La Sirena Mermaid Gordo

When Arielle Ditkowich met Nestor Miranda, founder of Miami Cigar & Company, in 2006, Nestor became instantly captivated with Arielle’s love of cigars and eagerness to learn, so Nestor took Arielle under his wing to learn more about cigars and the markets. In early 2008, they decided that they were ready to produce their first cigar and as names were being discussed, Arielle suggested the Spanish name for mermaid, La Sirena. In 2009, La Sirena officially released their first cigar followed by a second cigar a couple years later in 2012. After a successful three year partnership, Arielle was ready to take her company to the next level and became an independent company. In your shipment today is another nautical themed cigar that is making waves in the cigar world. This handmade is chocked full of Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos, a Nicaraguan binder and a handsome Nicaraguan wrapper that offers hints of pepper, spice, cedar, and earth with a subtle creaminess in the background. Pair this medium stogie with a scotch.

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.