General Cigar Company: 120 Years, Three Factories, and the Brands It Kept
General Cigar Company started in Richmond, Virginia in 1906, was bought by the Cullman family in 1961, and spent the next sixty years assembling the largest collection of famous names in American premium cigars. Macanudo, CAO, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur. Here is the whole history and exactly which brands it holds today.
Shop the General Cigar family Browse every cigar we carryIf you have smoked a premium cigar in America, there is a good chance General Cigar made it. The company does not put its own name on a band, which is why most smokers know Macanudo and Partagas but not the house behind them.
Understanding General Cigar is genuinely useful, because it explains why a Macanudo, a CAO Flathead and an Excalibur can share a corporate parent and taste nothing alike: they come from different factories, in different countries, with different house styles.
The full timeline
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1906 | General Cigar Company founded in Richmond, Virginia, out of the Cullman Brothers business. |
| 1961 | An investor group led by Edgar M. Cullman buys General Cigar for roughly $25 million. |
| 1960s | Culbro and General acquire Gradiaz Annis and the Temple Hall factory in Kingston, Jamaica, which brings with it a then-unknown brand called Macanudo. |
| 1969 | Temple Hall acquisition completed. Macanudo is developed under Ramón Cifuentes, formerly of Partagás in Cuba. |
| Early 1970s | Macanudo redesigned and relaunched for the US market. |
| Late 1970s | Ramón Cifuentes licenses the Partagás and Bolívar names to General Cigar for the American market. |
| 1979 | Partagás production moves from Jamaica to Santiago, Dominican Republic. |
| 1999 | Swedish Match buys General Cigar's mass-market division for $200 million. |
| 2000 | Swedish Match acquires 64 percent of the premium business. Macanudo production leaves Jamaica for the Dominican Republic and the Jamaican facility closes. |
| 2005 | Swedish Match takes full ownership. |
| 1 Jan 2007 | ST Cigar Group acquires CAO International. |
| 2010 | Swedish Match merges its cigar operations with Skandinavisk Holding to create Scandinavian Tobacco Group. General Cigar assumes control of the CAO brand and operations move from Nashville to Richmond. |
| 2016 | Scandinavian Tobacco Group goes public. Swedish Match begins winding its stake down to zero. |
| 1 Feb 2021 | STG creates Forged Cigar Company as a sister house, moving Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, Bolivar Cofradia, Diesel and Chillin' Moose out of General Cigar. |
| 1 Mar 2023 | STG acquires Alec Bradley for $72.5 million; it goes to Forged by June. |
| 2 Feb 2026 | The FOCUS2030 reshuffle. Partagas, Room101 and Don Tomas return to General Cigar. Cohiba, Punch and Havana Honeys go to Forged. |
The Cullman era, and why it matters
Edgar M. Cullman's purchase in 1961 turned a tobacco company into a brand company. The strategy was consistent for four decades: acquire a factory, acquire the names that came with it, and build them properly rather than trading on the heritage alone.
The Temple Hall purchase is the clearest example. General Cigar bought a Jamaican factory and found a brand nobody wanted in the paperwork. Macanudo went on to become the best-selling premium cigar in the United States for years.
The Cullmans also farmed. General Cigar grew Connecticut shade tobacco in the Connecticut River Valley for decades, and the company's exit from farming in the early 2000s was a significant blow to what was left of that industry.
Every brand General Cigar holds now
After the 2 February 2026 reshuffle:
| Brand | What it is |
|---|---|
| Macanudo | The mild flagship on genuine Connecticut Valley shade wrapper, plus the eight-strong Inspirado range. |
| CAO | The design-driven house founded by Cano Ozgener. Flathead, Pilón, BX3, Brazilia. |
| Hoyo de Monterrey and Excalibur | The Honduran side. Excalibur has run continuously since 1981. |
| Partagas | The 1845 Havana name, made in Santiago since 1979. Returned to General Cigar in 2026. |
| Room101 | Matt Booth's design-led brand. Returned to General Cigar in 2026. |
| Don Tomas | A long-running Honduran value line. Returned in 2026. |
| El Titan de Bronze | The Little Havana operation on Calle Ocho. |
| Surplus by CAO | A CAO sub-brand. |
| Panter, Mehari | Machine-made and small-format lines. |
| Humi-Care | Humidification products. |
Note: our vendor records group several brands under General Cigar that now sit with its sister house, Forged. They come out of the same factories either way.
Forged, and the reshuffle everyone reports backwards
Scandinavian Tobacco Group runs two US premium houses, and brands move between them. This is the single most commonly garbled fact in cigar coverage, so here it is plainly.
| Date | What actually moved |
|---|---|
| 1 February 2021 | Forged Cigar Company is created with five brands taken from General Cigar: Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, Bolivar Cofradia, Diesel, Chillin' Moose. |
| By 1 June 2023 | Alec Bradley, acquired that March, is integrated into Forged. |
| 2 February 2026 | To Forged: Cohiba, Punch, Havana Honeys. To General Cigar: Partagas, Room101, Don Tomas. |
So Bolivar and Diesel did not arrive at Forged in 2026, and neither did Alec Bradley. Only Cohiba, Punch and Havana Honeys moved that way, and Partagas made a round trip.
| General Cigar today | Forged today |
|---|---|
|
Macanudo CAO Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Partagas Room101 Don Tomas El Titan de Bronze |
Cohiba Punch Bolivar Diesel La Gloria Cubana Alec Bradley El Rey del Mundo Havana Honeys, Chillin' Moose, Odyssey |
The three factories
This is where the actual differences live. Corporate ownership does not make cigars; factories do.
General Cigar Dominicana, Santiago, Dominican Republic
The largest of the three and the home of Macanudo and Partagas. Dominican tobacco is characteristically smooth: piloto cubano is the workhorse varietal, olor is the aromatic one, and the house style leans toward balance rather than power. If a cigar in this portfolio is described as mellow or medium, it probably comes from Santiago.
STG Estelí, Nicaragua
Where the fuller blends are made, including much of CAO. Estelí sits on volcanic soil and grows the most powerful tobacco in Central America. Anything in the portfolio with real pepper and body has an Estelí component.
HATSA / STG Danlí, Honduras
The Honduran American Tobacco factory, built by Villazon, and the home of the Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur, Punch and Bolivar production. Honduran leaf gives earth and leather rather than pepper and sweetness, which is why these brands taste distinct from the Nicaraguan ones.
| Factory | Country | House character | Brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Cigar Dominicana | Dominican Republic | Smooth, balanced, aromatic | Macanudo, Partagas |
| STG Estelí | Nicaragua | Peppery, earthy, full | CAO, Macanudo Inspirado Red and newer lines |
| HATSA / STG Danlí | Honduras | Earthy, leathery, dry | Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur, Punch, Bolivar |
The Connecticut shade problem
Connecticut shade is grown under cheesecloth tents in the Connecticut River Valley. The tents diffuse sunlight, keeping the leaf thin, elastic, pale and low in oil, which is what produces the mild creamy character. It is the most expensive wrapper category in the business and the acreage has collapsed.
Fifty years ago the valley had roughly twenty thousand acres under shade. By the 2010s it was down to around one thousand, with three major growers left. General Cigar was the largest customer of the region's premier supplier before it exited farming in the early 2000s.
Crucially, the company kept buying. It still sources Connecticut Valley shade leaf from Windsor Shade for Macanudo Café, which is why that cigar carries genuine Connecticut wrapper at a time when most of the industry has switched to Ecuadorian Connecticut, the same seed grown near the equator under natural cloud cover at a fraction of the cost.
Wrappers and leaf across the portfolio
Connecticut Shade Connecticut Broadleaf Connecticut Havana Seed Ecuadorian Connecticut Ecuadorian Habano Ecuadorian Sumatra Cameroon Mexican San Andrés Brazilian Mata Fina Brazilian Arapiraca Honduran Olancho San Agustin Nicaraguan Colorado Jamao
Wrapper shades, palest to darkest: Double Claro / Candela Claro Colorado Claro Colorado Colorado Maduro Maduro Oscuro
Primings
| Leaf | Position | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Ligero | Top primings | Most sun, most oil, most nicotine. Strength and depth, burns slowest. Partagas Black Label uses nothing else. |
| Viso | Upper middle | More flavour than seco, less weight than ligero. The CAO Pilón wrapper is a viso. |
| Seco | Middle | Aroma and mid-palate. What a mellow cigar like Macanudo Café leans on. |
| Volado | Lower primings | Thin and mild. Combustion. |
| Medio Tiempo | The crown | Two rare leaves above the ligero. Very concentrated. |
Written phonetically the top leaf comes out "lahero" or "lejero"; the word is ligero, lee-HEH-roh. Also: capa wrapper, capote binder, tripa filler, torcedor roller, vitola size, galera rolling gallery, pilón fermentation stack, tercio palm-bark aging bale.
Which of these brands is for you
| If you want | Go to |
|---|---|
| Mild, creamy, reliable, real Connecticut wrapper | Macanudo Café |
| Mild but with more going on | Macanudo Inspirado White |
| A serious maduro at a fair price | Macanudo Maduro or Bolivar Cofradia Oscuro |
| A 95-point cigar for under ten dollars | CAO Flathead V660 Carb |
| Something Brazilian and unusual | CAO BX3 or Brazilia |
| A long, gentle afternoon cigar | Excalibur No. I |
| Full body, no sweetness, all ligero | Partagas Black Label |
| Dry, savoury Honduran | Punch Gran Puro |
| A distinctive Cameroon wrapper | Cohiba Red Dot |
One corporate family, three factories, and about as much range as premium cigars offer.
Shop the General Cigar family Call 1 818-719-9885Questions people actually ask
When was General Cigar founded?
1906, in Richmond, Virginia, out of the Cullman Brothers business. An investor group led by Edgar M. Cullman bought it in 1961 for roughly $25 million.
Who owns General Cigar now?
Scandinavian Tobacco Group, formed in 2010 when Swedish Match merged its cigar operations with Skandinavisk Holding. Swedish Match had acquired General Cigar in stages between 1999 and 2005.
What brands does General Cigar own?
After the February 2026 reshuffle: Macanudo, CAO, Surplus by CAO, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur, Partagas, Room101, Don Tomas, El Titan de Bronze, Panter, Mehari and Humi-Care.
What is the difference between General Cigar and Forged Cigar Company?
They are two US premium houses inside Scandinavian Tobacco Group. Forged was created on 1 February 2021 with five brands from General Cigar. Brands have moved between them twice since.
Which brands moved in the February 2026 reshuffle?
Cohiba, Punch and Havana Honeys moved to Forged. Partagas, Room101 and Don Tomas moved to General Cigar. Nothing else moved. Bolivar and Diesel had been Forged brands since 2021, and Alec Bradley since 2023.
Where does General Cigar make its cigars?
Three main factories: General Cigar Dominicana in Santiago, Dominican Republic; STG Estelí in Nicaragua; and HATSA in Danlí, Honduras.
How did General Cigar get Macanudo?
It came with the Temple Hall factory in Kingston, Jamaica, which General Cigar acquired in 1969. The brand was then unknown. It was developed under Ramón Cifuentes, formerly of Partagás in Cuba, and relaunched for the US market in the early 1970s.
How did General Cigar get Partagas and Bolivar?
Ramón Cifuentes licensed the names for the American market in the late 1970s. Partagas production moved from Jamaica to Santiago in 1979.
Does General Cigar still grow Connecticut tobacco?
No. The company exited Connecticut farming in the early 2000s. It still buys Connecticut Valley shade leaf from Windsor Shade for Macanudo Café, which is why that cigar still carries genuine Connecticut wrapper.
What is the difference between Connecticut shade and Ecuadorian Connecticut?
Connecticut shade is grown under cheesecloth tents in the Connecticut River Valley. Ecuadorian Connecticut is the same seed grown near the equator under natural cloud cover, at much lower cost. Both are pale and mild; the Connecticut Valley leaf is far scarcer.
Are General Cigar's brands the same as the Cuban ones?
No. Cohiba, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, Bolivar and La Gloria Cubana all exist as separate Cuban brands under Habanos S.A. The American versions are separately owned and made outside Cuba. The Cuban versions cannot legally be sold in the United States.
Which General Cigar brand is the mildest?
Macanudo Café, on a Connecticut shade wrapper. Excalibur in the natural is next.
Which is the fullest?
Partagas Black Label, on an all-ligero filler. CAO Flathead is close behind.
What does ligero mean?
The leaf from the top of the tobacco plant: most sun, most oil, most nicotine, slowest burning. It provides strength. Seco is the middle leaf for aroma, volado the lower leaf for burn.
Do you carry all of General Cigar's brands?
We carry Macanudo, CAO, Hoyo de Monterrey, Partagas, and from the Forged side Cohiba, Punch, Bolivar, Diesel and La Gloria Cubana. Call us if you want something we do not list.
For adults 21+. Please enjoy responsibly.
Cigar Inc. · 21900 Burbank Blvd UNIT 265, Woodland Hills, CA 91367 · 1 818-719-9885 · Info@Cigarinc.com
