The Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is the world's largest handmade cigar manufacturer. Although its cigar making tradition is very old, production was boosted in the 1960's with the Cuban embargo. American cigar companies and exiled Cubans, aided by the recent opening of free zones, set up their factories in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros. Later, some European companies came as well. During the 1990's cigar boom, factories grew like mushrooms, both in size and in number. The situation is now back to normal. Dominican cigar rollers and bunchers are very skillful, making well-constructed cigars of all shapes. Dominican cigars, made with a mix of domestic and imported tobaccos, offer the full range of strengths. They are exported all around the world, mainly to the USA and Western Europe. Honduras The cigar industry in Honduras started with tobacco growing and was developed by Cubans and American companies. Factories are located in Danli and San Pedro Sula. Honduran cigars are well made and are exported mainly to the USA. They are becoming very popular in Europe. Honduran cigars, made with domestic and imported tobaccos, offer the full range of strengths. Mexico As with many Latin American countries, Mexico has a strong tobacco and cigar industry that has diversified its production by introducing the growth of light wrapper tobacco seed. Mexican cigars are mainly sold on the domestic market and exported to the USA. The Philippines The Philippines has a very long tradition in cigar manufacturing, set by the Spanish before 1900. Made with locally grown tobacco, the cigars are very mild, which is probably the reason why they lose their popularity. Many prefer them because they are an easy smoke. |
