Por Larranaga
Traditionally the oldest surviving Havana marca, now a small line kept alive largely through regional editions.
Por Larranaga is usually described as the oldest Havana brand still in production, conventionally dated to 1834 and founded by Ignacio Larranaga. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was a substantial house with a strong following in Britain.
That reputation was tested in 1925, when Por Larranaga imported American rolling and wrapping machines and became the first Havana factory to attempt cigar production at industrial scale. The economics were compelling on paper: mechanization cut production costs by an estimated 25 percent, and a machine operator could be trained in two weeks against the years of apprenticeship a torcedor needed. Cuban rollers responded with strikes and a boycott, and the company was forced to return the machines to their American supplier and revert to hand production. The episode set a precedent that has held for a century: Habanos are still made entirely by hand, and "handmade in Cuba" carries the cachet it does today in part because of the fight Por Larranaga's own rollers won in 1925.
The modern Cuban range is very small, generally limited to a petit corona and a couple of other formats, with most of the brand's visibility coming from regional editions commissioned by individual markets. Production is handled at the La Corona factory. The blend is light to medium and is often described as sweet and cedar-forward, a profile that has kept a dedicated if narrow following.
A non-Cuban Por Larranaga has been sold under Altadis ownership. As with the other split trademarks, the two lines are unrelated in blend and manufacture. The 1834 founding date rests on brand tradition and is recorded here as reported. The brand is also instructive about Cuban portfolio management: rather than retire a historic name, Habanos keeps it in production at minimal volume and uses it to satisfy market-specific commissions.