Toscano
Tuscan cigars made without binders from fermented Kentucky tobacco
- Founded
- 1818
- Founded by
- Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
- Made in
- Italy
- Factory
- Manifatture Sigaro Toscano SpA, Lucca and Cava de' Tirreni, Italy
- Lines here
- 3
Shop this brandBoxes from $146
The house
The story of Toscano
In 1818, Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, founded a tobacco factory that manufactured Toscano cigars. According to the brand’s origin story, a bale of Kentucky tobacco drying outdoors was caught in an unexpected rainstorm. The wet leaves fermented in the summer heat and, rather than being discarded, were made into cigars for sale in Florence.
The resulting cigars became popular in Italy and entered regular production. Toscano later established a presence beyond its home market, particularly in Switzerland and Austria. The cigars are now manufactured by Manifatture Sigaro Toscano SpA in Lucca and Cava de' Tirreni.
Toscano retains its distinctive elliptical form, with truncated ends narrower than the central belly. Its uneven surface and visible wrapper ribs are characteristic, especially among hand-rolled cigars. Most examples measure approximately 150 to 160 millimetres, while Il Moro averages 230 millimetres.
The Italian custom of cutting a Toscano in half led to the Toscanello format, sold ready-cut as two shorter cigars. Toscano has also connected its packaging with Italian culture: boxes for the Garibaldi, Modigliani and Soldati cigars form the Italian flag when placed together.
Milestones
Moments that made the house
- 1818
Tuscan factory founded
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, founded a tobacco factory that manufactured Toscano cigars.
- 1959
Anatomy of a Murder
Toscano cigars appeared as Italian cigars in Otto Preminger's film Anatomy of a Murder.
- 1988
Sherlock Holmes appearance
Toscano cigars appeared in Granada Television's episode “The Bruce-Partington Plans.”
- 2021
Direct US distribution
From February 2021, Toscano distributed directly in the United States through Parodi Holdings LLC, doing business as Avanti Cigar Company.
Craft
How they make them
Toscano uses fermented Kentucky tobacco cultivated in several Italian regions, including Tuscany, Campania, Lazio, Umbria and Veneto, alongside North American Kentucky. Leaves are moistened and flame-cured for 15 to 20 days in ovens fueled by oak and beech, with moisture and temperature regulated through ventilated cells, a Stendaggio system and adjustments to the wood fire. The filler combines Italian and North American Kentucky, while some flavoured Toscanello cigars also use South American and Far Eastern Kentucky. Filler is rolled directly in the wrapper without a binder. Production includes machine-made cigars and hand-rolled lines, for which a sigaraia can make up to 520 cigars daily. Finished cigars are air-dried and matured in ventilated, humidity-controlled cells for periods that vary by type.
Details
Things most people don't know
- Chance origin
- The cigar originated after rain-soaked Kentucky tobacco fermented in the summer heat.
- No binder
- The filler is rolled directly in the wrapper rather than first being enclosed by a binder.
- Daily hand production
- A hand roller, known as a sigaraia, can produce up to 520 cigars per day.
- Largest format
- Toscano Il Moro averages 230 mm in length and can reach 20 mm in thickness.
- Italian flag packaging
- Garibaldi, Modigliani and Soldati boxes form the Italian flag when placed side by side.
- Cinema appearance
- Clint Eastwood smoked Toscanos in Sergio Leone's 1960s Spaghetti Westerns.
In the humidor
Toscano up close
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