The Cigar World Loses Alejandro Robaina

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Apr 23rd 2010 at 9:02PM

The world has lost a great tobacco grower. Alejandro Robaina, a legend in Cuba and the rest of the world, died last weekend at the age of 91. His tobacco leaves wrapped some of the finest cigars seen in his lifetime. , starting on his family's fields when he was only 10 year old, having smoked his first cigar a year earlier. Since then, his handiwork was evident in brands such as the Cohiba Esplendidos and Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona.

Robaina was something of a public face for the Cuban tobacco industry, traveling until age would no longer let him do so effectively. That's when smokers worldwide came to him, eager to see the environment – and the man –responsible for some of the most popular cigars on Earth, among others. His grandson, Hiroshi, now runs the show, having taken over as Robaina got older.

Even after Fidel Castro came to power, Robaina remained an independent tobacco grower, and he was named the best in the country by the Cuban government in the mid-1990s, receiving the award from Castro himself. In 1997, Habanos S.A. created the Vegas Robaina brand, the only one named for a Cuban tobacco grower. Yet, it smokes differently from most Cuban cigars, and doesn't appear to have much of Robaina's tobacco in it, according to James Suckling of Cigar Aficionado.

Tags: cigar, cohiba, habanos, tobacco, tobacco industry

Filed under: Cigars

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

hey dude7 Apr 23rd 2010 11:20PM

I have been very fortunate to travel to many places and Cuba was on my top 10 list since i can remember.
Cigars , Rum and Cuban food were what attracted me in the 1st place, but once i met some of the legends on tabaco, i was hooked on their warmth their love for what they did,Don Alejandro was such person, i was visiting the vuelta abajo region i had the pleasure of visiting with Don Alejandro and smoked one of his personal cigars,WOW he smoked dynamite , raw nitro, fresh and powerful leaf he smoked .
But the gusto he had for life was more interesting than any cigar he smoked or any tabaco he grew, weather old man, wisdom to dispense, leather face,the smell of fincas he carried,his old sombrero, white guallavera ...and an empty rocking chair in his ranch`s veranda.
Don Alejendro, que su jornada sea tan llena de gusto como fue su vida.!