Macanudo

The Macanudo brand was originally produced in Cuba before the 1959 revolution, where it operated as a smaller marque alongside the better-known Punch brand. After the revolution, General Cigar Company acquired rights to the Macanudo name outside of Cuba. The first Macanudo cigars in the new era were handcrafted in 1968 at the Temple Hall factory in Kingston, Jamaica. General Cigar acquired the Temple Hall factory in 1969.

The reformulated Macanudo brand launched in 1971 under the direction of Ramón Cifuentes, a Cuban cigar maker who had previously led production at the legendary Partagás factory in Havana. The new Macanudo blend used Dominican, Jamaican, and Mexican tobaccos, with a Connecticut Shade wrapper grown by a division of General Cigar. The brand quickly became one of the best-selling premium cigars in the United States — particularly for its mild Café (claro) wrapper variant, which made it a popular gateway cigar for new smokers.

Production shifted from Jamaica to the Dominican Republic in October 2000, where Macanudo continues to be made today. The brand has expanded over the decades to include darker maduro variants, the Macanudo Cru Royale, and limited edition Inspirado lines, but the core Café (Connecticut Shade) line remains the brand's defining product. Macanudo is owned by the Scandinavian Tobacco Group through General Cigar Co.