Free Cuba Torpedo

“Free Cuba!” A phrase you might not hear very often on the streets of Cuba, but a sentiment shared by many who live there, and certainly Cubans abroad. The call for the return of Cuba to its citizens is one we can hear echoing through the Cibao Valley of the Dominican Republic and uttered in cigar-smoke filled downtown bars where cigar masters gather and discuss their lingering discontentedness surrounding their flight from their homeland. Not surprisingly, the “Free Cuba” sentiment is popular in the Dominican Republic. Formerly produced by the makers of Signature Collection by Santiago Cabana, Havana Classico, Calle Ocho, Morro Castle, Domino Park, West Indies Vanilla, Island Amaretto, Celestino Vega, Regalos, and Rum Runner, the Free Cuba line was first introduced in 1996 by the Caribbean Cigar Company. In 1998, they focused their marketing efforts on four of their premium brands, Free Cuba included. And during the cigar boom, the old-fashioned quality construction helped propel Free Cuba to tremendous success. Unfortunately, a shortage of quality wrappers and the financial problems of the manufacturer caused the brand to be pulled from the market, and, until very recently, it has been seen only scarcely. But it’s back now baby, and how! Today Free Cuba is still handmade in the Dominican Republic, but by a new manufacturer. The able hands of cigar maestro Jochy Blanco have made this smoke even better than ever. Thanks to his use of a Connecticut wrapper, Dominican binder, and Cuban-seed Dominican long-leaf fillers, Free Cuba lives up to its fiery name with premium flavor. This mild bodied smoke has creamy, smooth notes with hints of wood. Enjoy this smoke with a cream soda.

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.