The Truth About Kennedy and Those Cuban Cigars

You may have heard the story of President John F. Kennedy sending his press secretary, Pierre Salinger, out to buy a stockpile of Cuban cigars the night before he signed the Cuban embargo into law. You might have wondered if the story was true, or simply an urban legend.

Well, it is true.

Here, courtesy of Janson media, is some archival footage in which the late Pierre Salinger recounts the incident in his own words Just click on the player (you might have to click twice if you are using Internet Explorer) and you’ll learn some things not only about that incident, but about some cigars smuggled into the White House after the embargo became law:

More about the Cuban Petit Upmann and President Kennedy’s favorite cigar below the fold.

Sallinger mentions in the video that the Cuban cigars Kennedy sent him out to buy were Petit Upmann’s “as I remember it.” In print interviews, he was more definite and specifically says that it was 1200 H. Upmann Petit Corona cigars that he purchased in that lesser-known but equally-legendary midnight ride.

Something that isn’t usually mentioned is that Kennedy originally planned that the embargo would not include Cuban cigars. In an interview with the New York Times in 2000, Richard Goodwin, who had been an assistant to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, revealed that JFK told him in early 1962 that “We tried to exempt cigars, but the cigar manufacturers in Tampa objected. I guess we’re out of luck.”

In addition to Cubans, Kennedy was known to favor Philippine cigars. Some Alhambras were sent to him upon his election, packed in as “victory cigars” in individual wooden boxes within a a larger box. Each box was monogrammed with his name.

We know this because one of the boxes was auctioned off a few years back, bringing U.S. $3,000.00 on the block. It had originally been presented to Wilbur J. Cohen, Kennedy’s Assistant Secretary for Legislation in 1960, by Kennedy. Cohen’s widow gave it to John Clevenger, whose father had been a close friend and political ally Cohens, and Clevenger put it up for sale.

Other White House insiders of the Kennedy era say that JFK actually preferred Philippine cigars to Cubans, but the truth of that claim remains in dispute. What we do know — again because one of the monogrammed boxes came up for auction — is that the president continued to receive a steady supply of cigars from the Philippines throughout his presidency.

Little evidence remains as to what brand (or brands) he favored, however, because he ordered almost all of the special boxes burned in the White House furnace after they were empty.

Alhambras are one of the main brands of the Philippines largest cigar maker, La Flor de la Isabela, and the mildest cigar that they make. Since the Petit Upmann is a mild to medium Cuban cigar, it is likely that Kennedy would have enjoyed Alhambras as well, especially as a lighter, daytime smoke. Or, he might have favored the flagship La Flor line of Tabacalera, which is mild, sweet and spicy.

Ironically, La Flor de la Isabela has been linked with another U.S. President.

In 1999, the company, which claims its cigars are “used in the White House” introduced a new brand called Monica Lewinsky. The company got the idea to introduce the new cigar when they noticed their cigars featured in televised shots of the Oval Office and heard stories during the scandal about multiple uses the cigars were put to. The cigar, which has a picture of the famed former White House intern on its plastic outer wrapping, was a hand-rolled blend with an Indonesian wrapper and four types of Philippine tobaccos as filler.

No information was provided by the company on how they recommeded the cigars be stored.

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