Juan Lopez
Depicts the rural landscape of Vuelta Abajo, Cuba's tobacco region.

The Origin of Cuba's Name

Cuba is the largest island among those floating in the Caribbean Sea.
It is the only socialist state in Latin America and has been subject to economic sanctions from the U.S. government for over 40 years.

This has a significant impact on the tobacco industry as well. Naturally, no Cuban cigars are imported into the United States, as Cuba wishes to export them but the U.S. refuses to import them.
Consequently, most Cuban cigars are exported to Europe. Spain, the former colonial power, accounts for approximately 40% of these exports.
Exports to Japan, which is experiencing a recent cigar boom (via Hong Kong), represent only 1% of the total.

The history of tobacco in Cuba is ancient. Long before Columbus discovered the island, the indigenous people of Cuba were rolling wild tobacco into cigars and smoking them.
The Taíno people are particularly famous, and their name is even used in cigar sizing. The name "Cuba" itself is said to derive from the Taíno word "Cubanacan," meaning "center place."

Ramon Allones
Green, an unusual color for cigar boxes, is Ramon Allones's symbolic color.

Brands Produced by the State-Owned Company

Tobacco cultivation as we know it today began during the Spanish colonial period. Currently, Cuba divides its tobacco-growing regions into five areas.

1) Vuelta Abajo
2) Semi Vuelta
3) Partido
4) Remedios
5) Oriente

Of these, the highest quality tobacco is produced in Vuelta Abajo and Semi Vuelta, located in Pinar del Río Province in western Cuba, and Partido, located in La Habana Province.

Rey del Mundo
True to its name, "King of the World," the packaging depicts animals symbolizing the five continents: horse for Europe, elephant for Asia, camel for Africa, dog for America, and goat for Oceania. A king, seated in a covered wagon, travels the world with a cigar in hand!

In present-day Cuba, there is only one state-owned company that produces cigars, similar to Japan's former public monopoly corporation. This company encompasses numerous brands.

Fifty percent of the shares of Habanos S.A., a semi-public company that exports all Cuban cigars, are held by Altadis (a company formed by the merger of the French state-owned Seita and the Spanish state-owned Tabacalera). This creates a power dynamic where consuming nations economically dominate the producing nation.

The manufacturing of export cigars primarily takes place in cigar factories in the capital, Havana. Major factories include "Partagás Factory" (producing Partagás, Ramon Allones, Bolivar, Gloria Cubana, etc.), "H. Upmann Factory" (producing Montecristo, H. Upmann, etc.), "La Corona Factory" (producing Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, etc.), and "El Laguito Factory" (producing Cohiba).

Mamoru Hiromi's Top Recommendation!

Ramon Allones
Specially Selected
(Box of 25 / ¥42,500)

Full-bodied yet smooth. It's at its peak flavor now, during the rainy season, when its taste has mellowed.