Cusano 18 Corojo Dominicano Robusto

In 1995, business took the owner of a Wall Street investment firm to the Dominican Republic. There, the long-time cigar aficionado, Michael Chiusano, discovered a local smoke that "knocked his socks off!" He thought he'd have a thousand made for clients but word spread and he soon had orders for 10,000. The rest is Cigar Street history. Thinking "Cusano" would be easier to say than "Chiusano" when raving about the fine sticks he makes, Michael called his company "Cusano Cigars." Take 18-year aged Dominican Oro filler tobaccos, combine them with a potent Cuban Piloto and a mouth-watering San Vicente Olor, bind it with a wrapper-quality, super-smooth Dominican binder, dress the whole thing in an even smoother, silkier, golden Dominican Corojo outer wrapper and you've got a winner. Rated "90" by Cigar Aficionado, Cusano 18 Robusto is medium bodied and is a rich, bold smoke with notes of pepper, spices, leather, and cedar that is accompanied by a long, woody finish. Our panel recommended a good tequila on ice to pair with your smoke.

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.