10th Century

Cigars were thought to have been invented by the ancient Mayans, who wrapped the tobacco in either palm or plantain leaves. In fact, an ancient Mayan pot from the 10th century depicts a Mayan man smoking one of these primitive cigars. While this clearly demonstrates that smoking was common at this time, it is not known just when the Mayans discovered the tobacco plant and its ability to be used for smoking purposes.

15th Century

Christopher Columbus and his men were the first Westerners to encounter tobacco in recorded history. Three of Columbus's crewmen, Rodrigo de Jerez, Hector Fuentes and Luis de Torres, during his 1492 journey, are said to have encountered tobacco for the first time on the island of Hispaniola, in what is present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic, when natives presented them with dry leaves that spread a peculiar fragrance. Tobacco was widely diffused among all of the islands of the Caribbean and was therefore also encountered in Cuba where Columbus and his men had settled. His sailors reported that the Taínos on the island of Cuba smoked a primitive form of cigar, with twisted, dried tobacco leaves rolled in other leaves such as palm or plantain. One of Columbus' lieutenants was particularly drawn to primitive cigar smoking and smoked every single day on the long journey back home.

17th Century

Columbus had claimed Cuba for Spain, and the Spanish soon cornered the nascent industry, mandating in the 17th century that all tobacco for export be registered in Seville; they later tightened their stranglehold on the market by forbidding Cuban growers to sell the crop to anyone but them — a monopoly that persisted until 1817.

19th Century

"If I cannot smoke in heaven, then I shall not go," Mark Twain declared.

By now cigars were exploding in popularity around the world. The U.S. consumed some 300 million cigars by the mid-19th century, and many Cuban cigar-makers migrated to nearby Florida, where Tampa became known as "Cigar City" by the early 20th century.

20th Century

King Edward VII, who, upon assuming the British throne in 1901, famously announced a break with the smoke-free policies of his mother Queen Victoria by uttering the words: "Gentlemen, you may smoke."

By now there were 80,000 cigar-making operations in the United States, most of them small, family-operated shops where cigars were rolled and sold immediately. Boxes of hand-rolled cigars bear the phrase totalmente a mano (totally by hand) or hecho a mano (made by hand). These premium hand-rolled cigars are significantly different from the machine-made cigars.

21st Century

Approximately fifty years ago, Castro's Communist revolution swept aside the hated Batista regime. The change was bad news for the U.S. Castro's regime, prompted the Bay of Pigs debacle, closed off a beautiful country with a vibrant music culture, and — possibly worst of all — triggered a 46-year-old trade embargo that has deprived Americans of Cuba's most prized export: its vaunted cigars. The ban has finally been lifted recently.

Today, we have many different types of cigars available to us. There are over a dozen different types of Parejo cigars, such as the Toro, Corona, and Carlota. Some Parejo cigars, such as the Churchill, Rothschild, and Lonsdale, were named after famous people who smoked publicly and thus helped to popularize cigars. Little cigars came along later.

LEADING CIGAR PRODUCING NATIONS

Cigars were originally produced only in Cuba and Cuban cigars were world-famous for their flavour and taste. However, other countries produce cigars as well, and cigar brands have their own unique taste and flavour. Almost every tobacco-producing nation in the world has their own internal production of cigars in several different brands and varieties.

LEADING CIGAR BRAND

Amongst The leading brands of Cigars from the Dominican Republic are – CASA LEONEL.