The Band: A Paper Ring Conquers the World

No part of a cigar is more dispensable than the anilla — and none has more effect. Tradition attributes the invention of the small paper ring to Gustave Bock, a European immigrant in nineteenth-century Havana; common datings vary between the 1830s and 1850s. Bock’s problem was straightforward: European manufacturers were selling inferior cigars under Cuban names. So he had a band bearing his signature placed around each of his cigars — a certificate of authenticity made of paper. The idea proved so persuasive that within a few decades practically all Cuban exporters were banding their cigars.

The prettier explanation is the one almost every smoker knows: the band protects the white gloves of fine gentlemen and ladies from tobacco stains. It has been passed down through generations because it sounds so good — a reliable primary source for it does not exist. As an origin story it is legend; as an anecdote it is indestructible.

From seal of authenticity, the band soon became a stage. Embossing, gilt, coats of arms and medals turned the anilla into the smallest advertising space in the world and the calling card of every marca — and incidentally into a collecting field in its own right: vitolphilia. To the present day the band has also remained a test: washed-out colours and absent embossing are among the most reliable warning signs of counterfeits.

There remains the question that arises at every lounge table sooner or later: take it off or leave it on? Both are perfectly acceptable — the strict remove-it rule is British tradition; on the Continent the matter was never taken so seriously. Practically speaking there is much to be said for waiting: the band is glued, and on a cold cigar the wrapper tears easily when you pull it off. After a few minutes the warmth releases the adhesive by itself — more on this in Cigar Etiquette.