Massachusetts born, but Connecticut-settled as a farmer in his twenties, Israel Putnam joined up for the French and Indian War as II Lieutenant with the famous and feared Roger’s Rangers. In that war which lasted seven years, he led the attack on Fort Carillon in 1759, fought in the Montreal Campaign the following year, and joined the ill-fated attack on the island of Cuba. He was one of the few survivors of a shipwreck on that campaign, and it is believed that he had the prescience to carry home to Connecticut tobacco seeds which became the progenitors of “Connecticut shade” tobacco, now famous as one of the finest wrappers of premium cigars in the world.

We honor him here with our Connecticut Shade cigar.