Smoking is politically incorrect these days, but there will always be the die-hards and rebels. Cigar smokers are among such free spirits. They consider themselves the royalty of smokers and will go to extraordinary lengths to satisfy their habit – even risking fines or imprisonment in America if caught buying or smuggling the outlawed though much loved Cuban cigar.But lovers of Cuban cigars are not the only ‘purists.’ Italy has its very own breed. In fact, Italy is the most important tobacco producing country in Europe and has long boasted its own distinctive cigar industry. According to a report published in 2003 by the Tobacco Observatory, tobacco crops cover approximately 37,000 acres of land in Italy – mainly in Veneto, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio and Campagna – producing approximately 125,000 tons of tobacco, just under 2 percent of global production.The Toscano, or Tuscan cigar, is the most popular cigar in Italy. It not only commands an 80-percent share of the market, but it has also generated a series of offspring, like the smaller Toscanello. Made even more famous by being clinched between Clint Eastwood’s teeth in his many spaghetti westerns, the Toscano is traditionally tapered in shape, while a panatella about six inches in length, with a uniquely strong flavour and rich aroma.
As fact is often more mysterious than fiction, the Toscano was first produced and given its name by pure accident over a century and a half ago. One summer day at the tobacco factory in Florence, a bale of Kentucky tobacco leaves – a high quality variety of tobacco grown in Italy – was left out in the open. Caught in an unexpected downpour of rain, the leaves got wet and started to ferment. Not wishing to make too great a loss on this mishap, the wily factory manager decided to dry out what he could of the fermenting leaves and turn them into cheap cigars. To further save money, he only used tobacco filler inside a single Kentucky outer leaf to make the cigars. He then simply put a band around them (now in the colours of the Italian flag) instead of covering them with a wrapper, which today is still one of their characteristics. They became known as Toscani and were an overnight success. Soon the king, Vittorio Emanuele II, and even Garibaldi were smoking them.In 1818, regular production of the Toscani was transferred to the tobacco factory in Lucca, then part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
Processing and production methods have changed very little since then. When farmers harvest the tobacco, they hang the leaves in rows and slowly dry them out over the heat and smoke from fires. The dried leaves are then sorted and bundled together, ready to be sold. On reaching the factory in Lucca, the leaves are immersed in water to restore humidity which allows them to be transformed into cigars, either completely by hand (for the best quality products) or partially by machine. Traditionally, women cigar makers hand roll the Toscani. After 18 months of training, they acquire the skill to make one cigar almost identical to another in size and shape. They ensure that sufficient space is left for air to pass by not packing the tobacco too tightly which would pre-vent the cigars from “drawing” properly. An expert cigar maker can roll over 500 cigars a day. Next the cigars are placed on trays and put in special chambers to dry out. Finally, with this process complete, they are left to ‘age’ in cel-lars, much like good wine, where they mature for a period of not less than four months and sometimes as long as 12 months. Only then are they ready for sale at your local tobacconist.
On March 10 of this year, in a deal worth 95 million euro, the manufacturers of the Toscano, the Italian subsidiary of British American Tobacco, sold the brand back to Italian proprietors, the Bologna-based Maccaferri Group. The tobacco processing plant in Forano della Chiana and the production factories in Lucca and Cava de Tirreni were included in the agreement. While the transaction still has to be approved by the Italian Government and the competition watchdog, no problems are anticipated.
