Famous Cigars
One might envision that the world's first cigars hail from Spain or that this ever-popular vice was a creation of the cigar-loving French. But the truth of the matter is that before there were cigars in Europe, tobacco had to be brought in from the New World where Native Americans had cultivated it for millennia. Sailors accompanying explorer Christopher Columbus on expeditions to Central America brought the first tobacco back to the European continent, and the tobacco craze was born. Notably, Christopher Columbus himself was not fond of the elusive plant or the smoke that it emitted. Nonetheless, tobacco was a big hit and the fashionable way to smoke it was rolled into a cigar. Many family dynasties have been made through the cultivation of tobacco for cigars and the sale of the cigars themselves. These "cigar families" have built enormous amounts of wealth that becomes a birthright that is passed down from father to son (and in some cases, daughter) along with the craft of making famous cigars.
Cigar Families
A cigar family is used to describe generations of a particular family who manufacture and distribute (premium) famous cigars. Perhaps the most influential and recognized cigar families in the world are the Arturo Fuente (Dominican Republic) and J.C. Newman (Tampa, Florida, USA) families; in fact, these two families hold registered trademarks to the term "cigar family" which is used as a distinguishing and identifying trademark for both their famous cigars and their charitable foundations. The Fuente cigar family has been offering their high end cigars since 1916 and is still family run. And even large conglomerate cigar manufacturers Swedish Match and Altadis leave the oversight of their productions to cigar families headed up by Ernesto Perez-Carillo and Benjamin Menendez, respectfully - producing cigars around the world from Honduras to Germany and the United States. Most modern day cigar manufacturers purport to have some relation to well-established old cigar families. Other notable cigar families include:
- the Edgar M. Cullman family operating General Cigar Company in New York, NY, USA
- the Zino Davidoff family operating Davidoff et Cie in Geneva, Switzerland
- the Frank Llaneza family operating Villazon and Company in Tampa, FL, USA
- the Angel Oliva family operating Oliva Cigar Company in Miami Lakes, FL, USA
-the Leon family, producing famous La Aurora cigars in the Dominican Republic
These are but a handful of premium cigar families throughout the world. So the next time that you light up your favorite famous cigar, remember the family tradition and craftsmanship that went into making it!
Authored by: Daniel Beckitt and Geoff O'Neill
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com
