Tabacalera, co-shareholder of Habanos SA, launches a new non-Cuban brand in Europe and Asia

Already available in Spain, the brand of Cuban origin, now rolled in Honduras, will be released in several countries during 2025. 

After VegaFina and Capitol, Tabacalera, also owner of 50% of Habanos S.A., is launching a new brand in Europe. Henry Clay War Hawk cigars have already been available in Spain for a few weeks and will arrive in several other countries in the Old Continent and Asia in the coming months. 

Launched in Cuba in 1850 by two young Spaniards, Henry Clay was a brand of Havanas very popular in the 19th century, particularly in the United States. It is named after a Kentucky senator (1777-1852) celebrated for his art of compromise. Then it disappeared at the time of Castro’s revolution before reappearing in the 1980s in the United States. Today it belongs to Tabacalera. Formerly known as the premium cigar division of Imperial Tobacco, Tabacalera owns half of Habanos S.A. on an equal footing with the Cuban government and is owned by Allied Cigar Corp., a consortium of Asian investors.

Expected in Switzerland, Italy and Japan in 2025

The Henry Clay War Hawk cigars which will arrive in Europe and Asia in the coming months are rolled at the Flor de Copan factory in Honduras, property of Tabacalera. Other Henry Clay lines are made in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

Four vitolas are already marketed in Spain: a Corona (127 mm x 44), a Robusto (127 mm x 54), a Toro (152 mm x 50) and a Lonsdale (171 mm x 42). They are made up of a Honduras filler and binder covered with an Ecuador wrapper.

The brand will appear “in 2025” in Switzerland, indicates Intertabak AG. It is expected in Italy in March of the same year, according to Diadema SpA. At least one other European distributor plans to market it in 2025 but prefers not to communicate for the moment. 

Henry Clay War Hawks cigars will also be released in the first quarter of 2025 in Japan and other Asian countries served by Pacific Cigar Company.

On the other hand, Coprova for France and Laguito 1492 for the Benelux do not currently plan to market this new brand.