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Cohiba
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Cuban Cohiba
Cuban Cohibas are known to use some of the finest cigar
tobacco available in Cuba. The tobacco for Cohiba is selected
from the finest Vegas Finas de Primera (first-class tobacco
fields) in the San Luis and San Juan y Martinez zones of the
Vuelta Abajo region of Pinar del Rio Province. The tobacco
used to fill the cigars is unique among Cuban marques because
it undergoes a third fermentation process in barrels, which is
reputed to give it a smoother flavor than other cigars.
Originally all Cohibas were made at the El Laguito factory, a
converted mansion located on the outskirts of Havana. Later,
production of some Cohiba vitolas was expanded to other
factories.
History
Cohiba began with the cigars smoked by a bodyguard of Fidel
Castro's named Bienvenido "Chicho" Perez. Castro noticed he
often smoked a "very aromatic, very nice" cigar. When asked by
Castro what brand he smoked, he replied that it was rolled by
a friend of his who would give him some of these special
cigars as gifts.
The man in question was a cigar roller working at the La
Corona factory in Havana named Eduardo Rivera. 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 known as El Laguito (Spanish for
"the little lake"). Later, the factory became the first cigar
factory to be staffed entirely by women torcedoras (cigar
rollers).
In 1992, in comemoration of Christopher Columbus and his
voyage to the Americas, Habanos SA launched the first sizes in
what it calls the Linea 1492, with each size named for a
century that has passed since Columbus' discovery. The initial
launch included the Siglo I, Siglo II, Siglo III, Siglo IV,
and Siglo V, with a Siglo VI added in 2002. A long-standing
rumor is that the original Linea 1492 was a replacement for
the Davidoff marque that recently ceased production in Cuba
(as each of the first five "Siglos" corresponded to a size in
the Davidoff line-up).
Outside of the regular production lineup, Habanos SA regularly
releases limited release Cohiba cigars for such events as the
annual Habanos Festival, brand anniversaries, and their annual
Edicion Limitada release of limited edition special sizes of
their various cigar brands wrapped in a darker vintage leaf.
Cohiba also produces two machine-made cigarillos: the Mini and
the Club.
As of 2006, Cohiba has released three different Edicion
Limitada Cohibas: the Piramide in 2001, the Double Corona in
2003, and the Sublime in 2004.
Vitolas in the Cohiba Line
The following list of the Cohiba marque includes the size in
inches and ring gauge with metric in parenthesis. Also, the
vitola de galera or factory name of that size is included
along with its popular size name in American cigar vocabulary.
La Linea Clasica
Lancero - 7 1/2" x 38 (192 x 15.08 mm) Laguito No. 1, a long
panetela
Corona Especial - 6" x 38 (152 x 15.08 mm) Laguito No. 2, a
panetela
Panetela - 4 1/2" x 26 (115 x 10.32 mm) Laguito No. 3, a
cigarillo
Exquisito - 4 7/8" x 36 (125 x 14.29 mm) Seoane, a cigarillo
Robusto - 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a robusto or
rothschild
Esplendido - 7" x 47 (178 x 18.65 mm) Julieta, a churchill
La Linea 1492
Siglo I - 4" x 40 (102 x 15.87 mm) Perla, a tres petit corona
Siglo II - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Siglo III - 6 1/8" x 42 (155 x 16.67 mm) Corona Grande, a long
corona
Siglo IV - 5 5/8" x 46 (143 x 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda, a corona
gorda
Siglo V - 6 3/4" x 43 (170 x 17.07 mm) Dalia, a lonsdale
Siglo VI - 5 7/8" x 52 (150 x 20.64 mm) Caronazo, a toro
Edicion Limitada Releases
Piramide (2001) - 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm) Piramide, a
pyramid or torpedo
Double Corona (2003) - 7 5/8" x 49 (194 x 19.45 mm) Prominente,
a double corona
Sublime (2004) - 6 1/2" x 54 (164 x 21.43 mm) Sublime, a large
toro
Special Releases
Millennium Reserve Piramide - 6 1/8" x 52 (156 x 20.64 mm)
Piramide, a pyramid or torpedo
Cigar
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