Ted Hunt
Stogie-Cigar Capital of the World
Words by Ted Hunt
In the land of sunshine, oranges, tourism, retirees, alligators and pythons, there exists a rich tradition that goes far beyond the theme parks and countless rows of condominiums. Florida’s cigar industry, often overshadowed by more prominent industries and attractions, has quietly thrived, and the tradition of cigar making holds a significant place in the state’s history, culture and economy. So grab a stogie and let’s embark on a journey through the fascinating history of Florida’s cigar industry where hand rolling cigars is more than just a craft, it’s practically a competitive sport.
Lesson 101: The Tobacco Leaf
Cigar tobacco differs greatly from cigarette, pipe, chewing and snuff tobacco. Cigar tobacco is air cured and naturally aged. No chemicals or additives are used. A cigar is a roll of all-natural tobacco wrapped in a natural tobacco leaf. In contrast, cigarette tobacco and its wrapping paper and filters are processed with chemical additives. Pipe tobacco infuses additives for flavor, aroma and preservation. Chewing and snuff tobaccos use additives for flavor and sweetness. Hand-rolled cigar manufacturers take pride in using only pure, unadulterated tobacco where not a single leaf is chemically treated or artificially altered for taste. So voila! You’re now a tobacco aficionado.
Lesson 102: Cigar Tobacco History
In 1542, tobacco was first grown commercially in North America. For over 200 years, tobacco farming expanded and flourished. Tobacco seeds were imported from South America, and the tobacco leaf was used in pipes and snuff. Eventually cigar smoking began to catch on because cigars were cheaper and easy to make. Cigar hand rollers found that regular tobacco leaves were not suitable for cigars, so cigar tobacco farmers began importing seeds from Cuba because they produced tobacco that was sweeter and made for a better roll. They didn’t know it back then, but Cuban soil is rich in magnesium, calcium and iron which results in the perfect cigar tobacco. By 1895 there were approximately 42,000 cigar factories in the United States. Their combined output was millions of cigars each day.
Florida’s cigar tobacco industry began in the 1820s quite by accident. As early pioneers were crossing the Florida-Georgia border (today Gadsden County), one of their wagons broke down. They decided to stay put and began farming to support themselves. They soon realized the sandy soil was ideal for cotton and growing the Cuban tobacco seeds they brought along. As it turned out, the tobacco leaves were high-grade quality and perfect for cigar wrapping.
By 1845, Gadsden County was growing 1.2 million pounds of cigar tobacco and shipping it to the booming cigar making industry in the United States as well as overseas. Lots of money was being made: Lucky accident!
Cigar making in Key West dates to 1831 when William H. Wall opened a small factory that employed 50 workers from Cuba to hand roll cigars, using Cuban tobacco leaves. Other cigar factories followed and also brought over Cuban workers. Business was thriving until the Civil War. The North’s blockade around Florida stopped shipments of leaves from Cuba vital to the cigar factories, and the factories went under. After the war, factories re-opened and soon the demand for Key West cigars outpaced the supply.
In 1869 a cigar maker from Cuba, Vicente Martinez Ybor, fleeing the Cuban revolution between Spain and Cuba, came to the island and opened up a cigar factory. Other cigar factories quickly followed. Soon thousands of experienced cigar workers also fled the revolution to work in the Key West factories. These exiled rollers brought with them the secret art of cigar making, turning Florida into the epicenter of the American cigar industry. Hand-rolled cigars require precision and speed. Cigar making was not just a job to the workers, they thought of themselves as more of an artist than a worker. At its height in the 1880s, there were more than 100 cigar factories in Key West, producing millions of cigars per year. Key West became the largest producer of cigars in the United States.
Just as quickly as the cigar boom began in Key West, it quickly burned out. A fire in 1886 swept through the town and destroyed most of the cigar factories. A few stuck around, but Ybor moved his factory to Tampa. Here steamships would bring tobacco leaves from Cuba to be processed into cigars, then the railroad would take the product to major markets up North. The area around the cigar factories grew and became known as Ybor City. Immigrants came by the thousands to the booming town of Tampa in search of work. They came from Cuba, Italy, Spain and throughout Eastern Europe and Latin America. By 1910, there were 150 factories in the Tampa area employing more than 10,000 workers. Of the 50,000 residents of Tampa, 14,000 were Cuban, 7,500 were Spanish, and 1,500 were Italian. Many immigrants worked in the cigar factories, but many also started businesses to cater to the cigar industry and workers. They made cigar boxes, cigar wrappers and opened grocery stores, bakeries, clothing stores and established vegetable and dairy farms. Eventually Tampa cigars surpassed the production in Havana, Cuba. During its peak production years, there were over 200 factories employing 12,000 workers making over 700 million cigars a year: Tampa had become the Cigar Capital of the World.
The cigarette industry with its cheaper products, along with the Great Depression of 1929 began the decline of the cigar industry. When American men and women went off to war in World War II, the U.S. War Department furnished them cigarettes with their rations. By the end of the war, cigarettes had hooked thousands of ex-GIs and cigar sales spiraled downward.
In 1962 the Cuban trade embargo, as a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis, had the largest and most significant impact on the industry. It was now illegal to import Cuban tobacco into the United States. As a result, Tampa’s Ybor City closed most of its cigar manufacturers. Today there are about 50 factories that hand roll cigars in the U.S. Florida has the most factories with manufacturers in Miami, Tampa and Key West. These factories import their tobacco from several South American countries. To this day, it is still illegal to bring Cuban tobacco and cigars into the United States. The punishment can be fines and/or time in prison.
Florida’s cigar industry played a crucial role in shaping the state’s history, economic and cultural identity. Cigar-making became a cherished craft passed down through generations, and cigar workers formed tight-knit communities. Florida’s cigar factories employed thousands of workers, providing stable jobs and economic prosperity to the region and state. While the overall industry has undergone significant changes in Florida, it has experienced a resurgence in recent years. Boutique cigar manufacturers have emerged, crafting premium hand-rolled cigars that pay homage to the state’s rich cigar-making heritage. These small-batch cigars have gained recognition for their quality and unique flavors, attracting a dedicated following of cigar enthusiasts. Florida’s cigar industry continues to thrive, inviting both residents and visitors to savor the rich flavors of its heritage. It keeps the spirit of tradition, craftsmanship and community alive in the Sunshine State. So next time you get a whiff of a stogie, let it take you back to a time when Florida was the Cigar Capital of the World!
Cigar Tidbits: For Your Puffing Enjoyment
- Cigar nicknames – stogie, sticks, puro (from “pure” in Spanish) and sikar (from “to smoke” in Mayan)
- Types of Cigars – cigarillo, corona, blunt, robusto, Lonsdale, panetela, grande and Churchill
- A highly-skilled cigar hand roller can wrap 200 cigars a day
- Many cigar factories had lectors (or readers) who would read books and newspapers to the workers for entertainment and to help pass the time.
- Sharing cigars after a wedding is thought to bring luck to the newly married couple.
- Cigars passed out after a baby is born is to celebrate the new life and bring prosperity to the family.
- Close, but no cigar, is widely used to signal a near miss. The earliest use is in the 1935 film “Annie Oakley” which has the line “Close, colonel, but no cigar!”
- Comedian Groucho Marx always had an unlit cigar in his mouth or hand, which he used as a prop, something to stick in his mouth or to keep his hands busy when he wasn’t talking.
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