Por Larrañaga

About

Por Larrañaga Cigars The slim strip of gold paper which adorns all Por Larrañaga cigars is probably the most eye-catching of all Cuban cigar anillas . Something about the way the crisp edge of the gold sits against the caramel-brown claro wrapper of the cigar lends an added elegance and style to each stick, making it feel truly luxurious. Seeing a line of these bands glinting in the light when one opens a new box of cigars is a wonderful moment. They seem to blend effortlessly into the cigar; not just stuck on in a factory, these medallions are an inherent part of the opulence of this premium brand. It is fitting that this drama and reverence is brought by Havana’s oldest cigar company. It was way back in 1825 that a young Ignacio Larrañaga made his way to Cuba; by 1834 he had registered his cigar-making business. Por Larrañaga – ‘ By Larrañaga ’, if translated to English – is said by some to have been only the second Cuban cigar brand to be registered in Havana, and it is certainly the oldest to still survive. Production has been continuous for its entire history, and it is still popular today. So grand was the reputation of Ignacio’s creation by the end of the 19 th century that it was referenced by Rudyard Kipling in his poem ‘The Betrothed’. “There’s peace in a Larrañaga, there’s calm in a Henry Clay”, he wrote, while explaining why he would never choose a fiancée who insisted he give up his passion for cigars in order to win her hand. In the 1920s, frustrated by years of demand outstripping production, the brand became the first to import rolling machines from the United States, aiming to cut costs and increase volume simultaneously. The move backfired, as strikes by workers ground production to a complete halt, forcing the company to give in and return the machines. The nationalisation of the Cuban cigar industry following the Revolution saw production of Por Larrañaga move to Hoyo de Monterrey ’s La Corona factory. The footprint of the brand suffered in the y