Cuba Libre ‘The Brute’

Castro appears to have made a recovery, according to recent 'sightings', which sort of bums us out. We've been holding out hope that, well, there would be a change of leadership and perhaps the Cuban cigar market would open up again to us here in the states. The folks behind Cuba Libre seem to share our sentiments, if you read into the name ("Free Cuba"). This brand has quite a few blends, mainly distinguished by the country they're rolled in. ‘The Brute’ is from Honduras and it features a Cuban-seed Corojo wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a lively mixture of Cuban-seed Honduran long-fillers, all of which were aged over 8 months before rolling. This blend lends flavors of earth, leather and toast leaving behind a peppery-sweetness with each puff. Pair ‘The Brute’ with your favorite pilsner or helles lager.

Honduras has been a tobacco growing and cigar manufacturing area for hundreds of years, but it was the Communist revolution in Cuba that really put Honduras on the map. In the 1960s, many Cuban cigar makers fled their homeland and arrived in Honduras to re-establish their way of life. The immigrants took advantage of the climate, soil, and geography, which were well-suited to tobacco growing, and began producing high quality cigars. The center of the Honduran cigar industry is the city of Danli and the nearby Jamastran Valley. The majority of the world’s pure Corojo tobacco is grown here, now that Cuba has stopped production of this iconic, spicy, and rich variety in favor of Corojo hybrids. Other important areas of Honduran cigar production include the Talanga Valley, Copan, and Trojes.