Stuck for a gift idea? – We do gift vouchers! Call us on 0115 911 0555 for more details or email eann@gauntleys.com
Stuck for a gift idea? – We do gift vouchers! Call us on 0115 911 0555 for more details or email eann@gauntleys.com
Mexico may have been consigned by many, until recently, to be a foot note on the history pages when it comes to cigar manufacturing – a country that once produced cigars that were very highly sought after around the world, but ultimately lost its way.
Home to some of the best tobacco growing areas in the world, the famed city San Andres Tuxtla in the Veracruz region was once the capital of Mexico’s tobacco production since the early 19th century. The local area around the city was blessed with rich, volcanic soils which were ideal for growing tobacco, and especially the famed Negro San Andres, only grown in this region of the world. This tobacco, primarily used for wrapper leaves, is very highly sought after by many other cigar producers in the likes of Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic.
There are several factors which led to Mexico’s downfall, but primarily it was down to chasing the domestic Peso and what could get those Peso’s rolling in more quickly. During the 60’s and 70’s many of the farmers who were making the cigars too, started to realise that they could make more money, more quickly by selling the leaf itself to overseas markets. The knock-on effect was that cigar production started to fall as exports of tobacco went up.
The other major factor was that during the 80’, 90’s and early 00’s cigar production was aimed at the cheap and cheerful end of the market – volume sales were king, with little or no regard for the quality end of production. Aiming these cheaply made sticks at the American market bought in quite a lot of revenue. These exports reached a peak in 1997, when approximately 26.2 million sticks were shipped. When the American cigar boom of the late 90’s crashed, so too did the Mexican cigar industry – by 2000, only 6 million sticks were exported. It seemed to be end of what was once a great industry.
There was one company however, that bucked the downward trend and that was Te-Amo, a premium brand owned by Casa Turrent. They were one of the few companies who continued to export and kept what was left of Mexico’s export market alive. In 2014, a new premium brand was created under the Casa Turrent label which has managed to generate some real positive interest in Mexican cigars again.
Today, exports are climbing for both cigars and the tobaccos with the focus on the quality end of the production certainly for the export markets. The cigars made in Mexico today offer up a wide variety of styles ranging from light and floral, to intensely full-bodied and earthy. If you have not tried Mexican cigars, you really are missing out!
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