The Cohiba Short occupies a distinctive place within the wider Cohiba portfolio. Unlike the brand's traditional handmade long-filler cigars, the Short belongs to the small-cigar segment and uses a compact, machine-made format. Measuring approximately 82 mm in length with a 26 ring gauge, it is designed around a considerably shorter smoking experience than larger Cohiba vitolas.

Its small dimensions do not mean that it is simply a reduced version of a Cohiba Robusto or Siglo. The Short has its own construction, production method, and physical characteristics, making it useful to consider as a separate expression of the brand.

The History of Cohiba

The story of the Cohiba Short begins with the broader history of Cohiba itself.

Cohiba was created in Cuba in 1966 and was initially reserved largely for official gifts to government figures, diplomats, and other important visitors. The brand entered international markets in 1982. Habanos identifies the historic El Laguito factory in Havana as the traditional home of Cohiba production.

The name Cohiba comes from an old Taíno word associated with rolled tobacco leaves. Habanos connects the term with the tobacco observed in Cuba by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

Over the decades, the Cohiba portfolio expanded beyond its original formats. The brand now includes several lines and numerous vitolas, ranging from traditional handmade cigars to smaller cigar formats.

The Cohiba Short belongs to this later development of the brand and was introduced as a small-format cigar in 2017.

Understanding the Cohiba Short Format

The dimensions of the Cohiba Short are approximately:

  • Length: 82 mm

  • Ring gauge: 26

  • Diameter: approximately 10.3–10.6 mm

  • Format: Short

  • Production: machine-made

These specifications place it firmly within the small-cigar category.

The 82 mm length is considerably shorter than many traditional Cohiba formats. A Cohiba Robusto, for example, measures 124 mm with a 50 ring gauge, while the Siglo VI is approximately 150 mm long with a much larger ring gauge.

The Cohiba Short therefore provides a fundamentally different physical smoking experience. There is less tobacco involved, less time for the cigar to progress through different stages, and a smaller overall combustion area.

Machine-Made Construction

One of the most important characteristics of the Cohiba Short is its construction.

Unlike Cohiba's traditional handmade long-filler Habanos, the Cohiba Short is documented as machine-made.

This distinction is important when discussing the cigar because Cohiba's flagship handmade formats are generally associated with whole-leaf long-filler construction. Habanos describes the main Cohiba brand as being made entirely by hand.

The Short was developed for a different category: a compact cigar that could reproduce elements of the Cohiba tobacco character within a smaller and more standardized format.

Machine production allows the tobacco to be assembled and finished consistently at a scale appropriate for small cigars. It also gives the Short a construction identity that differs from the hand-rolled Robusto, Siglo, or Behike formats.

Tobacco and Cuban Origins

The Cohiba Short is associated with Cuban tobacco, maintaining the broader agricultural heritage of the brand.

Habanos states that Cohiba's selected tobacco comes from the Vuelta Abajo region of Pinar del Río, particularly from areas including San Juan y Martínez and San Luis. These leaves form the foundation of the broader Cohiba tobacco identity.

Vuelta Abajo is one of Cuba's principal tobacco-growing regions. Differences in soil, climate, cultivation, curing, fermentation, and aging can all affect the characteristics of tobacco grown there.

For the Cohiba Short specifically, cigar references describe the format as using Cuban tobacco in its components while being produced as a machine-made small cigar.

Cohiba's Additional Tobacco Fermentation

The broader Cohiba production tradition is also distinguished by additional fermentation.

Habanos states that two of the three principal types of leaves used in Cohiba—seco and ligero—undergo additional fermentation. The company associates this treatment with Cohiba's characteristic aroma and flavor.

This process is an important part of the brand's identity, although it should not be assumed that every production detail used for a large handmade Cohiba is identical to the manufacturing process of its small-cigar products.

Fermentation can alter tobacco's chemical composition and sensory characteristics, influencing aroma, color, smoothness, and flavor development.

Smoking Characteristics

The Cohiba Short is generally associated with a compact smoking period. Product specifications commonly place the experience at around 15 minutes, although actual duration depends on individual smoking pace and combustion.

Its small dimensions mean that the smoking experience develops relatively quickly. Instead of the extended progression possible with a Robusto or Siglo VI, the Short provides a shorter window in which its tobacco character is expressed.

Descriptions of the cigar commonly include earthy, woody, herbal, sweet, honeyed, hay-like, and lightly spicy impressions. These descriptions come from tasting reports and retailer observations rather than a fixed technical flavor specification, so individual cigars can vary.

The compact format can also make the tobacco character feel relatively direct. There is less physical length through which the blend can evolve, meaning changes between the beginning and end of the cigar may be less extensive than with larger formats.

How the Format Influences Flavor

Size plays an important role in cigar behavior.

A longer cigar provides more distance for smoke to travel and more tobacco through which combustion progresses. A wider cigar changes the relative contribution of wrapper, binder, and filler and can influence smoke volume and combustion.

At 82 mm by 26 ring gauge, the Cohiba Short occupies a very different physical space from a Cohiba Robusto or Siglo VI.

That difference helps explain why the Short should not be evaluated simply as a miniature version of a larger Cohiba. Its machine-made construction and compact dimensions create a separate smoking profile.

Cohiba Short and the Wider Cohiba Portfolio

The broader Cohiba range contains several distinct production categories.

The Línea Clásica, for example, consists of traditional Cohiba formats developed between 1966 and 1989. The Línea 1492 was introduced in 1992, while the Maduro 5 and Behike lines were introduced later. Habanos classifies the Línea Clásica as medium to full in strength and the Línea 1492 as medium.

The Cohiba Short does not simply fit into these larger handmade lines. Instead, it represents the brand's presence in the small-cigar category.

That distinction is particularly useful when comparing the Short with cigars such as the Robusto, Siglo III, or Siglo VI. The larger formats emphasize traditional hand construction and long-filler tobacco, while the Short emphasizes compact dimensions and machine production. https://cohibaclub.co.uk/product/cohiba-short-100/

What Makes the Cohiba Short Distinctive?

Several characteristics define the format:

Compact dimensions: At approximately 82 mm by 26 ring gauge, the Short is considerably smaller than traditional Cohiba vitolas.

Machine-made construction: Unlike Cohiba's traditional handmade long-filler cigars, the Short is produced mechanically.

Cuban tobacco: The cigar is associated with the Cuban tobacco tradition behind the Cohiba brand, whose selected leaves are linked to Vuelta Abajo in Pinar del Río.

Short smoking format: Its compact size produces a considerably shorter smoking period than larger Cohiba formats.

Distinctive flavor profile: Tasting descriptions commonly identify combinations of earth, wood, hay, honey, herbal notes, and spice, although individual experiences can differ.

Final Perspective

The Cohiba Short demonstrates how the identity of a major Cuban cigar brand can be adapted to a much smaller format. Its 82 mm length, 26 ring gauge, machine-made construction, and Cuban tobacco distinguish it from the traditional handmade long-filler cigars that dominate the better-known Cohiba lines.

Its history is ultimately connected to the much larger story of Cohiba, a brand created in 1966 and traditionally associated with selected tobacco from Vuelta Abajo and production in Havana.

For those studying cigar construction, the Cohiba Short is particularly interesting because it illustrates how dimensions and manufacturing methods can produce a substantially different expression of a familiar tobacco identity.

As with all tobacco products, cigar smoking carries established health risks, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory illness. Information about a cigar's history, production, or flavor characteristics does not reduce those risks.