As far back as 1460 it has been noted that natives of North, Central and South Americas had been using tobacco for hundreds of years. In 1492 Christopher Columbus’ logs stated that natives in San Salvador smoked leaves of certain plants. Christopher Columbus received tobacco as a gift by the natives and consequently is credited with being the person that introduced tobacco to Europeans in 1493 when he delivered the gift to Spanish Royalty.

According to the writings of the Viceroy of San Domingo, Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo, by 1526 cigar smoking was described as a regular practice. Within 10 years Cubans would be shipping the highest grades of tobacco to Spain. Of the agriculture in Cuban farms you would find that about half of it was dedicated to growing tobacco.

By the 1550’s it is reported that sailors everywhere are smoking tobacco and it begins its journey around the world. By the 1560’s it had been brought to the French by Jean Nicot, the French Ambassador to Portugal and Sir J. Hawkins returned to England from North America with Indian tobacco. In 1570 tobacco had gotten all the way to Austria where it was first used for medicinal purposes.

Due to the climate of the times between the English and the Spanish in the 1600’s, the Spanish King had restricted the growing of tobacco to colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Santo Domingo. By 1606, the Spanish King has decreed that the sale of tobacco to foreigners is a crime that is punishable by death. To feed the addiction of the English, the British established the Jamestown Colony to grow tobacco. Over the next 100 years the battle for control of the tobacco fortune continued between the English and the Spanish. Cigar factories began to pop up all over London and the growing of tobacco prompted an expansion of the colonies to accommodate the demand.

By 1757 there was a cigar factory in New Seville that was toted the largest industrial complex in the world at that time rolling more than 100,000 cigars every day. The complex was so expansive that it was referred to as the “walled city” and had a population of more than 4000 people, its own chapel and even a prison. The Spanish would soon build similar factories in both Mexico and the Philippines.

It was not until 1770 that cigar smoking began to build popularity in New England and spread to other major port cities in North America. Cigars were cheap and made many times by women whose husbands would then sell or trade them with the Yankee wagon peddlers.

1781 was the beginning of the monopoly of cigar manufacturing in the Philippines by the Spanish King. Since the Philippine cigar, called Manillas, were more popular than the cigars made in the United States, they were not much of an export item. By the official end of the Revolutionary War the United States was importing cigars from Cuba and Jamaica. The 1780’s marked the beginning of worldwide marketing and manufacturing of cigars with factories opening up throughout Europe and the first advertisements and consumer packaging of cigars in the United States.

By 1810, 29 million domestic cigars were reported to have been made in the United States by large factories. Many Cuban cigar makers migrated to Florida in the late 1800’s making the region known for cigar manufacturing, Ybor City in particular had almost 70 cigar factories making it the largest manufacturing city until the 1950 when it lost its status as the largest city but remains an area with a large entertainment district revolving around cigars. It’s an area rich in history and a must see for cigar aficionados.

The trade embargo with Cuba in the 1960’s made it illegal for Cuban products to be available in the United States, and that included Cuban cigars, although it is said that President Kennedy had his press secretary get as many Cuban cigars as possible before the embargo was signed. This embargo is still in effect.

1964 brought the Surgeon General warnings of the health risks associated with cigarette smoking and a short lived increase in cigar consumption as cigarette smokers switched to cigars on the heels of the consequences of cigarette smoking. The increase was short lived when additional reports warned of risks with additional tobacco products; it began a downward sales spiral in the cigar industry that would last almost 30 years.

In 1994 cigar sales began to rise as they became status symbols made stylish by wealthy people and celebrities. The current economy is creating the need to raise taxes imposed on luxury items, but this may change as higher taxes for cigars are proposed that would make them significantly more expensive. Today they are still considered an affordable luxury item.

Whisky is made by the distilling of grains that are aged as a result of alcohol being stored in oak casks. The complex world of whisky is made up of distillation processes, flavors and grains. There are four countries that produce very different whiskies: Ireland, America, Scotland and Canada, although it is made all over the world.

Whisky is made from grain, water and yeast. It is very similar to other grain alcohols in that it may use a variety of different grains to be made. Common grains include wheat, barley, corn and rye. It is sometimes called the ‘juice of the barley’, a reference associating the grain used with the type of whisky created. The water used to make whisky is thought to be the most important part in making good whisky. The water should be clear, clean and also free from any impurities that might make it taste bad. Water from Scotland is famous for being able to produce fine whisky and the reasons for this are still unknown.

The maturation process of whisky is not done in a bottle, only in a cask. The age of the whisky is the amount of time between the distillation and the bottling. This shows how much the whisky and cask have interacted, changing both its taste and chemical makeup. Whisky that has been stored in a bottle for a long time has a great value, but is not considered ‘older’ and will not necessarily be ‘better’ than whisky that has been made and matured in wood for the same amount of time.

A whisky maker always has a supply of yeast on hand that has been grown on barley malt and has also been kept away from bacterial contamination. Some makers use many kinds of yeast to regulate the fermentation process accurately. The particular type of grain used will depend on what kind of whisky is made, but all whiskey does have a small portion of malted barley in them. This is needed to begin the fermentation process.

The steps of distillation of whisky have adjusted some in the last 200 years. There are still the three ingredients: barley, water and yeast, but technology now helps in the production. There are traditionally five steps int the process: malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation.

Malting

The starch found in barley needs to be changed into sugars to make the alcohol. To start this, the barley has to be germinated, which is called ‘malting’. The barley is soaked for days and laid out on the floor and turned regularly to keep its temperature. Once the barley begins to shoot, it is dried in a kiln. This is now called malted and ground in a mill removing any debris.

Mashing

Hot water is now mixed into the malt. This mixture is called ‘grist’ and put into a mash tun and mixed for many hours. The sugar in the malt will dissolve and drain through the bottom of the tun; this liquid is called ‘wort’. These steps are done three times with the amount of water increased every time.

Fermentation

The wort is then cooled and put into big tanks called washbacks. This is when the yeast is added and the fermentation begins. The yeast takes the sugars present and turns it into alcohol. After two days, the fermentation is stopped. The liquid at this point is called ‘wash’ and is at a low strength like ale or beer.

Distillation

Here the wash is put into the wash still and heated. The liquid will vaporize and rise to the neck where it condenses. This liquid is called ‘low wines’ and passed on to the second still called the ‘spirit still’. From the spirit still, the alcohol that is produced is divided into three groups: that of high alcohol level, that of weak alcohol level and that in the middle. The alcohol that is in the middle group is the only one that is used. This is taken to be matured into whisky.

Maturation

The spirit is taken and placed into oak casks and then stored. It is kept here for a minimum of three years before it can be called whisky legally. During this time of maturation, the flavours mix with the compounds in the cask and creates a unique aroma and flavor. Each year that passed, around 2% of spirit is lost from natural evaporation.

Hi Zoe,

… I just wanted to say thanks for your professional and attentive service – As a PA I book lots of events and dinners and I’m rarely fortunate enough to deal with anyone quite so efficient, it makes life so much easier!

Best,

Jenny