Sancho Panza (brand)

Sancho Panza is a cigar brand in Cuba dating from 1848, and still produced there by Habanos S.A., the Cuban state-owned tobacco company.^[1]

Named for the squire to Don Quixote in Miguel de Cervantes' 1605 novel of the same name, the name "Sancho Panza" was first used for a Havana cigar in 1848, when the marca of "Sancho Panza" was registered by Don Emilio Ohmsted.^[2] The original factory was located at 48 Angeles St. in Havana. Sometime during the 1880s, the brand was acquired by Ramon Allones and in 1940 was purchased by the Rey Del Mundo Cigar Co.^[3] The Sancho Panza factory and its assets were nationalized by the Cuban government on September 15, 1960.^[4]

Today, Sancho Panza cigars in Cuba are handmade from long-filler tobacco from the Vuelta Abajo region of Cuba. The brand is known for the larger sizes in its range, including the enormous Sanchos and the Belicosos. In most sizes, Sancho Panza cigars are considered to be medium-bodied for Cuban cigars, and have been described as having a distinctive, somewhat salty taste.^[5]

In the United States, the Sancho Panza trademark was registered in 1981 by Villazon & Company, and the trademark was later acquired by the General Cigar Company. General Cigar markets a line of Honduran cigars with the Sancho Panza brand name incorporating a Honduran or Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and binder.