The longest smoke you'll never have

Cuban says he's built record-long cigar

July 8, 1997
Web posted at: 3:47 p.m. EDT (1947 GMT)

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- It's generally accepted that the best cigars come from Cuba, but that wasn't enough for Manuel Guzman. He wanted his homeland to get credit for the world's longest one, too. So he made it himself -- all 9 1/2 feet of it.

Guzman, 70, a former university professor who began making cigars as a youth, got to work after hearing that a cigar made in Madrid, Spain, had set a record length of 2.35 meters (slightly over 7 feet, 8 inches).

After five days of rolling, cutting and shaping, Guzman now claims a new record -- a cigar stretching 2.9 meters (9 feet, 6 inches).

But his lengthy creation is for viewing, not smoking. It's on display at Havana's Cigar Museum.

Reuters contributed to this report.

 

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