Camacho

Camacho is the Honduran brand owned by Oettinger Davidoff. Cuban exile Simon Camacho opened a factory in Miami in 1961. After he died, Caribe Imported Cigars and the Eiroa family took the company. Oettinger dates that purchase to 1994. Christian Eiroa has said 1995. The Camacho that smokers know was built after that, in Honduras. Julio Eiroa grew Authentic Corojo in the Jamastran Valley, from the seed line Daniel Rodríguez brought to Honduras from Cuba's El Corojo farm. Christian ran Caribe in Miami and, around 2000, put Camacho Corojo on the shelf. Rolling was at Tabacos Rancho Jamastran in Danlí, where the family also made Baccarat and La Fontana. Diploma was the upper-priming line from those Corojo years.

The sale that split the story closed on 1 October 2008 and was announced on 13 October. Oettinger bought the company and the Rancho Jamastran factory. The farms stayed with the Eiroas. Christian, then 36, stayed president and reported to chief executive Reto Cina. Julio left the company and kept growing in the valley. A ten-year tobacco purchase agreement covered Eiroa leaf and was not renewed. Christian had founded CLE Cigar Company by May 2012. CLE's first cigars were rolled at Rancho Jamastran, by then a Davidoff factory. CLE and Aladino now roll at the family's own Danlí factory. That floor is not where Camacho is made.

In 2013 the brand reset the catalog and the packaging, and the scorpion became the mark. Davidoff then built Diadema Cigars de Honduras on the outskirts of Danlí. The plant was announced in 2015, rolling was underway in 2016, and it was the working Camacho factory by 2017. In 2015 the group also bought Finca La Merced, an 81-acre farm about 45 minutes from Danlí, to grow its own criollo and corojo. That farm does not make every Camacho an estate puro. Camacho is not rolled at Tabadom. Corojo is still the power line. Connecticut is the milder line. Triple Maduro is the darker, sweeter line. Ecuador and Broadleaf sit beside them on the shelf. Liberty began in 2002 as a Fourth of July release, first in five sizes. Most years since have been one vitola, often the 11/18 figurado named for Christian Eiroa's mother's birthday on November 18. American Barrel Aged, Coyolar, Criollo, and Nicaragua Barrel Aged left the U.S. price list in October 2022.

Who owns Camacho? Oettinger Davidoff, the same Swiss parent as Davidoff, AVO, The Griffin's, and Zino. Davidoff, AVO, and Griffin's are the Dominican sisters at Tabadom. Zino is the other Central American brand in the group. Camacho is the Honduran one, on Davidoff's own Danlí floor. It is not an STG or Forged marca, and it is not a CLE cigar.