It’s February 27th and you know what that means. Thousands, if not millions of cigar lovers and enthusiasts will light up to celebrate the craft. No, that doesn’t mean it will be smoky outside. But if you’re near anyone with a lit cigar you’ll probably smell some savory aromas.
Cigar-making and the craft, in general, stretch back hundreds of years. Although many people tend to look at it as a modern or young craft, that’s not true. It has been around for centuries, with the Caribbean and Mesoamerican indigenous people exercising the craft — and that’s what we know! Even wilder, the Mayans didn’t just smoke tobacco, they drank it.
Circling back to cigars and National Cigar Day, the celebration is actually about a specific cigar crafter. An influential man who invented the cigar-rolling machine: Oscar Hammerstein.
Humans have been rolling, crafting and working tobacco for centuries, that much we know. Most of that time was spent directly working the leaves by hand. We still do that today and many companies have incredibly skilled artisans shaping the very cigars we love. La Aurora is a great example. Around for over 100 years, like many cigar companies, they have an entire rolling room dedicated to the craft.
But the term “work smarter not harder,” is primarily what sparked the Industrial Revolution from about 1760 to 1840. Sometimes divided into two parts, the movement was largely about creating more efficient and stable manufacturing processes with the help of budding technologies. Right around the tail end of that period, Oscar Hammerstein journeyed from Germany to New York and went to work in a cigar factory. A cigar factory on Pearl Street in New York City.
Inventing and enhancing the cigar rolling machine
Somewhere between 1845 when Oscar started working in the industry, until 1883, his formative career led him to create one of the more influential pieces of technology in cigar history: The cigar-rolling machine. In fact, from 1880 to 1888, he filed patents for his device, essentially starting the machine-made cigars movement. The machine initially sold for $6,000.
But that wasn’t his only contribution or innovation in the world of cigars. With his penchant for design, he continued to update the machines in various ways to improve upon their capabilities. For instance, he added an air-based suctioning component that helped hold the tobacco leaves, like wrappers, in place so they could be cut without damaging them. After his many revisions, the value of the cigar-rolling machine jumped to over $200,000.
Today, we have two distinct forms of cigar craft in use, including premium and handmade cigars, done the old-fashioned way, and machine-made cigars, which are mass produced on a scale unfathomable to the common man.
Today, light one up in honor of Oscar, but also in the spirit of the entire industry and craft
While February 27 was meant to celebrate Oscar Hammerstein’s invention, and a major shift in the way cigars are crafted, it’s also meant to honor the entire industry. We should not only look to the current technologies and methods, as efficient as they may be, but also to the history of the craft. Without that rich and storied history, we certainly wouldn’t be where we are today and we definitely would not be seeing boutique and premium brands bursting out of the seams.
Whether you’re a seasoned cigar smoker or someone trying their first cigar, we should all celebrate and honor the history of this amazing, and beautiful craft. No fewer than 300 hands go into the making of a cigar. And many of the manufacturing processes still follow centuries-old methods, which is something you just do not see in any other industry.
Even if you loathe cigars, cigar smokers, and the industry, you have to respect the craft and processes behind it. It’s all for the love of the leaf. Then again, if you loathe cigars, why the hell are you even here?
Briley has over 16 years in the publishing and content marketing business. He's been writing about cigars for nearly half that in various forms. What makes him a tour de force is he also smokes them.
Source: Houcine Ncib / Unsplash
