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The story of the Plasencia family’s tobacco legacy is one that is not only fascinating to learn about, but necessary for us cigar lovers. History, nostalgia, tradition—these are important tenets to the alluring mystique that draws us to this pastime. We appreciate it as heritage preserved—an art, a passion, a ballast to our social rituals. But preservation often takes determination, and is facilitated so often by others’ toil. It’s a responsibility to recognize that resilience.
In 1865, Don Eduardo Plasencia voyaged from The Canary Islands to Vuelta Abajo, Cuba. Here he would start a tobacco farm and begin the long story of a tobacco dynasty. His nephew, Sixto Plasencia Juares, would follow in his uncle’s footsteps, growing the business with the Corojal farm in 1898.
Through the decades, the operation would continue to grow. However, in 1963 the Plasencias lost their livelihood as Castro nationalized Cuba’s farms. With their land confiscated, the Plasencia family took what little they could and started over in Nicaragua.
Don Elder Sixto was now starting from square one in a new country, just as Don Eduardo Plasencia had done one century before. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the last time the family had to relocate and start anew. In the tumultuous political climate, the Plasencias’ Nicaraguan farms were burnt down. Hardly a decade into the new venture, the Plasencia family again was on the move, this time to Honduras. Here the family found new beginnings in more ways than one, as Nestor Plasencia began doing manufacturing for cigar companies.
Finally, in Honduras the Plasencia family found sustained success. When uninterrupted by the entropy around them, they witnessed the true potential of their tobacco and their hard work. The business continued to expand, and in 2000, the family was able to return to Nicaragua, once again farming its fertile soil. Holding onto their farms in Honduras, this saw production grow to 33 million cigars a year.
In 2015, a century and a half after Don Eduardo first broke ground in Vuelta Abajo—five generations and two restarts later—the Plasencia family was the largest tobacco growing company in the world. Naturally, for a family who knows what it is to pick up and start again, new ventures aren’t so intimidating. So in 2017, they established a brand of their own, Plasencia Cigars.
As the Plasencias site quotes, “It’s not just our passion. It’s our reason for existing.'' If the arc of this family being a monument to resilience wasn't enough to convince you, one of their superior blends will. From the sweet nuance of the mild Reserva Original to the earthy boldness of the Alma Fuerte, the Plasencia family has assembled a dream roster of cigars. Plasencia Cigars balance ingenuity and tradition to offer profiles equally rooted in the past as in what’s to come.