There are many versions on how Cohiba cigars were established as a brand. However, one of them has significantly more historical confirmations than the others, so let us stick to it.
Bienvenido "Chicho" Perez worked as a bodyguard of Fidel Castro. A famous dictator noticed that Perez preferred smoking a vary aromatic and nice cigar. Fidel Castro asked the bodyguard about the brand of the cigars he smoked. Perez said that these cigars were rolled by his friend who used to give them to the bodyguard as a special gift.
Eduardo Rivera was the man in question. He worked at the Havana La Corona factory, until Perez told Castro about him and Castro made Rivera roll cigars exclusively for the dictator. A former diplomatic mansion in Havana suburbs turned into a small cigar factory (starting with Rivera and five other rollers). Later it became known as the first cigar factory where only female cigar rollers were employed.
The brand received its present name - Cohiba - to represent the Taino word "cohiba" which means "tobacco". Historians claim Columbus started using the word "cohiba" instead of "tobacco" after visiting Cuba.
Cohibas were usually served only to Fidel Castro himself and to the high-ranking officials of the Cuban government. Quite often they were served as gifts to the foreign diplomats. Castro especially preferred long and thin Cohiba cigars which later became the Lancero and Corona Especial vitolas.
In 1982 Fidel Castro decided to make Cohibas available for public consumption. The brand was released in the premium segment to coincide with the football World Cup in Spain. At the very beginning, only three vitolas were available: -the Lancero, the Panetela and the Corona Especial. In 1989 the range was broadened by the Exquisito, the Esplendido and the Robusto. These six vitolas are often referred to as Linea Clasica.
In 1992, Habanos SA (which is the manufacturer of the original Cohibas) launched Linea 1492 to commemorate Christopher Columbus and his trip to discover both Americas. Each vitola in the line is named for a century coming after the great discovery. There are Siglo I, Siglo II, Siglo III, Siglo IV, Siglo V and Siglo VI.
Habanos SA also practises regular releases of the limited series of Cohiba cigars in coincidence to certain events. There is also Edicion Limitada line available where various Cohiba vitolas are represented wrapped in a somewhat darker vintage leaf.
Cohiba definitely remains "the King of Cubans". There are Cohibas produced in the Dominican Republic, some counterfeited Cohibas come from other places, but only Cuban varieties have that inimitable soul and flavor which made Columbus forger the word "tobacco" and use Cohiba instead.
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