The premium tobacco industry is mourning the passing of Carlos Alberto Toraño Sr., patriarch of one of the most well-known families of the cigar industry. Toraño passed away peacefully in his home in February 2022. He was 78 years old. Toraño is credited with building his family’s name and brand within the premium tobacco and cigar categories. His family relocated to the U.S. and entered the tobacco business following the Cuban Revolution. The Toraño family is recognized as one of the oldest and most longstanding families in the cigar industry. When he was 16 years old, Toraño lived through the nationalization of Cuba in 1959 and experienced his family’s tobacco fields and business being taken away. The family was forced to leave the island, but they did not give up on the tobacco business. The Toraños continued to seek out high-quality tobaccos grown in different countries. Carlos Toraño Sr. didn’t join his family’s business until after his father’s death in 1970. Previously, Toraño had earned an education in the U.S. and sold computers. It was in May of 1974 when Toraño got involved with his family’s tobacco growing operation at the request of several family members who were interested in continuing the family’s tobacco legacy and business. Toraño later started a tobacco brokerage business, Central America Tobacco Corp. Under his watch, the Toraño family’s tobacco business evolved and grew vastly more profitable and complex. By 1994, his company was distributing its own premium cigar products. Premium cigar lines such as the Carlos Toraño Signature Series, The Tribute and 1959 Exodus helped make the Toraño family a powerhouse in the cigar industry and its namesake cigars a mainstay in humidors among cigar smokers around the world. The company also manufactured cigars for several companies, including Gurkha, CAO and Dunhill, among others. As computers and the internet began to dominate business, Toraño and his company realized how important it was to be able to control the manufacturing process. The family owned and operated its own cigar factory in 1997 and would later have factories and tobacco fields located in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras. In 1996, Toraño’s son, Charlie, joined the family business. In 2012, Toraño quietly retired from the family’s tobacco business. In his later years, he traveled extensively with his wife, Evelyn Toraño-Trinidad. “My husband was a man loved and admired by many,” his wife commented. “He was always ready to offer a hug, a smile and advice. A noble man, he was always eager to share his knowledge. As a result, a great deal of people were able to advance successfully in their careers. Carlos was irreplaceable, and I miss my best friend deeply.” The Toraño premium cigar brand was sold to General Cigar Company in 2014. Those interested in contacting Evelyn Toraño-Trinidad and the family are asked to do so through Gabriel Piñeres of Creativas Group Public Relations at gpineres@creativasgroup.com. TB T INMEMORIAM Carlos ·lberto Toraño Sr. 96 TOBACCO BUSINESS | MARCH / APRIL | 22
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