Macanudo

Macanudo is a premium cigar brand made by General Cigar Co., part of Scandinavian Tobacco Group. It began as a small Jamaican brand made at the Temple Hall factory near Kingston and sold mainly in Britain. In Spanish slang, “macanudo” means “excellent.”

General Cigar bought Temple Hall and the Macanudo name in the late 1960s. Under Edgar Cullman Sr., the company rebuilt Macanudo as a premium brand for the U.S. market. The Macanudo Café, launched in 1971, uses an aged Connecticut shade wrapper over Dominican, Jamaican, and Mexican filler. It became one of the best-known mild cigars in the United States and is still the brand’s main line.

In 2000 General Cigar moved Macanudo production from Jamaica to its factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic, where it is still made. Other lines include Macanudo Maduro, with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Cru Royale, and the fuller Inspirado series.

For decades Macanudo has been one of the best-selling premium cigar brands in the United States. Many American smokers had their first premium cigar from this brand, often the mild Café. The museum bands below include the Café, Maduro, and Cru Royale.