Henry Clay was founded in the 1840s by a Spanish immigrant to Cuba, Julián Álvarez Granda.

[3] The brand was nationalized by Fidel Castro's government following the Cuban Revolution, and manufacturing was severely reduced throughout the 1960s.

[4] The cigar's American Trademark was owned by the Henry Clay and Bock & Co. Ltd. located in Trenton, New Jersey.

[5] By 1986, Henry Clay's American trademark was owned by Consolidated Cigar Corpation, which started producing non-Cuban Henry Clays.

The Consolidated Cigar Corporation was eventually purchased by Altadis.