San Cristóbal de La Habana was the original name of Havanna, the capital of Cuba when it was founded in 1519; San Cristóbal (St. Christopher) to honour the Saint of the day when the city was founded and la habana after an Indian word for ‘square’.

The brand San Cristóbal de La Habana was launched in 1999 to honour the long history of the city at the threshold of the new millennium.

At the moment there are four formats, each one being named after one of the Havanna fortresses which were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. The Spanish colonial rulers used them for defending the city against possible attacks. The fortresses and the cigars are named: El Morro, La Fuerza, La Punta and El Principe.

Then in 2004, three new formats were added which were named after famous streets of Havanna’s historic city: Muralla, Mercaderes and Oficios.

All formats contain fillers and binders from the tobacco cultivation zone Vuelta Abajo, and are totalmente a mano, tripa larga – long fillers completely manufactured by hand.