Dominican Cream Churchill

If you’re looking for a great handmade that is smooth and creamy and mild enough for any time of day then you are in luck my friend! The Dominican Cream is handmade in the Dominican Republic and features a silky, golden brown, Connecticut wrapper that hugs a Dominican binder and a ‘Cuban-sandwich’ of Dominican fillers. For those unfamiliar with that blending technique, it mostly involves using a short filler rolled inside longer filler leaves. In addition to being light and smooth, this super mild smoke has luscious creamy notes of sweet cream, cedar, and just a touch of spice. This smoke pairs wonderfully with a St. Germain Spritz.

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.