<ul class="summary-list"><li>A box of good quality Habanos can cost thousands of dollars.</li><li>Every hand-rolled <keyword id="1252420" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cuban-cigar">Cuban cigar</keyword> goes through about 500 manual tasks from seed to cigar.</li><li>Some experts suggest that up to 95% of all Cuban <keyword id="185809" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="cigars">cigars</keyword> in the US are actually fake.</li></ul>Below is a transcript of the <keyword id="21654" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="video">video</keyword>:Narrator: Cuban cigars hold a reputation as the world's most opulent <keyword id="6361871" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tobacco">tobacco</keyword> product. A box of good-quality Habanos can cost thousands of dollars. Every hand-rolled <keyword id="16815" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cuba">Cuba</keyword>n cigar goes through about 500 manual tasks from seed to cigar. But over the last 25 years, cigars made in other countries in the Caribbean and Central America have become comparable in quality, consistency, and cost. Worse still for American smokers, your Cuban cigar could be fake. Some experts suggest that up to 95% of all Cuban cigars in the US are actually counterfeit. So why are Cuban cigars so desirable? And is that why they're so expensive? For more than 200 years, the culture of cigar making in Cuba hasn't changed. In a process that takes about a year, tobacco leaves are grown, harvested, and hung in drying houses called secaderos before a slow fermentation occurs, which enhances flavor, aroma, and burning characteristics. Each leaf is inspected for its type, appearance, and quality and handed to a torcedor, a highly skilled cigar roller, greatly respected in Cuban society.José Castelar Cairo: "My name is José Castelar Cairo. I work here in La Triada. I have been a cigar maker for 61 years. To make cigars here in Cuba, we depend on five types of leaves: a leaf that is called ligero, which is the one that gives strength in the cigar; another leaf that is called seco, the one with the aroma; another leaf is called volado, which is in charge of the combustion inside the cigar. It is followed by the binder that wraps the ligero, seco, and volado. And the last leaf is the wrapper, which is what I am doing, is the one that dresses the cigar, and the wrapper gives presence to the cigar."Narrator: The heartland of Cuban cigar production is in Pinar del Río, the westernmost province of the island, where 70% of premium cigar tobacco used by state-run cigar companies is grown. Cuban tobacco growers claim that the fundamental influence on quality is the region's terroir, the unique environmental factors that affect a crop.Richey Morin Rico: "The first thing to be considered as the best cigar in the world is that four factors make it unique. It is the soil where it is grown, the climate of the region where it is grown, the manual labor, and the variety of black tobacco used. I know that they have tried to take the strain many times, have tried to take the seed, and have tried to take the workmanship. Still, in all the places where they have put it with similar conditions, it has not been achieved in the same way."Narrator: But some cigar connoisseurs now argue that cigars from countries like Nicaragua and Dominican Republic, which the industry calls New World cigars, have become both desirable and reliable in the market.Mitchell Orchant: The offering has become improved incredibly. The presentations are excellent, the blending is excellent, the construction's excellent. In very general terms, New World cigars are better quality than Havana cigars because they have better quality-control procedures. Havana have been very much behind the curve on quality control. I would say, on an average box of Cuban cigars, 25 cigars, it's not unusual to get three that are unacceptable in terms of quality, usually in terms of construction more than blending. Whereas on an average box of 25 New World cigars, I would expect all 25 to be absolutely perfect.Narrator: Despite the flaws in quality control, Mitchell, who's an expert in vintage Habanos, still prefers Cuban cigars.Orchant: I would say I smoke eight Havana cigars to two New World cigars, and I absolutely adore Havana cigars. However, I very much appreciate New World cigars as well. It's nice to mix it up because there really isn't better, there's only different. So, you know, it's not a case of "Cuban cigars are the best." They're the best for me; they're the best for a lot of people. But 40% of our customers, the best is New World for them. So it's just personal preference.Narrator: In addition to quality, there are a few fundamental factors that determine the price of all cigars. Firstly, the size, measured in both length and diameter. Generally speaking, the larger the cigar, the more expensive it is. Secondly, the vitola, differently shaped cigars which take extra time and consideration when rolling. Thirdly, the age. The longer a cigar has aged, intensifying the depth of flavor and aroma, the more precious it becomes. But lastly, and most importantly, is the branding.Habanos is the corporation, part-owned by the Cuban government, that controls the worldwide commercialization of all Habanos cigar brands. All Habanos cigars are made in Cuba, but not every Cuban cigar qualifies as a Habano. The state-owned company issues Protected Denomination of Origin approval for a selection of brands whose cigars it claims are manufactured to the most stringent quality-control standards. To protect against counterfeiting, Habanos only exports to selected companies in each country.The only nation it does not sell to is the United States, which hasn't allowed the import of Cuban cigars since the 1962 embargo actioned by President John F. Kennedy, who just hours before signing the decree banning all Cuban products from the United States ordered his press secretary to buy over 1,000 Cuban cigars. Not only did this ban increase the desire for authentic Cuban cigars for American smokers, but it also created a booming black market for smuggled and counterfeit cigars.Orchant: There's just so many fakes around in the US. You can't buy Cuban cigars and get them shipped into America. It's illegal for the Americans. And therefore, I don't know where they're buying from, unscrupulous people. Maybe the fake situation has declined a little bit since Obama opened up that you could travel, purchase Cuban cigars, and bring them in personally if you've been on a holiday somewhere, you know, I think you could bring in up to $800, I think. And above that you can bring in whatever you want and pay a very small amount of duty. So it may have improved slightly, but I would say probably 95% of the cigars that are supposed to be Cuban cigars that I've observed, quite simply are very bad fakes.Narrator: Despite being the only country that cannot legally import Cuban varieties, the US is still the top cigar-consuming country, by a considerable margin. The cigar industry has grown substantially worldwide in the last 20 years, and research has previously predicted the market would reach $21 billion by 2025. But cigar traders have long questioned Cuba's supply capabilities, an issue made even more problematic amidst a global pandemic.Orchant: Can Cuba continue to supply as much as we need to feed the demand of our customers, from agricultural problems to shipping issues recently due to coronavirus slowing down all the shipping lanes? Will that ultimately feed through to the market by prices increasing or discounts reducing? That remains to be seen, but I think that's the more likely scenario.Narrator: As with any consumable, taste and enjoyment are subjective. Considering its depiction as a status symbol in society for over a century, it's reasonable to say that the allure of Cuban cigars is somewhat based on prestige. And although high prices are fetched for some Habanos, particularly where outlawed in the United States, in recent years all variety of premium cigar have become uniformly priced. Nonetheless, despite an increasing appetite for cigars from other countries, some connoisseurs will insist that the most authentic smoke comes only from Cuban cigars.

Why Cuban cigars are so expensive

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/39421033.cms" /> If hobbies were ever to be differentiated according to class, then smoking a cigar would be among the elite list, and to get a word of mouth for it ask the Cubans. Cigars have always been an insignia of power, wealth and social status, overpowering its counterpart cigarettes by great lengths. Regular smokers normally can’t afford cigars because of the hefty price-tag it bears. Here is a list of the top 10 most <keyword id="2453646" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Expensive-Cigars">expensive cigars</keyword> in the world: 
This article is written by Biswajit Bhattacharya.

10 Most Expensive Cigars

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Chris Pratt and his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger had a baby, Eloise, in May 2022.</li><li>The actor said he smoked cigars with his father-in-law, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to celebrate.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/chris-pratt-best-and-worst-movies-ranked-photos">Chris Pratt</a> is already having a very busy year with <a href="https://www.insider.com/super-mario-bros-movie-chris-pratt-totally-gets-casting-backlash-2023-3">"The Super Mario Bros. Movie"</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-3-super-bowl-trailer-2023-2">"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"</a> arriving in theaters within a month of each other, but he's also found time to relax with his family.The star <a href="https://www.insider.com/chris-pratt-katherine-schwarzenegger-relationship-timeline-2019-6">married his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, back in 2019</a> and in May 2022 they celebrated the birth of their second child, Eloise Christina Schwarzenegger Pratt. Pratt's wife, Katherine, is the daughter of famous bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the "Guardians" star recently told "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" what it's like having Arnie as his father-in-law. Pratt pointed out that Schwarzenegger isn't called grandpa in the family, explaining: "He goes by Opa. You know, he's Austrian. German. Opa is 'grandfather' in German. So he goes by Opa."When Fallon said that Schwarzenegger taught him how to smoke a cigar, Pratt said that he couldn't say no to smoking with <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-arnold-schwarzenegger-movies-of-all-time-ranked-2019-10">"The Terminator" and "Total Recall" star</a>.He said: "Yeah, he kind of taught me too. I mean there's nothing manlier than Arnold Schwarzenegger smoking a cigar. And when you're part of, you know, bringing his granddaughter into the world, he comes and brings you a cigar. And he's like, 'Let's go out and smoke these.'"Pratt said that although he has asthma, he wasn't going to turn Arnold down. He said: "And I was like, 'Okay,' but I have asthma so I don't like cigars. And I was like, 'You got it, Arnold!' And Katherine's like, 'What are you doing?' I was like, 'I'm fine, I'm gonna be okay.'"Pratt joked that he played it off cool, but he woke up the next morning not feeling too great. The star said: "So, I go and smoke the cigar and I'm like, 'This is good. Hmm. Oh, yeah. Cohiba? Nice.' And then woke up the next day. Massive lung infection."He added: "There's peer pressure, and then there's Arnold Schwarzenegger pressure."<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B4Q92lKA7TY" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Chris Pratt says he got a lung infection after smoking cigars with Arnold Schwarzenegger

<ul class="summary-list"><li>EXCLUSIVE: A firm that gave £21,500 to Tory MPs received support from a senior minister.</li><li><keyword id="8889916" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="oliver-dowden">Oliver Dowden</keyword>, the culture secretary, spoke at the virtual launch of IX Wireless's network.</li><li>James Wharton, a Conservative peer and donor, is a director of the firm's controlling company.</li></ul>A telecoms company that gave more than £20,000 to Conservative MPs benefitted from the ringing endorsement of a senior UK Cabinet minister, Insider can reveal. Oliver Dowden, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), appeared at a virtual launch event for IX Wireless's broadband network in Blackburn, England, in early June.Dowden's department is responsible for the UK communications regulator, Ofcom.On Wednesday, seven Conservative backbench MPs <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/210712/Updates%20-%2029%20June%20-%2012%20July%202021.pdf">declared a total of £21,500 in donations</a> from IX Wireless between January and July 2021. Dowden was not one of them.Here are two entries Wednesday showing the donations:<div type="image" title="IX Wireless donation record Matt Vickers" height="267" width="637" msid="84425255" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="IX Wireless donation record Simon Fell" height="501" width="794" msid="84425256" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://vimeo.com/558580845">In a promotional video released by IX Wireless</a>, Dowden can be seen in his ministerial office speaking with IX Wireless executives:<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/558580845?badge=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0"></iframe><a href="https://vimeo.com/558580845">IX Wireless Blackburn Launch</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/voyagercreative"></a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.They include its founder, the businessman Tahir Mohsan, and CFO Philip Walker.Dowden praised the firm and its Blackburn network, saying: "I am delighted to join you for the virtual opening of your Blackburn gigabit network, which is really going to provide some of the fastest broadband on the planet to tens of thousands of people across the North West.He describes its work as "part of this government's once-in-a-lifetime upgrade to the digital infrastructure.""I would like to really pay tribute to you and other alternative network providers in that mission, particularly in the North West. The Blackburn network has been built in only nine months and I know you have got very exciting ambitions to reach another 250,000 premises this year and to reach 4 million premises by 2025."Dowden's claim the network had only been built in only nine months is at odds with previous releases from the firm, which first announced the network in mid-2019, <a href="https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/06/ix-wireless-and-6g-internet-launch-blackburns-new-gigabit-network.html">ISPreview reported</a>.Dowden tied the company's work in with the government's wider "leveling up" agenda, saying: "I think this is some of the most important work that we are doing in government, particularly in our bid to level up the north and the rest of the UK."Dowden said he hopes to support the company in the future "through many many more moments just like this."<a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11009144">Companies House records</a> show IX Wireless is controlled by <a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12498967/officers">Cohiba Communications</a>. One of Cohiba's three directors is James Wharton, a former Conservative MP who now sits in the House of Lords as a Tory peer.Wharton's entry on the House of Lords's register of interests says he is<a href="https://members.parliament.uk/member/4123/registeredinterests"> providing consultancy services</a> to IX Wireless. Another of his clients is the firm Aquind, which has similarly made donations to Conservative MPs and gained the support of government ministers, as well as lobbying them, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/labour-demands-lord-frost-produce-letters-to-tory-donor-alexander-temerko-527j0qncf?utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=16262611491149">The Times of London reported</a>.Wharton is also the chair of the Office for Students and has made <keyword id="1186610" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Political-donations">political donations</keyword> to the <keyword id="107792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Conservative-party">Conservative party</keyword> while claiming furlough support from the government, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-peer-lord-wharton-donation-to-conservative-party-furlough-payments-2021-6">Insider has previously reported</a>.Most of the MPs who received funds from IX Wireless represent constituencies near <a href="https://www.ixwireless.co.uk/network">the area the firm are planning to build their network</a> in northwestern England.But one MP, Matt Vickers, holds a constituency on the other side of the country - Wharton's former seat of Stockton South.Anneliese Dodds MP, chair of the opposition Labour Party, told Insider: "Boris Johnson's decision to reward James Wharton with a peerage continues to pay off for the Conservatives."This isn't the first time we've heard about companies with links to Johnson's chum dishing out cash to Tory MPs."Day after day we hear of new cases of Tory sleaze. The Conservatives have to clean up their act and put an end to this grubby cronyism."Steve Goodrich, Head of Research and Investigations at Transparency International UK told Insider: "When elected to Parliament, it is critical our representatives scrupulously avoid any activity that could give the perception of being in the pocket of vested interests."Donations from companies and wealthy individuals have the potential to create conflicts of interest if the concerns of MPs' financial backers are at odds with those of their constituents."Voters need to be able to trust that decisions are always being taken in the public interest and not on the basis of a commercial relationship."A DCMS spokesperson told Insider: "We work closely with the telecoms sector to boost digital connectivity and level up the country and Ministers regularly support industry announcements."This event was handled by the department in the usual way and the Secretary of State has no personal connection to the company in question."Insider asked DCMS if Dowden was aware of the links to Conservative Party figures or donations when he launched the network, but the department did not respond to this question.Insider contacted Wharton and IX Wireless but did not receive a comment by time of publication.

A UK Cabinet minister endorsed a telecoms firm that gave £21,500 to Conservative MPs

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> has become the <a href="https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/china-becomes-no-1-market-for-cuban-cigars">world's biggest market for Cuban cigars</a>, overtaking Spain.</li><li>Sales in China have grown more than 50% in the past 6 years, Cuba's state cigar company, Habanos, said this week. </li><li>A box of hand-rolled Cuban cigars - considered the best in the world - can <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-are-cuban-cigars-so-expensive-2020-7">cost thousands of dollars.</a></li></ul>China has overtaken Spain to become the world's biggest market for pricey Cuban cigars, according to Habanos, Cuba's state-owned cigar company."For the first time in our history, <a href="https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/china-becomes-no-1-market-for-cuban-cigars">China has become our No. 1 market</a> in the world," Leopoldo Cintra González, Habanos' commercial vice president, said at a virtual press conference in Havana on Tuesday, as Cigar Aficionado reported.Sales in China have grown more than 50% in the past 6 years, according to Habanos. In 2020 alone, they were up 5%.Habanos has been eyeing opportunity in China in recent years. Habanos executive Jose Maria Lopez told China's Xinhua News Agency in 2018 that <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-02/27/c_137002981.htm">China was the company's "biggest emerging market</a> with a potential for growth that is already materializing year after year."In 2017, <a href="https://news.cgtn.com/news/7755444e79557a6333566d54/share_p.html">Habanos signed a deal</a> with the China National Tobacco Corporation to promote Cuban cigars and boost sales in China. China is <a href="https://www.who.int/china/health-topics/tobacco#:~:text=Tobacco%20in%20China&amp;text=There%20are%20more%20than%20300,world%20is%20smoked%20in%20China.ina.">home to more than 300 million smokers</a> - about one-third of the world's total - according to the World Health Organization.<div type="image" title="habanos cuban cigar" height="1531" width="2041" msid="82427688" hostid="261"></div>Despite rising sales in China, global <a href="http://www.habanos.com/en/noticias/habanos-s-a-mantiene-su-liderazgo-alcanzando-la-cifra-de-ingresos-totales-de-507-millones-en-el-2020/">Cuban cigar sales were down 4% last year</a> due to the pandemic, bringing revenue to $507 million, Habanos said in a statement. As a region, Europe is still Habanos' biggest market that makes up 60% of sales, followed by the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and then Africa and the Middle East. Cuba is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-are-cuban-cigars-so-expensive-2020-7">banned from selling its cigars to the US</a> since a 1962 trade embargo signed by President John F. Kennedy.Habanos' 27 cigar brands, which include Cohiba, Montecristo, and Partagas, are sold in more than 150 countries. Its hand-rolled cigars are considered the best in the world. Cigar makers say the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-are-cuban-cigars-so-expensive-2020-7">factors that make a Cuban cigar unique</a> are the soil where it's grown, the climate of the region where it's grown, the manual labor, and the variety of black tobacco used, Andy Ash reported for Insider last year. Each Habanos cigar goes through roughly 500 manual tasks in the process to go from seed to cigar.

China is now the world's biggest market for Cuban cigars

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55fa2d1a9dd7cc1c008bafb1-4096-3072/ap_774699794236.jpg" alt="AP_774699794236" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Andrew Harnik" data-mce-caption="Secret Service agents stand around a presidential limo as President Barack Obama arrives at McCarran International Airport." />AP Photo/Andrew HarnikSecret Service agents stand around a presidential limo as President Barack Obama arrives at McCarran International Airport.</div></div></div>During the CNN presidential debate Wednesday night, the Republican candidates were asked a light-hearted question about what their Secret Service code names might be.Their answers bordered on the absurd.Here they are:New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R): "True Heart."Ohio Gov. John Kasich R: "Unit One."Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina: "Secretariat."Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R): "Harley." ("I love riding Harleys," he noted.)Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R): "Ever Ready." (Taking a jab at the rival who frequently calls him a "low-energy person, Bush added: "It's very high energy, Donald.")Real-estate mogul Donald Trump: "Humble." ("That's a good one," Bush opined.) Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson: "One Nation."Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): "As a Cuban, I might go with 'Cohiba.'" (A cigar brand.) Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida): "Gator." (The University of Florida sports team.)Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R): "Duck Hunter." Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky): "Justice Never Sleeps." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/barack-obama-donald-trump-insults-white-house-correspondents-dinner-fox-news-2015-8">Obama has been getting the best of Trump for years</a></h3> <div> <div> <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="F5dXY4dzpedDTqGtZWvjQdvLnFUPnk3E" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> <script> if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; } RunFunctions.push(function() { var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'F5dXY4dzpedDTqGtZWvjQdvLnFUPnk3E',{ autoplay: 'false' }); }); </script> <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div> </div> <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script> </div>

You Searched For "Cohiba" and got 6 results

Why Cuban cigars are so expensive

Andy Ash

10 Most Expensive Cigars

Guest Author

Chris Pratt says he got a lung infection after smoking cigars with Arnold Schwarzenegger

Eammon Jacobs

A UK Cabinet minister endorsed a telecoms firm that gave £21,500 to Conservative MPs

Henry Dyer

China is now the world's biggest market for Cuban cigars

Katie Warren

The Republican candidates had some ridiculous suggestions for their Secret Service code names

Colin Campbell