Corojo wrapper

A strain named for a farm

Corojo takes its name from the vega, or tobacco farm, where it was first grown: Santa Inés del Corojo, in Cuba's Vuelta Abajo.

Diego Rodríguez developed it there. Wikipedia places its use as wrapper from the 1930s. Cigar Aficionado's seed history calls it a 1940s hybrid, named for the plantation where it was first tested. Same farm, same purpose. A decade of disagreement on the date.

Both agree on the job. It was engineered for wrapper leaf. Before it, Cuba used Criollo in several parts of the cigar. Afterward, Criollo was pushed mostly into filler, because Corojo made the better wrapper.

From Vuelta Abajo to Honduras, in dates

Corojo spent roughly sixty years as Cuba's wrapper and then left the island.

1. 1930s to 1940sDiego Rodríguez develops the strain on his vega, Santa Inés del Corojo, in the Vuelta Abajo. Sources differ on the decade.
2. 1930s to 1990sCorojo wraps Cuban cigars across brands and factories, per Wikipedia.
3. Late 1970sBlue mold devastates Cuban tobacco. Breeders cross Corojo with Bell 61-10 on the way to Habano 2000.
4. 1996/97Last harvest of pure Corojo in Cuba, according to Wikipedia.
5. 2007Pure Corojo seed is propagated in western Kentucky as an F1 tobacco called Kenbano.
6. TodayMost pure Corojo leaf grows in the Jamastrán Valley of Honduras. Hybrids are far more common.

Why did Corojo fall out of favor?

Corojo lost its place because it got sick too easily, especially from blue mold and black shank.

Wikipedia names both diseases as the reason Cuban agronomists went looking for a hardier plant. Cigar Aficionado's 2015 seed report lists two more drawbacks: small leaves and slow fermentation. Small leaves mean fewer wrappers per plant. Slow fermentation means more time and money in the warehouse.

Cuba retired it in the late 1990s. The replacement wasn't a stranger. It was Corojo's own offspring.

Corojo's children carry the name

Most leaf sold as Corojo today is a hybrid that carries Corojo genes, not the pure 1930s strain.

• Habano 2000. Corojo crossed with Bell 61-10, a blue-mold-resistant cigarette tobacco. Its own page is Habano wrapper.
• Criollo 98. A blue-mold-resistant Cuban hybrid that, per Wikipedia, replaced Habano 2000 when that one fell out of favor.
• Corojo 99. A later Cuban selection carrying the name.
• Corojo 2012. From Cuba's Tobacco Research Institute, combining Corojo 99, Criollo 98 and Habano 2000, according to Cigar Aficionado.
• Honduran and Mexican Corojo. Wikipedia lists both among the disease-resistant offshoots.

So the word on the band tells you lineage. It doesn't promise the original plant. If a maker states the exact strain, that's the detail that matters.

Pure Corojo found new ground

Pure Corojo now grows mainly in the Jamastrán Valley of Honduras, Wikipedia reports.

It has a second American foothold, too. In 2007, pure Corojo seed was propagated in western Kentucky as an F1 tobacco named Kenbano, raised for hand-made cigar blends. Kentucky is better known for burley and dark tobacco, and it now grows Connecticut broadleaf as well.

What Corojo tends to taste like

Corojo's reputation rests on spice, and Wikipedia credits the strain with a spicy "punch."

Smokers add pepper, cinnamon, cedar and a dry, toasty finish to the list. The ferment can push the leaf lighter or darker, and the flavor moves with it. That's tendency talk. The filler under it sets most of the strength, so check the strength and body scale before you assume spice means power.

To match the shade, use the wrapper color chart. To name the spice, try the flavor wheel.

Corojo tobacco questions

Where the Corojo history comes from

1. Corojo, Wikipedia
2. Tobacco Typology, Cigar Aficionado
3. Criollo tobacco, Wikipedia
4. Types of tobacco: Corojo and its hybrids, Wikipedia