The Importance of Origin?

If most cigar-producing countries blend tobacco from all over the world, why is the country of origin given so much weight in evaluating a cigar?

Posted: November 15, 2010

Country of origin often matters not at all.

In a country such as Cuba, where the tobacco used for cigars is 100 percent Cuban, the country of origin dictates the style of the cigar. This used to be the case in Mexico as well, though in recent years Mexican cigarmakers have begun to blend in leaf from other countries.

But in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and, to a lesser degree, Nicaragua, the fact that the cigar is made there has little to do with its style. Historically, Dominican cigars have been milder than Honduran cigars, but today there are so many exceptions that this rule is nearly obsolete. Today, a cigarmaker in Honduras may use not a leaf of Honduran tobacco—same for the Dominican Republic, same for Nicaragua.