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{{Infobox company
| name = General Cigar Company
| logo = https://www.cigarjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/general-cigar-company-logo.jpg
| type = 
| industry = Tobacco
| fate =
| predecessor = Cullman Brothers
| founded = {{Start date and age|1906}} in [[Evansville, Indiana|Evansville]], [[Indiana]], USA
| founder = <!-- or: | founders = -->
| defunct = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| hq_location_city = Richmond, Virginia
| hq_location_country = 
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = Regis Broersma (President)
| products = Premium Cigar and Pipe Tobacco
| owner = <!-- or: | owners = -->
| num_employees = 
| num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) -->
| parent = [[Scandinavian Tobacco Group]]
| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
}}
'''General Cigar Company''' is the largest manufacturer of [[cigars|premium cigars]] in the world. It is a subsidiary of [[Scandinavian Tobacco Group]] with North American headquarters located in Richmond, Virginia. 
[[File:General Cigar Company in Evansville.jpg|thumb|General Cigar Company]]

==Company history==

In 1961 General Cigar, which was profitably selling about $30 million worth of cigars annually, was purchased for approximately $25 million by a group of investors headed by [[Edgar M. Cullman]] (brother of then [[Altria Group|Philip Morris]] Company CEO [[Joseph Cullman]]), a fourth generation American in the tobacco industry.<ref name="Int">Marvin R. Shanken, "Interview: Edgar Cullman, Sr.," ''Cigar Aficionado,'' vol. 3, no. 1 (Autumn 1994), pp. 55–71.</ref>

Later in the 1960s, Culbro{{clarify|date=December 2018}} and General Cigar acquired Gradiaz Annis, maker of [[Gold Label (cigar brand)|Gold Label]] cigars and the Temple Hall factory that owned the [[Macanudo (cigar)|Macanudo]] brand name, ushering in a turn towards hand-rolled premium cigars.<ref name="Int" /> Macanudo, a small label made in limited quantities for the market in the [[United Kingdom]], was seen as the principal vehicle for growth in the premium cigar category.  A careful effort was made to reblend the product for the large American marketplace (then and now subject to a ban on Cuban tobacco, the industry's gold standard) using select [[binder (cigar)|binder]] and [[filler (cigar)|filler]] from the [[Dominican Republic]], [[Jamaica]], and [[Mexico]] and [[Connecticut shade tobacco|Connecticut shade]]-grown [[Cigar#Wrappers|wrapper]].<ref name="Int" /> Mass advertising was conducted in support of the brand, which by the early 1990s had grown into the best selling premium cigar label in the United States.<ref name="Int" />

In 1978 General registered a U.S. trademark on the brand name "[[Cohiba (cigar brand)|Cohiba]]", thereby obtaining the right to use the name of that premium Cuban cigar in the American market without any connection to or content provided by its Cuban maker. Protracted legal wrangling followed, resolved when the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U. S. Supreme Court]] [{{SCOTUS URL Docket|05-417}} denied] the petition of the Cuban tobacco marketing agency, [[Cubatabaco]], in 2006.<ref>''Empresa Cubana del Tabaco v. Culbro Corp.'', 399 F.3d 462 (2d Cir. 2005).</ref> General Cigar's Cohiba cigars bear a disclaimer stating that they are not affiliated in any way with the Cuban Cohiba brand.

From 1978 General Cigar has also produced the Cuban tobacco free [[Partagás (cigar brand)|Partagas]] and Bolivar cigar brands for the American market in competition with Cuban brands of the same name. Initial production of Partagas was conducted in [[Jamaica]], but the following year production moved to a modern {{convert|70000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} factory in [[Santiago, Dominican Republic]].<ref name="Family">James Suckling, "The Partagas Family: Cigar Smokers from Around the World Gathered in Havana and Orlando This Summer to Celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Partagas Cigars," ''Cigar Aficionado,'' vol. 4, no. 2 (Winter 1995/96), pp. 134–143.</ref>

A similar [[trade dress]] to the Cuban product has been used by General Cigar for its competing version of the Partagás brand, employing a red-and-gold [[cigar band|band]] scheme, save with the word "Habana" replaced by the date "1845" on the packaging.<ref name="Family" />

In 1997, General Cigar acquired [[Villazon]], a company marketing non-Cuban versions of the leading Cuban cigar brands [[Punch (cigar brand)|Punch]] and [[Hoyo de Monterrey]].<ref name="Neptune">[http://www.neptunecigar.com/co/faq-general_cigar_co.aspx "General Cigar Co.,"] Neptune Cigars, neptunecigar.com/ Retrieved October 24, 2010.</ref>

In 2005, [[Swedish Match]] acquired General Cigar.<ref>[http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050222005829/en/Swedish-Match-Acquire-Remaining-Ownership-General-Cigar Swedish Match To Acquire Remaining Ownership In General Cigar]</ref> In 2010, Swedish Match merged its premium cigars into [[Scandinavian Tobacco Group]].<ref>{{Cite web| last = Savona| first = David| title = Swedish Match and Scandinavian Tobacco Merge to Form Giant Cigar Company| work = CigarAficionado.com| accessdate = 2016-06-27| url = http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show?id=15615}}</ref>

In 2016, Swedish Match sold its shares of General Cigar back to STG.

In January of 2021, Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S (STG), the company behind General Cigar and Cigars International, announced the formation of a new company, The Forged Cigar Company, an independent national cigar distribution network. The cigar brands under General Cigar were split up between General and Forged with the latter focusing more on Brick and Mortar business.

The first brands that were moved to The Forged Cigar Company were Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, Bolivar Cofradia, Diesel and Chillin’ Moose. Brands that remained with General included CAO, Cohiba, Hoyo de Monterrey, Macanudo, and Punch. Later the El Rey Del Mundo brand was added to Forged's portfolio.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-01-13 |title=Cigar News: STG Announces The Forged Cigar Company |url=https://blindmanspuff.com/cigar-news-stg-announces-the-forged-cigar-company/ |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=Blind Man's Puff |language=en-US}}</ref>

==General Cigar's brands==
* [[Ramone Allones]] (non-Cuban production in competition with the Cuban brand)
* [[Bolivar (cigar brand)|Bolivar]] (non-Cuban production in competition with the Cuban brand)
* CAO 
* [[Cohiba (cigar brand)|Cohiba]] (non-Cuban production in competition with the Cuban brand)
* Don Tomás
* Excalibur
* Foundry
*Diesel 
* Helix
* [[La Gloria Cubana]] (non-Cuban production in competition with the Cuban brand)
* [[Hoyo de Monterrey]] (non-Cuban production in competition with the Cuban brand)
* [[Macanudo (cigar)|Macanudo]] 
*Inspirado (Macanudo line extension)
* [[Partagas]] (non-Cuban production in competition with the Cuban brand)
* [[Punch (cigar brand)|Punch]] (non-Cuban production in competition with the Cuban brand)
* [[El Rico Habano]]
* Sancho Panza (non-Cuban production in competition with the Cuban brand)
* Temple Hall
*Toraño
*Brioso
*La Estrella Cubana
*Odyssey

==Historic building==
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = General Cigar Company
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = General Cigar Company in Evansville.jpg
| caption      = Southern side of the building
| location     = 223 NW 2nd St., [[Evansville, Indiana|Evansville]], [[Indiana]]
| coordinates  = {{coord|37|57|51|N|87|34|30|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin     = Indiana#USA
| built        = 1902
| builder      = Harry Boyle and Company; Alfred E. Neucks
| architecture = Arts and Crafts
| added        = March 15, 2000
| area         = Less than {{convert|1|acre}}
| refnum       = 00000212<ref name=nris>{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
The General Cigar Company building at [[Evansville, Indiana]] was built in 1902, and expanded in 1929. It is a three-story, "L"-shaped red brick building with [[Arts and Crafts movement|Arts and Crafts]] style design elements.<ref name="SHAARD">{{cite web| url = https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/welcome.html| title = Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD) | publisher = Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology | format = Searchable database| accessdate = 2016-08-01}} ''Note:'' This includes {{cite web| url =https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/r/221da/N/General_Cigar_Company_Vanderburgh_CO_Nom.pdf| title = National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: General Cigar Company| accessdate = 2016-08-01| author=Kristen Brennan|format = PDF| date=June 1999}}</ref> It was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2000.<ref name=nris/>

==See also==
*[[List of cigar brands]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.cigarworld.com/}}
* [http://www.stogiepedia.com/wiki/General_Cigar "General Cigar,"] on Stogiepedia.
* [http://www.neptunecigar.com Neptune Cigar]

{{Evansville, Indiana}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:General Cigar Company}}
[[Category:Cigar manufacturing companies]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1961]]
[[Category:Companies based in Evansville, Indiana]]
[[Category:2005 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:1997 initial public offerings]]