Partagas Cigars Company

Partagas has been part of the cigar industry longer than most other brands on the market, originating in Cuba in 1845. Since that time, they have amassed what can be seen as an almost cult-like following, with fans of these cigars always staying loyal and smoking only their cigars. It's no wonder why they always reach for Partagas, though with a long standing reputation for consistency, flavor, and quality.

Partagas Cigars History

Partagas cigars were born in Cuba in the year 1845, long before General Cigar Company started making the cigars we love under the same name. It was Don Jaime Partagas that started the Real Fabrica de Tabaco Partagas, and the brand was born. Having had the finest tobacco plantations in the world at the time, he not only produced the finest stogies available, but it allowed him to experiment with fermenting and aging tobaccos as well, making him one of the fathers of the modern cigar making method. Unfortunately, Jaime met an untimely fate when he found himself on the business end of a blunderbuss, a casualty of a lover's quarrel. Jaime's son Joseph took over, but eventually sold the company to a banker named Jose A. Bance who in turn sold it to the Cifuentes, Fernandez y Cia in 1900.

The business stayed in their control until both partners, Ramon Cifuentes and Francisco Pego Pita passed away in 1938 and 1940 respectively, when it was then handed solely to the Cifuentes family who acquired Bolivar and La Gloria Cubana. Of course, as we all know, the Cuban Revolution came about a decade or so later and the U.S. slapped an embargo on Cuba so we Americans could no longer enjoy any of the Cifuentes's cigars or any other Cuban cigar for that matter. But this bummer was short lived when the patriarch of the family, whose name was also Ramon, turned down an opportunity to be in charge of Cuba's tobacco industry. He then upped and moved his production overseas and registered the Partagas name, along with Bolivar, with the General Cigar Company in 1978 and relaunched the infamous brand.

For those who say the Partagas of Cuba is still the original, we kindly disagree. Let's put it this way - Cubatabaco, the state run Cuban tobacco industry, is more concerned with pumping out cigars according to their labels than taking the time to properly ferment, age and roll tobacco. In other words, Cuban Cigars including Cuban Partagas can be hit or miss. The Dominican version is essentially the original, with the same care and quality stogie heads have come to expect from the original Cuban offering.

Since 1978, the brand exploded with blends such as the Black Label, one of the oldest and most well-known cigars in their lineup. The Partagas 1845 line also burst on to the scene in recent years as a tribute to their Cuban roots to let everyone know they stick to their traditions to give the same flavors and quality as back in the old country. From there, they released different blends for the 1845 line including the Extra Fuerte and the flavor bomb that is the Extra Oscuro. The Cigar Advisors have reviewed every Partagas cigar we sell in our essentials guide. But no matter which one you select, you're getting the tradition and excellence that has always been Partagas Cigars.