Caldwell The Industrialist Toro

Founded by Robert Caldwell in 2014, the Caldwell Cigar Company came bursting onto the boutique cigar scene with four cigars that premiered at the IPCPR in July 2015. When starting the company, Robert decided that he was going to do things his way and began scouring the world for the best tobacco leaves which he would test over and over again until getting the exact flavors he was looking for — before testing it again. He is so committed to his product that he keeps production limited to ensure that he is delivering a superior product.

Handcrafted in the Dominican Republic, this stogie features a bevy of tobaccos from Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua that is secured with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and topped with a silky Honduran Connecticut wrapper leaf. Boxed-pressed to perfection, this smoke is medium in body and will lend notes of cream, cinnamon, and white pepper. Complex yet approachable, our panel recommended pairing this smoke with a cappuccino.

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.