Honduras

Honduras has grown tobacco since colonial times, and its export cigar business took off when Cuban growers arrived in the 1960s. Today most of its factories are in Danlí, a short drive from the Nicaraguan border.

Where it grows

The Jamastrán Valley outside Danlí is the best-known growing area and the source of much of the country's Corojo. Trojes, higher up near the border, grows Corojo too. Santa Rosa de Copán, in the west, is the old center of Honduran tobacco.

The style

Honduran leaf tends to be earthy and rich, with some sweetness in the Corojo. It can carry a blend on its own or give backbone to a wrapper from somewhere else.

Names you'll see

Camacho, Rocky Patel and Alec Bradley all make cigars in Danlí, and Scandinavian Tobacco Group rolls the non-Cuban Punch and Hoyo de Monterrey there. Hurricane Mitch hit the growing areas hard in 1998, and the industry rebuilt.