Today’s cigars are a luxury item. They’re indicative of a premium or indulgent lifestyle, and for good reason. Sure, modern cigars can be relatively pricey. They’re also meant to relax and enjoy life, and they require you to slow down — and some people just can’t get down with any of those things.

However, aside from a few labels or SKUs, they’re still accessible. From budget options to middle-ground cigars there are a ton of ways to procure them today and hundreds, if not thousands, of retailers that sell them. They’re not quite as rare as they used to be, or as coveted.

You or I, provided we’re the legal age, can walk into any cigar shop or lounge and find hundreds of different options. Would you believe many years ago that would not have been possible?

Cigars were once used as currency

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

In colonial times, and for early colonists in America, tobacco and cigars were a currency. Tobacco was the safest and most stable commodity that the Chesapeake colonies had at the time.

Cigarettes have been used the same way across history. A unique example is how they’re used in prison as currency, although that’s a bit off-kilter. They were also used as currency during the World Wars.

The average person did not smoke cigars as we do today. They might have had one now and then, but mostly, they used them as bargaining chips and to trade for goods. They also traded raw tobacco.

Both tobacco and cigars were used as reliable commodities because of their portability, durability, and widespread appeal. They were also incredibly rare to the common man, making them valuable the world over, not just in North America. Some of the first cigars to reach Europe came by way of Spain and were even more challenging to acquire.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, only the rich or well-off could afford to consume tobacco and cigars, especially imported Cuban varieties. That rarity, at that time, and for those people, was a way to flash their wealth. It’s similar to how people today dress in expensive suits, wear expensive jewelry and watches, and — would you look at that — smoke expensive cigars.

I realize times are different, in many, many ways, but if those people could look at us today, they’d probably think we’re living in the lap of luxury. By their standards, we’re rich. Not purposefully ignoring some of the deplorable things happening in this world, we are really fortunate to have widespread access.

New growing regions introduced new types of tobacco

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

I suspect the tobacco and cigar industry would have evolved eventually, regardless of what happened with the Cuban exodus. But because of tobacco growers leaving the region, they spread to new areas like Honduras, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and so on. That also helped introduce a whole new wave of tobacco types. While you might prefer Cuban-grown varieties, it significantly improved the market and created a lot of excellent competition.

That overall growth, expansion in terms of variety, and general success across businesses small to big is what made cigars more accessible. Yes, there are still $100+ cigars out there, and many of us can agree we’re not the market for those. But there are also a ton of excellent, budget-friendly and more affordable cigars. Just as there are many premium cigars focused on a luxurious lifestyle.

It certainly makes you wonder what Churchill would think. I bet he would absolutely love some of the stuff we have available today. It would be interesting to sit down with Mark Twain and share a Boneshaker, Aganorsa, or Casa Carrillo (E.P. Carrillo).

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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.

Changing the way we craft cigars

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

Source: Houcine Ncib / Unsplash

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?

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