Carrington Connecticut Churchill

You may not have heard of Carrington cigars, but you will soon find a spot in your humidor for this one. This mellow smoke hails from the Dominican Republic and features a stunning, near perfect Connecticut wrapper, a zesty Indonesian binder, and a bevy of top-quality Dominican long-fillers. Grab a cappuccino and light it up and find mild notes of cedar, roasted nuts, cream, and hints of sweetness. Our panel loved this smoke and we bet you will too!

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.