Graycliff

The story of Graycliff cigars begins not in Cuba or Nicaragua but in Nassau, in a colonial mansion that started its life as a pirate's fortress. Built in 1740 for the buccaneer Captain John Howard Graysmith, the property passed through centuries of history before Italian-born entrepreneur Enrico Garzaroli purchased it in 1973 and transformed it into what would become the Caribbean's first five-star hotel and restaurant. A passionate cigar smoker, Garzaroli grew frustrated that he couldn't find a cigar worthy of his table, so in January 1997 he started making his own, beginning with a single roller in the foyer of the Graycliff Restaurant. That humble beginning grew into a boutique cigar company staffed by Cuban master rollers, working on the hotel grounds in Nassau.The operation gained immediate credibility when Garzaroli recruited Avelino Lara, one of the most significant figures in Cuban cigar history. Lara had created the Cohiba brand in Havana in 1966, served as the first director of the El Laguito factory, and was Fidel Castro's personal roller. After growing tired of the Cuban government's interference in his craft, he retired and joined Graycliff in Nassau. The cigars are made entirely by hand in small quantities to maintain quality, with each roller responsible for a cigar from start to finish in the Cuban tradition. Production is intentionally capped to preserve that boutique standard. The core Graycliff line uses an Indonesian wrapper over a filler blend of Brazilian, Honduran, and Nicaraguan leaf with an Indonesian binder, and the resulting cigar is mild to medium-bodied with the smooth, refined character that suits the hotel's culinary-driven context perfectly.