Cohiba Cuban Cigars derives from the ancient Taino Indian word for tobacco. It is the flagship brand of Habanos. The brand has a fascinating history as it was originally a private brand supplied exclusively to Fidel Castro and high-ranking officials in the Communist Party of Cuba and Cuban government. The
cuban cigars were often given as diplomatic gifts and they gradually developed a “cult” status. The brand was released commercially for sale to the public in 1982 with three vitolas. Three more were added in 1989. These make up the Linea Clasica range. A medium-flavored Linea 1492 range was brought out in 1992 to mark the five hundredth anniversary of Columbus' epic journey of discovery.
Cohiba began with the cigars smoked by Biénvenido Perez, one of Fidel Castro's bodyguards. Castro noticed that Perez often smoked a “very aromatic, very nice” cigar and when he enquired after the brand, Perez told him they were rolled by a friend of his who would give him some as a gift. The man in question was Eduardo Rivera, a cigar roller at the La Corona factory in Havana.
Castro approached Rivera about rolling cigars for him personally and set him up with five other rollers in a former diplomatic mansion in a suburb of Havana. The factory at El Laguito (The Little Lake) later became the first cigar factory to be entirely staffed by women. Historically, security at the factory was very tightly controlled. Amid rumours of a possible CIA assassination attempt using an exploding cigar, it made sense for Castro to smoke cigars manufactured under top-secret conditions. He is said to be very fond of the cuban cigars, especially the sizes that would become the Lancero and Corona Especial.
Cuban Cohibas are known to use some of the finest cigar tobaccos available in Cuba. The tobacco for them is selected from the first-class fields in the San Luis and San Juan y Martinez zones of the Vuelta Abajo region. The tobacco used to fill the Cohibas is unique because it undergoes a third fermentation process in barrels, to give it a smoother flavor than other cigars. The flavor tends towards medium to full-bodied.
