THE BIG IDEA The World Keeps Moving
It has been a good 12 months for what are euphemistically termed New World cigar producers—that is, those makers based outside Cuba.
During the past year, it has been almost as difficult to obtain a Cuban cigar in many parts of the globe as it has been in the U.S., where sales of Cuban products have been illegal since the 1962 embargo. Many stores, most notably in Europe (traditionally the biggest market for “Habanos,” or cigars made entirely from Cuban tobacco), have been largely devoid of Havana's finest, as Cuba hasn't been able to produce enough due to a concatenation of events, not least the ravages of Hurricane Ian last September, which destroyed a substantial number of Cuba's tobacco barns and wiped out more than half the tobacco harvest from Pinar del Río, the country's legendary mecca for wrappers and fillers.
But another significant factor intensifying Cuba's cigar shortage is that much of its inventory is now being diverted to China, which has emerged as Havana's biggest market despite its complex tobaccomonopoly system. Giventhere's another—less obvious—reason for Habanos’ newfound prominence there.
