Habanos

There are in the world just a few things that are known without question to be the best of their kind.

A Habano - or Havana cigar - is one of them.

In Cuba in 1492 the Spanish expedition commanded by Christopher Columbus saw tobacco for the first time in the New World. The Taino Indians rolled and burnt some mysterious leaves, which they called "Cohiba", in an unknown ceremony for the explorers. From that starting point more than five hundred years ago, tobacco has been traded and planted throughout the world. Since its discovery, Tabaco Negro Cubano or Cuban Black Tobacco has been considered the best in the world because of the unique growing conditions in some areas of the Island. This distinction remains incontestably valid after more than five centuries.

The heart of the distinction is the tobacco and its taste born of a combination of four factors that exist only in Cuba: the soil, the climate, the varieties of Cuban black tobacco seed and the know-how of the tobacco growers and cigar makers. Other places may have acquired some Cuban skills, even some Cuban seeds, but never the natural gifts of the Cuban soil and the Cuban climate. These you will find nowhere else.

Nor will you find anything that matches the centuries-old culture of cultivating Cuban tobacco: the extraordinary labour that the tobacco farmer invests in his crop; the months and years of patient waiting before his leaf is deemed fit for a Habano.

A further distinction lies in the definition of the term "Habanos". All Habanos are Cuban,but by no means all Cuban cigars are Habanos.

The title is the Denominación de Origen Protegida(D.O.P), or Protected Denomination of Origin reserved for a selection of the most outstanding brands whose cigars are manufactured to the most exacting standards from tobaccos grown only in particular areas, which are also protected as denominations of origin.

All Habanos are crafted Totalmente a Mano - totally by hand - using methods that were pioneered in Havana two centuries ago and remain virtually unchanged to this day.

More than 500 manual tasks are performed in both the agricultural and manufacturing processes from the planting of the seeds to the Habano's final resting place in its box.

Every cigar must pass through the most stringent quality control processes established by the Regulatory Council for the Protected Denomination of Origin (D.O.P) Habanos before they can earn the precious title of Habano.

Special Packing & Release of Cigar

Commemorative Humidors

Each year, commemorative humidors are released to commermorate special occasions or anniversaries. Commercially, they are available in limited quantities art a premium price to the general public. Humidors typically contain cigars in unique vitolas and bands that are exclusive to that particular humidor.

Reserve Series

In 2003, Habanos S.A. introduces the Reserve (Reserva) program.

A minimum of three years of aging is required for the tobacco that is used to make the cigars in this series.

In addition to the standard brands, the cigars have Reserva second brands, come packaged in special lacquered boxes, and are priced at a premium. The series is released every other year, alternately with Gran Reserva.

Grand Reserve Series

In 2009, Habanos S.A. introduced the Grand Researve (Gran Reserva) Series.

Spcially selected tobacco is aged a minimum of five years before the cigars are rolled.

In addition to the usual brands and numbered laquered boxes, these cigars feature specially designed Gran Reserva brands. Every second year, these are released alternately with the Reserva Series.

Habanos Selection Releases

The Habanos Selection (Selección Habanos) releases was introduced by Habanos S.A. in 2003. Every box consists of serval different cigars of the same sizes from different brands.

Habanos Collection

In 2001, Habanos S.A. introduced the Habanos Collection (Colección Habanos) series.

Presented in the form of a book, this series offers special cigars packaged in numbered boîte nature boxes. There were 10 cigars in the 2001 release, but since then most releases have contained 20 cigars. Between 300 and 2,000 books, each year have been released. The cigar brands are usually the standard brand bands.

The 11th edition of the series was composed of three cigars from each of the ten previous releases.

Aged Habanos Series

The new Aged Habanos (Habanos Añejados) series was announced by Habanos S.A. late in 2014.

After aging five to eight years in the box, these cigars are released. A Revisado stamp indicates that the cigars have ben inspected, along with the original roll date. Additional to their regular band, they wear a special Habanos Anejadas band.

These cigars in the this series were initially released twice per year, each with a unique vitola and a global brand. A single cigar was produced in 2016 before the program was discontinued.

Limited Edition Series

In 200, Habanos S.A. introduced the Limited Edition (Edición Limitada) Series. This series contains cigar vitolas that are different from current standard or regular production cigars.

In the early years of the program, four or five different Limited Edition cigars were released each year. Habanos S.A. may have underestimated the success of the Limited Edition concept in 2002 since they did not release any Limited Edition cigars, probably due to the late release of the 2001 cigars and the lack of suitable two-year-old wrapper tobacco. Most years (with a few exceptions) since 2005 there have been three cigars.

Generally, Limited Edition cigars have two brands: the standard production band for their brand and a second black on gold band with the text "Edición Limitada" and the release year. In 2000, the band did not include a date.

Regional Edition Series

In 2005, Habanos S.A. introduced the Regional Edition (Edición Regional) program. The series gives ditributors an opportunity to commission special exclusive cigars for their region annually.

Initially, cigars could not be commissioned from the ten premium Global and Niche brands worldwide. In 2019 there was a reorganisation of the brands, which eliminated the niche brand category, Cuba and San Cristóbal de la Habana have become eligible for Regional Editions. There have also been regional releases of discontinued brans, and in one instance a whole new brand was created.

Cigar must not already be available in that brand and be standard production factory sizes. There can be no cigars from the same brand in the same region for two consecutive years as of 2016. Distributors could commission as many cigars as they wanted until 2012. The number of cigars per region was subsequently limited, although large distributors can still commission multiple cigars by selecting different region within their territory.

Most Regional Edition cigars have two bands: the standard production band, and a special red and sliver band with the word "Exclusivo" and the name of the region in Spanish. The standard band may be replaced by a special one in some cases. There was no indication of the region in early releases, as they were released under a generic band.