Gurkha Black Dragon Imperial Presidente

Few cigars can match the caliber of Gurkha's handmades. Considered to be among the world's most prestigious super-premiums, the Gurkha brand represents a small-batch selection of ultra-exclusive cigars that routinely receive top ratings, including "Best of the Best" honors from the Robb Report. The Black Dragon is a perfect example of their signature style—they always push the envelope with unique and exotic, high-end blends. The Dragon hails from Honduras and combines a vintage mixture of Dominican long-leaf tobaccos secured within a Cameroon binder, topped off by a dark, toothy, five year old Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. The construction is perfect, the draw effortless. You're in for a smoke that's thick and chewy, with a rich, leathery core and elegant hints of earth, complemented by an assortment of sweet spices on the finish. Look for plumes of white smoke and a solid gray ash that remains intact for at least half the cigar before it begins to drift. The Dragon has incredible flavor for a medium-bodied cigar, and is complex yet buttery smooth. This is one you'll want to smoke down to the nub. This beauty is so rich it's almost decadent. Match with an oaken XO cognac.

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.