Cohiba is the flagship brand of Habanos.

It was created in 1966 for President Fidel Castro himself and was made at the then top-secret, but now world-famous, El Laguito factory. At first, it was only seen outside Cuba as gifts for heads of state and visiting diplomats.

Since 1982 Cohiba has been available in limited quantities to the open market.

The name is an ancient Taino Indian word for the bunches of tobacco leaves that Columbus first saw being smoked by Cuba’s original inhabitants – the earliest known form of a Habano.

The leaves for Cohiba are the “selection of the selection” from the 5 finest Vegas de Primera in San Juan y Martínez and San Luis districts of the Vuelta Abajo zone.

Uniquely amongst Habanos, up to three of Cohiba’s filler leaves, the seco, ligero, and the rare Medio Tiempo, undergo an additional fermentation in barrels. This unique process produces a special aroma and flavor you will only find in Cohiba.

Cohiba encompasses four different Líneas or Lines. First, there is the Línea Clásica, whose six sizes were introduced between 1966 and 1989. Then there is the Línea 1492, five sizes launched in 1992 to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in Cuba before one further size, the iconic Siglo VI, was added in 2002.