Clasico V Presidente

The Clasico line of cigars are handmade in the Dominican Republic and are absolutely delicious. This mild to medium cigar has a top-grade Sumatra Java wrapper, a Connecticut Shade binder, and is packed with a Cuban-seed blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican long-fillers. Once lit, you can expect flavors of cream, toast, and nuts with hints of sweetness and pepper. Mild enough for any time of day, we enjoyed ours with a Czech Pilsner on a crisp afternoon.

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.