Italians on Italians
Beyond Toscano

The democracy of cigars

It’s rare that two opposing forces will agree on something, yet throughout history cigars have been popular with both the ruling elite...
Il Sigaro della Sera
It’s rare that two opposing forces will agree on something, yet throughout history cigars have been popular with both the ruling elite, and those they seek to govern. It’s the stereotype of British aristocracy; pin-stripe suit, expensive car and a fat cigar, largely popularized by Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in the war years. Churchill smoked for almost 70 years of his life, cutting his cigars with a V shape (which itself went on to carry iconic significance after the war in the form of the ‘V for Victory’ salute). He was introduced to Toscano cigars by Italian film director Mario Soldati, and was delighted by how easy they were to inhale. 
 
Churchill wasn’t the only world leader to enjoy a smoke. When he signed the peace treaty with Stalin and Roosevelt, each had celebratory tobacco of choice at hand. Naturally, the social norms of aristocracy hold no interest for rebels. And in terms of revolutionaries, they don’t come more iconic than Che Guevara. Like his ally, Fidel Castro, he enjoyed nothing more than to surround himself in the haze of a fine cigar. He even advised his guerrilla fighters to pack tobacco among their essential items because “ smoking is a great companion to the solitary soldier". 
 
Another counter-culture figure who loved cigars just as much as any nobleman was author Mark Twain, writer of the famous Huckleberry Finn books. He once declared “if smoking is not allowed in heaven, then I shall not go”. There’s a difference between rebels and down- right criminals, yet few would argue that notorious gangster Al Capone deserves his place in the history books. As he was led out of court and to the train that would take him to jail, he was granted the luxury of lighting one last cigar as a free man. 
 
So you see, when it comes to enjoying cigars, despite their reputation, the pleasure is about as democratic as you can get.