Macanudo

Macanudo comes from Jamaica. According to the trade press, it was a small hand-rolled brand made at the Temple Hall factory in Kingston for the British market. In 1968 General Cigar Co. bought Temple Hall together with the brand, and the trade press notes that Macanudo is older than the 50 years celebrated in 2018. The date the brand was created is not established; 1968 is the year of the purchase.

The story then continues in two versions. Wikipedia writes that in 1971 General Cigar launched a distinct Macanudo brand, developed under the direction of Ramón Cifuentes, formerly of Partagás, but the article itself flags passages that need clarifying. The trade press, for its part, establishes that General Cigar closed Temple Hall in 2000 and moved all production to the Dominican Republic; Jamaican tobacco then left the blend. Edgar M. Cullman Sr., who ran General Cigar for decades, died in August 2011 aged 93.

The Café remains the face of the brand: Connecticut Shade wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder, Mexican and Dominican filler (piloto cubano), according to the house's page (macanudo.com, read in October 2026). The trade press describes it as the mild cigar with which the Macanudo name is associated.

Inspirado opens another path. Launched in Europe in 2014, the range reached the United States in 2016 (Cigar Coop, May 2016) in colour variants of different origins: Orange rolled in Honduras, Black and White in the Dominican Republic, Red rolled in Estelí (Nicaragua) in 2018, for the brand's 50th anniversary. The house presents Inspirado as its most complex and intense blends. In 2014, STG described General Cigar as a 100% subsidiary of Scandinavian Tobacco Group.

Range Depth

• Macanudo Café

  Wrapper Connecticut Shade · Strength Mild

  Connecticut Shade wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder, Mexican and Dominican filler (piloto cubano), according to the house's page. Smooth; sweet, creamy notes, with hazelnut and wood. The house suggests a brown ale or a coffee. Twenty-one formats in the catalogue, from Miniatures (3.75 x 24 in) to Prince of Wales (8 x 52 in).

  Café · Ascot · Baron de Rothschild · Hampton Court · Hyde Park · Prince Philip

• Inspirado

  Wrapper Varies by variant

  Launched in Europe in 2014, in the United States in 2016. Colour variants of varied origins: Orange (Honduras), Black and White (Dominican Republic), Red (Estelí, Nicaragua, 2018, Ecuadorian ligero Habano wrapper), then Green, Jamao, Tercio-Aged and Brazilian Shade, according to the house.

  Robusto · Toro · Churchill · Torpedo · White Robusto

• Gold Label

  Wrapper Connecticut Golden Shade · Strength Mild

  Connecticut Golden Shade wrapper from the first and second primings (Capa Especial), Mexican San Andrés binder, Mexican and Dominican filler (piloto cubano). The house describes it as a limited-edition line, smooth, with creamy and almond notes; it suggests a coffee or an IPA.

  No.1 · Corona · Prince of Wales · Robusto · Toro

🥃 Pairings

• Black coffee

  Coffee

  The house suggests it for the Café and for the Gold Label (macanudo.com, read in October 2026).

• Brown ale

  Beer

  Suggested by the house for the Café.

• IPA

  Beer

  Suggested by the house for the Gold Label.

👤 Associated figures

• Edgar M. Cullman Sr.

  Head of General Cigar for decades; died in August 2011 aged 93, according to the trade press. The exact dates of his tenure differ from one source to another.

✨ Notable limited editions

• Macanudo Estate Reserve Release No. 1
• Macanudo Estate Reserve Release No. 2
• Macanudo Estate Reserve Release No. 3
• Macanudo Vintage 1997