Plasencia: A legacy of tobacco passion

The story of the Plasencia family begins in Cuba, on the fertile lands of the Vuelta Abajo, then takes us to Nicaragua and Honduras, where the 5th generation Plasencia continues today to make cigars in the pure family tradition. First tobacco growers and merchants, then subcontractors for other brands such as Rocky Patel, Alec Bradley and Casa Magna, the members of the Plasencia family now belong to the very select circle of premium cigar manufacturers.

A story of passion and resilience

The Plasencia family's love affair with tobacco began in 1865, when the family patriarch, Eduardo Plasencia, left the Canary Islands for Cuba. Upon his arrival on the island, this Spanish immigrant bought a small plot of land in the Vuelta Abajo region and began growing his own tobacco.

A few years later, he was joined by his nephew, Elder Sixto Plasencia, who helped him expand his plots. Thanks to the income generated by the sale of their produce, the latter opened the first family farm in 1898. Located in the municipality of San Luis in Pinar del Río, the "Corojal" farm quickly became one of the island's most important suppliers of tobacco.

In 1920, Elder Sixto Plasencia founded the "Hijos de Sixto Plasencia" company with his sons, and began exporting tobacco internationally. This company was active until the Cuban Revolution, and enabled the Plasencia family to forge a solid reputation abroad.

After their land was confiscated by the Castro regime, the 3rd generation Plasencia moved to Nicaragua and resumed production, planting the best seeds imported from Cuba. But in 1978, history repeated itself and the family's plantations were set on fire by Sandinista forces. Forced into exile in Honduras, the Plasencia family once again started from scratch and relaunched new plantations.

It was here that Nestor Plasencia, a 4th-generation Plasencia, took over the family business. Under his leadership, the family began producing cigars as a subcontractor, and by 1986 was manufacturing over a million cigars a year. With the end of the Sandinista Revolution in 1990, the family was finally able to return to Nicaragua, but also maintained its plantations in Honduras. In just a few years, Nestor Plasencia managed to increase production from 1 million to 33 million cigars a year. In the early 2000s, some thirty brands, including Alec Bradley, Gurkha, Vegas and Casa Magna, placed their trust in the Plasencia family.

The secrets of success

If the Plasencia cigars continue to inspire aficionados the world over, it's first and foremost thanks to the exceptional quality of the tobacco used in their manufacture. Before being cigar makers, Plasencia were tobacco growers. It's this passion for tobacco growing and the love of a job well done that form the heart of the family business.

Driven by this generational perspective, the Plasencia family places fundamental importance on the sustainability of its crops. Ecological sustainability is an integral part of their project, and each of their plantations is certified organic. In addition to using no pesticides on its tobacco plants, the Plasencia family is constantly innovating to improve the quality of its soils. For example, they have introduced compost worms into their crops to facilitate soil recovery after harvesting. They also use a fertirrigation system that combines soil fertilization and irrigation while reducing environmental impact.

All these techniques have not only enabled the Plasencia family to improve the quality of their crops, but also to increase their yields. Today, its plantations in Nicaragua and Honduras cover more than 5,000 hectares of cultivated land.

Plasencia also stands out for the importance it places on the well-being of its employees. The family is well aware that to make prestigious cigars, it needs motivated, well-trained employees. For this reason, each of its factories has a child development center responsible for children's education and health, a psychology department to address employees' needs and problems, a medical clinic and a training center. Since implementing these initiatives, Plasencia has seen a substantial improvement in employee retention.

Plasencia today

In 2015, Plasencia became the world's largest tobacco producer, with over 6,000 employees, 4 factories and 8 plantations spread between Nicaragua and Honduras, and 40 million cigars produced every year. In 2017, the family also reached a milestone by launching its own brand of cigars: "Plasencia Cigars".

In the same year, Néstor Andrés, Gustavo, and JoséLuis Plasencia (the 5th Plasencia generation) introduced the Alma, Reserva original and Cosecha 146 lines. True representations of «Plasencia quality», they offer perfectly harmonious cigars with great aromatic complexity, made from tobaccos aged between 8 and 10 years. Last November, the brand also celebrated the FIFA World Cup with the launch of Plasencia Ehtëfal. Made from a blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos, this blend was presented as a «celebration of the world coming together once again after two difficult years».

For over 150 years, the Plasencia family has been perfecting the art of tobacco cultivation and producing top-quality cigars. Thanks to their vertical integration, they have mastered every stage of production to perfection, and are able to respond continuously to growing demand. From the choice of seeds to the manufacture and ageing of the cigars, nothing is left to chance. There's no doubt that future Plasencia generations will be able to perpetuate the family tradition and continue producing prestigious cigars for years to come.