La Palina El Ano 1896 Oscuro Robusto

When Sam Paley emigrated to Chicago from the Ukraine in the late 1880s, little did he know he would soon found a company with a long and unique future. Soon after arrival in Chicago, he started working as a lector at a cigar factory where he read novels, magazines and newspapers to the cigar rollers in the gallery. Over time he started gaining interest in the tobacco industry and started using personal time to gain knowledge on everything cigars. Shortly after, he was promoted to roller, then to blender. In 1896 Mr. Paley opened Congress Cigar Company, his first cigar shop, with an adjacent factory whose first product was named La Palina in honor of his wife Goldie Drell Paley. In 1910, the family and Congress Cigar Company moved to Philadelphia with William, Sam’s son, joining as Vice President of Advertising. After several years of success, the Congress Cigar Company was ultimately liquidated in 1926 when Sam retired. Fast forward several decades later and grandson Bill Paley went back to his roots and resurrected the La Palina brand and released their first cigar in 2010.

The La Palina El Ano 1896 Oscuro in your shipment today was created by Bill Paley Jr., grandson of Sam, to celebrate over 100 years in cigar making. Named after the year La Palina was founded, 1896, the El Ano comes dressed in a Mexican San Andrés Oscuro wrapper that secures a Dominican binder, and is brimming with Dominican and Nicaraguan long-fillers. Snip the tip and light ‘er up and find hints of walnuts, leather, espresso, and earth. Our panel recommended pairing this medium to full bodied smoke with The Godfather cocktail. In case you aren’t familiar with the drink, it’s 1.5 ounces of Scotch Whisky and .5 ounce of amaretto liqueur.

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.