Like many old-world cigar manufacturers, Raices Cubanas has the right to claim that it was "born from true Cuban roots." However, unlike many of the OG's in the cigar game, the Raices Cubanas brand has only been around for about a year. In fact, PCA 2025 was the first time that many of us have gotten an opportunity to see any of the company's stogies up close and give them a puff.

But that's not to say that the parent company that makes all four of the smokes that we have added to the Klaro portfolio has not been around for a hot minute. In fact, the Honduran factory commonly known as Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas has been operational since 2003, it just has been producing cigars for a bunch of other big names in the biz. Some of these names include, but are not limited to: Illusione, Viaje, Alec Bradley, HVC, and the Foyle line for Alliance Cigar.

Out of all of these manufacturers, it was Alec Bradley who helped make the Raices Cubanas cigar brand a reality. For about two decades, a cat by the name of Ralph Montero served as executive vice president, chief product specialist, and partner over at Alec Bradley. Thanks to his collaborative efforts with Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas, cigars like Alec Bradley's Magic Toast came to fruition, and more importantly, a bond was born.

So when Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) purchased Alec Bradley a few years back, Montero saw this as his opportunity for a fresh start. Naturally, he turned toward the company that he respected the most, and who he felt posed the most potential for growth: Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas.

Like Montero, Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas' founders were also born from deep Cuban roots. However, their dedication to producing cigars that lean heavily upon top-tier local Honduran leaf can be clearly seen in the cigars they produce. Founded and operated by Romay Endemaño and his wife Maria (Lipa), along with the help of their son Hugo, the Endemaño family's continued collaboration with Montero appears to be the signal of great things to come. 

Raices Cubanas Clásico

Mild-to-medium in every measurable amount, Clásico is one of those nuts-n-honey sort of breakfast cigars that is guaranteed to put a little extra cream in your coffee morning routine. Utilizing a straw-colored wrapper from the Trojes growing region in Honduras, a binder from the Jamastran Valley, and four different filler leaves, this Honduran puro is sure to keep a myriad of cigar smokers pleasantly surprised and satisfied.

Raices Cubanas Liga de Reyes

Also packing four unique filler varietals, which coincidentally hail from the same growing regions of Jamastran and Trojes, comes Liga de Reyes. Cloaked in a chestnut brown-colored wrapper from Trojes, this blend features a dual-binder combo, with one being from the Jamastran Valley and the other out of Estelí, Nicaragua. Marketed as a medium-plus cigar, this bold blend is a personal fave here at Klaro, and will more than likely be the first stick we review out of the core line.

Raices Cubanas GRD3

Recognized as the large ring gauge cigar line at Raices Cubanas, the GRD3 (or GRanD3 as it is also called) starts with a 60 gauge and goes up from there. Also known for having not one, but two binders, these cigars take a 100% Honduran puro approach to cultivation and production. Like the rest of the Raices Cubanas collection, specific strain varietals remain undisclosed. So all we know about these big-ass smokes is that they are medium-bodied, malty, and rock a wrapper from Trojes, binders from Jamastran and Trojes, and a duo of fillers from Trojes. 

Raices Cubanas C5 Black

And then there is C5 Black, which is an abbreviated representation of the Spanish phrase el corte cinco. This phrase is commonly utilized in the fields when referring to the fifth priming off the tobacco plant. These leaves are located at the very top and due to their extended exposure to the sun are pretty damn potent. It is this fifth and final priming that makes the wrapper on the C5 Black so special, comes from the fifth priming of leaves off of plants grown down in the fields of Trojes. Like Liga de Reyes, dual binders from Estelí and Jamastran are put into action, as a trio of filler mixtures from Jamastran and Trojes round out the build.