Dutch Masters (cigar)

Dutch Masters is a brand of natural wrapped cigars sold in the United States since 1912. Its distinctive packaging features Rembrandt's 1662 painting The Syndics of the Drapers' Guild (De Staalmeesters). Dutch Masters cigars are currently manufactured and sold by Imperial Brands. They are machine-rolled cigars and come in two varieties: standard cigars and smaller cigarillos. [1][2]

Dutch Masters Cigars

A box of Dutch Masters Palma cigars
Inception	1912 (1912)
Manufacturer	G.H. Johnson Cigar Co.
Available	yes
Current supplier	Altadis USA (Imperial Tobacco)

G.H. Johnson Cigar Company was the original producer of the Dutch Masters cigar brand. Dutch Masters became a mainstay of the Consolidated Cigar Corporation, which merged the G.H. Johnson Cigar Company and six others in 1921. The Consolidated Cigar Corp. later became part of Altadis, formed in 1999 by a merger of the French and Spanish state tobacco monopolies.[3] Through its history the Dutch Masters cigar brand has become one of the most popular and profitable cigar brands in America.

Dutch Masters became well known in the late 1950s and early 1960s for its sponsorship of various television projects of comedian Ernie Kovacs. (Kovacs, a well known cigar smoker, never smoked Dutch Masters off camera, sticking almost exclusively to Havana cigars.) He was appreciative of Dutch Masters' allowing him nearly complete creative freedom in the production of their sponsored shows and commercials. His silent Dutch Masters commercials have become classics in their own right.

In 2015, Dutchmaster sponsored Wrap Parties hosted by Cipha Sounds and Drewski, The MVMT.