Cusano Maduro 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."

The Cusano Maduro is a no frills, no nonsense smoke. There isn’t anything flashy about the packaging or band, and instead you get a handmade that uses high quality tobaccos that deliver consistent flavors. Hailing from the Dominican Republic, the Cusano Maduro comes draped in a San Andrés Maduro wrapper that secures an Ecuadorian Connecticut binder and a blend of Domincan long-fillers. Together, this smoke will produce medium bodied notes of coffee, wood, spice, and earth with the classic maduro sweetness throughout. This everyday smoke pairs wonderfully with your favorite stout.

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.