TOSCANO CIGARS

The birth of the Toscano cigars dates back to August 1815 to a factory in Florence, Italy where a recent massive downpour of rain had occurred.

The heavy precipitation had impacted several tobacco bales that were being stored within the Manifattura del Granducato tobacco factory. As a result, it had undergone fermentation as local temperatures became warmer with the arrival of summer.

Instead of disposing the ammonia-heavy tobacco in the nearby Arno river, the factory manager kept it out of fear of repercussion by the Grand Duke Ferdinando III.

He decided to salvage the crop and use it to make a cheap cigar.

After fermenting and drying out under the Tuscan sun, the tobacco was effectively repurposed as a rough-hewn looking cigar with a distinctly strong flavor. The cigars were an immediate success and quickly became favored by the people of Florence who began to call it “il stortignaccolo” as a result of its short, lumpy appearance.