THANKS, FIDEL! How Cuba lost its Cigar King of the World crown to the Dominican Republic.

Cuba is no longer seen as the source of the finest cigars thanks to the increasing dominance of its near neighbor, the Dominican Republic,

This year, Habanos SA – the Havana-based business that oversees all Cuban cigar sales – reported 2022 revenues of $545 million, a 2 per cent increase on the previous 12 months (a figure helped considerably by skyrocketing prices of Cuban cigars).

The Dominican Republic, however, broached the $1 billion mark almost three years ago and exports are still growing, making cigars its fifth-largest export after gold, electrical products, textiles and medical equipment (who knew?).

As the late P.J. O’Rourke wrote in 1992, “You can’t get good Chinese takeout in China and Cuban cigars are rationed in Cuba. That’s all you need to know about communism.”