The World’s Longest Cigar Showcased In Ybor City
Cigars keep on getting bigger. Behemoth sticks proliferate the cigar market: six by 60s, seven by 70s, eight by 80s and beyond. But what about a cigar that’s 469 feet long by 120 ring gauge—is that big enough? We hope so, as those are the dimensions of what is now the world’s longest cigar ever rolled. The gargantuan smoke was recently completed and showcased at Tampa Cigar Week in Ybor City, beating the previous world record out of Cuba that measured 295 feet long.
Odelma Matos, dubbed by some as the “Queen of Ybor City,” is the cigar roller responsible for this mighty creation. Matos is a fourth-generation Cuban cigar roller and owner of La Faraona Cigars, which has both a factory and a lounge located on 7th Avenue in Ybor City, Tampa’s cigar-centric neighborhood. She’s been working on this project for some time, but the majority of the cigar was rolled over the course of two weeks, in 40-foot parts, before the pieces were joined together on Saturday, March 21. The 469-foot monster stretched along 7th Avenue, (which was closed to cars for the event) ultimately reaching about two blocks long.
“She is one of the best Cuban cigarmakers I’ve ever known,” says Carlos Fuente Jr., owner of Arturo Fuente cigars and a proud member of the Tampa community. “I’m so proud of her.”
Matos finished the cigar during Tampa Cigar Week, which is an annual celebration of premium smokes in Cigar City. Last week was the fifth rendition of the festival, which includes visits to historic factories, cigar rolling classes, lounge crawls, meet-and-greets with manufacturers and plenty of smoky parties.
The record for the world’s longest cigar has been traded back and forth between Cuba and Tampa for years. Twenty years ago, Tampa reclaimed the record with a 101-foot smoke. In 2016, the title went back to the island of Cuba with a 295-foot cigar. Now, the previous records seem miniscule compared to the gargantuan cigar that was recently displayed in Ybor City. Unfortunately, the new feat wasn’t verified by Guinness World Records, as the company no longer certifies records that are related to tobacco products.
Even without that official title, it’s an accomplishment Tampa is proud to have earned once again. “We are so proud of Odelma for shattering the record for the longest cigar in the world,” says Drew Newman of J.C. Newman Cigars, which is headquartered in Tampa. “As Tampa has been world famous as ‘Cigar City’ since 1886, it is only fitting that the record for the world’s longest cigar returns home to Tampa’s Ybor City historic cigar district.” Newman also added that while he doesn’t see the record being beaten anytime soon, he does hope Matos will consider rolling a 500-foot cigar to celebrate Ybor City’s 150th anniversary in 2036.
The cigar has since been cut into sections, and it’s unclear what its fate shall be. Matos says they haven’t attempted to smoke the cigar yet, but maybe some lover of oversized cigars will be up to the task.
