President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, better known to the world as JFK, is famous for his lifelong love of smoking Cuban cigars. He was introduced to the pastime by his father and continued until his assassination in November 1963, resulting in countless photographs of John F Kennedy smoking cigars.

Let’s take a look at the JFK cigar legacy from all sides, including the 1961 Cuban Embargo, which banned the import of cigars into the USA from the Caribbean country.

So, who was this charismatic man behind closed doors, and what did his presidency mean for generations of cigar-smokers since? Sit back, light up an H. Upmann Original, and come with us back to the 1960s as the JR Blending Room dives in.

President Kennedy’s legacy reaches beyond his years. Ask many people who put a man on the moon in 1969, and they’ll say it was JFK, even though the Apollo 11 mission was six years after his death. That’s a testament to a man whose time in office lasted fewer than three years, from January 20th, 1961, to that fateful day in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963.

Despite serving less than one full term in office, JFK had a pivotal impact on the 20th century. His inaugural address included perhaps the most famous Kennedy quote of all: “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Kennedy was in office during key historical events, including when the Soviet Union sent Yuri Gagarin into space in April 1961, successfully sending the first human into space. In the same month, the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion took place, which ultimately led to the Cuban Embargo.

Photos of John F Kennedy smoking show a stylish, confident, and carefree man in his prime. But it’s impossible to talk about Kennedy’s love of smoking without mentioning the 1961 JFK Cigar Embargo. After Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, the CIA (then under President Eisenhower) devised a plan to use Cuban exiles to invade the island nation via the Bay of Pigs and take back control.

This invasion took place in April 1961. But it was a disaster. America’s involvement in the attempted coup was obvious, with US B-26 bombers repainted in Cuban Air Force colors. Of the Cuban exiles, nearly 1,200 were forced to surrender, leading to lengthy negotiations between the US and Cuba for the release of the hostages.

Following the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Kennedy wanted to destabilize the Cuban economy and signed the Cuban Embargo into effect. This banned the import of products from the country, but not before JFK bought a personal stash of around 1,200 Cuban cigars the night before signing the Embargo.

Banning Cuban cigars transformed the US tobacco industry. To this day, premium cigars are rolled in countries like Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, as well as the US itself.

Despite introducing the Cuban Embargo, JFK was known for loving a good smoke. According to reports, his personal favorite was an H. Upmann Original Petit Corona, and the President would often leave partially-smoked cigars behind when called to business.

Kennedy’s Cuban cigar stash

Pierre Salinger, Kennedy’s press secretary, told Cigar Aficionado about the night JFK asked him to get “a lot of cigars,” before adding: “About 1,000 Petit Upmanns.” He needed them by the following morning, and Salinger spent the night buying up all the stock he could find in Washington DC.

By the next day, Salinger had managed to get his hands on 1,200 of the President’s favorite smoke. Kennedy smiled at him, reached for a pen, and signed the Cuban Embargo.

Cigars and the Space Race

There are many, many more JFK cigar stories to tell. In his iconic “We choose to go to the moon…” speech at Rice University in September 1962, Kennedy compared the cost of the Space Race to the amount spent by US households on tobacco.

“This year’s space budget is three times what it was in January 1961, and it is greater than the space budget of the previous eight years combined,” he said. “That budget now stands at $5,400,000 a year – a staggering sum, though somewhat less than we pay for cigarettes and cigars every year.”

A piece of history

It’s no surprise that the cigars associated with President Kennedy have extra appeal for smokers. A single unsmoked cigar presented to JFK as a gift can retail for close to $9,000, but you don’t have to shell out that much for a great smoking experience.

Kennedy’s favorite smoke, the H. Upmann Original Petit Corona, is available at JR Cigars in boxes of 25, which offers some incredible value. This historic cigar disappeared for a while in the 1990s due to a shortage of good-quality Indonesian wrapper tobacco, but it’s back to stay and gives a fantastic idea of what JFK would have smoked in his day.

No decade in history has produced more iconic people and landmark moments than the 1960s. From the music and cultural shifts to JFK’s presidency and assassination to the first human footprints on the dusty surface of the moon, the whole decade was one giant leap for mankind.

We are lucky to be able to enjoy the same smokes as that inspiring generation, including the cigar JFK, loved so much that he stashed over 1,200 sticks before signing the Cuban Embargo.

Over 60 years since his death, the legacy of President Kennedy has yet to burn out. Remembered both for his love of liberty and a good Cuban cigar, those iconic black-and-white images of JFK smoking are an indelible feature of the historic record of the 20th century and of the man himself.