When Were Cigars Invented?
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The art of smoking tobacco has a long and rich history, going back thousands of years. In the modern day, you can have a choice of many different types of cigars from around the world. However, premium handmade Cuban cigars are both the oldest and most coveted option. They give you an authentic and historic smoking experience.
The history of cigars
The ancient Mayans smoked cornhusks filled with dry rolled tobacco leaves and snuffed tobacco for medicinal purposes from at least 2500 BCE. They referred to this as sikar, which is where our word ‘cigar’ originates.
Most of our records of tobacco history come from European explorers during The Age of Discovery. Christopher Columbus’ scouts in Cuba came across ‘men with half-burned wood in their hands and certain herbs to take their smokes […] and having lighted one part of it, by the other they suck, absorb, or receive that smoke inside with the breath’.* Columbus brought this tobacco back to Europe in 1492.
The popularity of tobacco
Tobacco became popular first in Spain, where it was referred to as tabaco and was mostly used as snus for medicinal purposes. During the late 16th and early 17th centuries, it began to spread in popularity to Portugal, France and Britain, eventually developing into a mass market product by the end of the 17th century.
Cigars as we know them were developed in Spain with Cuban tobacco in the early 18th century and they began to be produced in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. It wasn’t until the 19th century that they were produced in Britain and North America.
The rise of cigarettes in the 19th century overtook cigars in popularity, but cigars remained the preference for those who wanted a more luxurious smoking experience.
Cuban cigars remained the most popular and sought-after option, and from 1912, they gained their infamous seal, allowing them to stand out from their competitors. In the 1920s, they began to be machine-made to keep up with demand.
So, when you smoke a Cuban cigar, you are partaking in a tradition that goes back thousands of years. Discover our premium cigars for a truly luxurious smoking experience.
