Cigars didn’t become what they are overnight. The traditions, rituals, and standards we recognize today were shaped over centuries of exploration, craftsmanship, trade, and cultural exchange. As part of our Cigar Academy, this Cigar History hub explores where cigars came from, how they evolved, and why certain regions, techniques, and moments still matter today.
Understanding the history of cigars, means taking a look at Altadis, because it gives us a behind-the-scenes view of one of the most influential companies in the modern cigar industry. While many cigar smokers recognize the names on the band, fewer...
Cigar Aficionado is the magazine, launched in 1992 by Marvin R. Shanken, that pulled cigar smoking out of the back room and turned it into a recognized culture, helping fuel the 1990s boom with ratings, blind tastings, and celebrity covers....
As the cigar world expanded beyond Cuba, the industry didn’t just change geography, it changed how people thought about cigars. New countries, new tobaccos, and new factories reshaped what premium cigars could be. Some brands chased growth and novelty. Others...
The 1990s cigar boom was the surge of cigar smoking that swept the United States from roughly 1992 to 1997, when premium cigars jumped from a quiet niche to full-blown mainstream culture. After years of flat interest, they turned up...
General Cigar is one of the oldest and largest cigar companies in the United States, founded in 1906 in New York City and known today for premium brands like Macanudo, Partagas, Punch, and non-Cuban Cohiba. Its real story is continuity:...
The history of Consolidated Cigar is the story of how the American cigar industry learned to scale, transitioning from small, regional factories into a coordinated national business capable of surviving shifting tastes, political disruptions, and massive fluctuations in demand. At...
Oliva Tobacco is one of the world's largest growers and suppliers of premium cigar leaf, built by a Cuban family that started farming tobacco in the late 1800s and rebuilt from scratch outside Cuba after the revolution. It's not a...
For more than a century, Cuban cigars have been regarded as the gold standard of the cigar world. That reputation was built on exceptional tobacco, skilled craftsmanship, and a deep connection to Cuban history and culture. Behind that legacy stands...
World War II reshaped nearly every aspect of modern life, from industry and technology to culture and daily routine. As nations mobilized at an unprecedented scale, tobacco became woven into military life, this time through a fully industrialized war effort...
Cigar history isn’t about nostalgia, it’s about perspective. Understanding where cigars came from helps explain why they’re made the way they are today, from construction techniques and tobacco selection to burn behavior, flavor development, and aging traditions.
Over centuries, certain regions, methods, and standards earned their place through consistency and craftsmanship, not trends. Early systems of quality control and refinement shaped how cigars were rolled, evaluated, and traded long before modern brands existed. Many of the expectations cigar smokers still hold today trace directly back to these foundations.
These historical guides explore the people, places, and moments that helped define the cigar as we know it. Whether you’re new to cigars or years into the hobby, understanding the history behind the cigar adds depth to every smoke, giving context to the rituals, traditions, and techniques that continue to shape the experience today.
