Juan López is the name of a cigar brand produced on the island of Cuba for Habanos S.A., the Cuban state-owned tobacco company.
In 1876, Juan López Sena (aka Juan López Diaz) created the Juan López brand.[1] producing cigars in Havana on Calle de Los Dragones.[2] In 1908, the brand was passed to his heirs and was then sold to the Sociedad Cosme Del Peso y Cía in 1918, which owned the brand until the Cuban revolution.[1] During its history, the brand has also been labeled Flor de Juan López, only to return to the original name in time.[2]
In September 1960, the Cuban revolutionary government nationalized the Cuban cigar industry and seized the factory where Juan López cigars were manufactured.[3] Production has resumed, and today all Juan López cigars are made by hand (hecho a mano) at the La Habana factory in Havana.[4]
There is also a non-Cuban "Juan Lopez" cigar made with Nicaraguan tobaccos and marketed by Altadis S.A. (now owned by Imperial Tobacco) in several sizes.