Ashton Cabinet Selection Belicoso

Ashton is one of the most premier luxury cigar brands out there. Founded in 1985 by Robert Levin, the company today is still family-owned and operated and is committed to quality and consumer satisfaction. The Ashton Cabinet Selection in your shipment today is the more lux version of its counterpart, the Ashton Classic line. This smooth smoke features a top-grade, luxurious, chestnut-hued Connecticut shade wrapper that has been carefully aged for twelve months longer than the Classic. Underneath is a Dominican binder and a bevy of Dominican long-fillers that have also been carefully aged for an impressive four to five years! Smooth and elegant, expect crisp, mild notes of oak, cedar, pepper, cream, and coffee. We know you’re going to love the smoke, and so did Cigar Aficionado who gave it a well-deserved 90-point rating. Pair this smoke with your favorite pilsner.

Though tobacco is indigenous to Hispaniola, the tobacco industry in the Dominican Republic existed in the shadow of Cuba’s dominance through the 1960s. When the exodus of Cuban cigar makers began in the wake of the revolution, many decided the Dominican Republic would be ideal for the resumption of their livelihoods. Unrest in Nicaragua in the 1980s fueled the Dominican cigar industry further. The country now makes more than half of the premium cigars imported into the U.S.

The Cibao Valley and the nearby city of Santiago are the center of cigar production in the Dominican Republic. Three main varieties are grown here: the mild and native Olor Dominicano; the intense Piloto Cubano, brought from the Vuelta Abajo of Cuba; and San Vicente, a milder and more acidic Piloto hybrid. Dominican puros were once unheard of as it was widely thought impossible to grow quality wrapper leaf on the island, but new growing techniques are now allowing some exceptional puros to be produced.