Cigars seem to incorporate a dizzying array of tobaccos, but in fact, the range – from a
scientific standpoint – is quite small. Steve Saka’s brilliant article, “Black Tobacco” in the Spring 2006 issue of Cigar Magazine notes the origins and history of what is now cigar tobacco:
Tobacco originated in South America in the mountainous Andes region of what is now Ecuador and Peru. Part of the Solanaceae family, which also includes eggplant,
petunias, potatoes and tomatoes, scientists have specified 66 types of tobacco, only two of which are
smokable. These types of tobacco have been cultivated since perhaps 5000
B.C.E.
The two smokable types of tobacco were named by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in
1753 as Nicotiana rustica Linnaeus and Nicotiana tabacum Linnaeus. The Nicotiana
tabacum type is the one we know today that is used for almost all smoking tobacco.
Within the Nicotiana tabacum family, there are multiple sub-species, including blonde,
burley and Oriental that are fire-cured or flue-cured and used for cigarettes and black, which
is air-cured and used for cigars.
And Saka notes that “While black tobaccos can be grown almost anywhere, they typically thrive
in a sandy loam of volcanic soil in a hot, humid climate. Their leaves’ robust flavors, aromas and
nicotine content maker them suitable for smoking without inhalation; their smoke is to be
enjoyed for its taste and aroma alone.” What about the different kinds of tobacco grown for cigars today? Saka lists five basic types
from five different regions, noting that the wide experimentation with tobacco has led to literally
thousands of individual strains of black tobacco:
Bahia: this is grown in Brazil and is one of the oldest native-seed tobaccos.
Broadleaf: widely grown, especially in the U.S., this style resulted from the migration of
natives from the Andes area into North America.
Habanesis Hybrids: these styles developed from seeds brought to Cuba from Mexico in 1534
and form the base of the “Cuban seed” tobacco family.
San Andres Negro: planted in Mexico and was cultivated by the Aztecs.
Sumatran: originally planted on the Indonesian island of Sumatra from seeds brought by
Dutch explorer and traders of the 1500s.
Within these varieties, there has been endless experimentation and development of the types of
tobacco (some of which have the same names as those listed above) we know today:
Arapiraca, grown in Brazil from the Bahia type.
Besuki, grown in the Jember region of Java in Indonesia. Saka notes that there are two types
of Besuki: “Vroege oogst” (VO) which is Dutch for “early harvest” and “No oogst” (NO) or
“late harvest.”
Broadleaf, grown in the Windsor, Connecticut area since being brought to the area by B.P.
Barbour in 1833. It’s sun-grown and stalk-cut and is one of the most popular leaves used for
maduro wrappers.
Cameroon, planted in that West African country beginning in the 1950s by Jean Masseran of
France’s SEITA and revived in the 1990s by the late Rick Meerapfel of CETAC. Saka
reports that in 2003, Cameroon tobacco was planted outside the country for the first time, in
Ecuador.
Connecticut Shade, grown in the Connecticut River Valley for wrapper, mostly under shade
(hence the term, “Connecticut Shade”) since its development in 1906.Seeds of this style have
been widely planted and cultivated elsewhere, especially in Ecuador and Honduras.
Connecticut Sun-Grown is, in fact, grown in Connecticut and traces its lineage back to Cuba
of the 1870s. Saka writes that this style is also called “Havana Seed” and “Medio Tiempo.”
Corojo, a style of tobacco created by the Cubans in the 1940s from breeding of Criollo plants
at the El Corojo Vega and grown in Cuba for wrapper until 1997. It was replaced by more
disease-resistant types in Cuba, but is widely planted in Honduras, Nicaragua and elsewhere.
Corojo 99, developed in Cuba for wrapper leaf in 1999, but also widely planted in Ecuador
and elsewhere.
Criollo, referring to “native-seed” tobaccos in any location; the Cubans referred to the
tobacco grown on their island as “Criollo” and the specific strain we know as Criollo today
was developed there in 1941. It’s also grown in other countries such as Honduras and
Nicaragua.
Criollo 98/Criollo 99, both developed in Cuba as more disease-resistant version of the
standard Cuban Criollo plant. The C98 is also planted in Honduras and Nicaragua today.
Habana 2000, developed in Cuba in 1992 to be more resistant to disease than the Corojo it
was designed to replace, this style found favor when planted by Nestor Plasencia, Sr. in
Nicaragua in 1996. It’s widely used for wrapper today. It is also planted in Honduras
and Mexico.
Isabela, grown in the Philippines and quite mild.
Mata Fina/Mata Norte/Mata Sul, all grown in Brazil from the Bahia type.
Olor, native to the Dominican Republic and quite mild.
Piloto Cubano, grown in the Dominican Republic in many varieties. Saka reports that Carlos
Torano, Sr. is widely credited with being the first to plant tobacco in the Cibao Valley of the
Dominican Republic with seeds brought from Cuba after he left in 1960.
San Andres, grown in Mexico from ancient seeds in the San Andres Valley. This type of
tobacco is also grown in Costa Rica.
San Vicente, grown in the Dominican Republic, reportedly from seeds from the San Vicente
farm in Cuba and less powerful in flavor and aroma than Piloto Cubano.
Sumatra, originally from Indonesia but now widely planted elsewhere, notably in Ecuador
and Mexico.
Tembakau Bawah Naungan or TBN, developed in the 1980s and grown under shade in
Indonesia for wrappers. It’s a crossbreed of the Besuki and Connecticut styles.
Vorstenlanden, grown in Indonesia on the island of Java. Wrapper leaf shade-grown from
this seed is also known as VBN.
Experimentation continues worldwide with tobacco. A lively leaf developed in Peru by Altadis
U.S.A. is becoming popular for filler and a project in Costa Rica at the Tabacos de la Cordillera
complex is planting tobaccos from ancestral seeds from Cuba from the 1940s and 1950s!
However, as Saka writes, “While uniformity is the norm in other tobacco varieties, uniqueness is
the trademark of black tobaccos. The same exact black tobacco seed grown in two different
locales results in plants that, while similar, are oftentimes drastically different in flavor, body
and aroma. The difference between a seed grown in the sun-bright tropics of Indonesia versus
the same seed grown in the cloud-covered valleys of Ecuador is vast. For all practical purposes,
they are two entirely different black tobaccos, to the point that it is hard to believe they come
from the same seed strain. These wide-ranging differences do not require the separation of
continents to be apparent; vegueros will often remark how the exact same tobacco grown on one
side of the road is different than the leaf grown on the other.”
