Macanudo Inspirado Black Robusto

General Cigar has been delivering high-quality cigars since 1848, including such greats as Bolivar, Cifuentes, Cohiba, Partagas, Punch, and Macanudo, which is what you have received today. Macanudo is one of the top selling cigars in the world due to their consistently mild and pleasant character and exceptional construction. Macanudo is also a brand that doesn’t do gimmicks, ploys, stories, or anything with crazy marketing; they have stayed true to themselves and stick to crafting great cigars. The Inspirado Black deviates from their norm a bit by delivering a full-bodied smoke. Using a new proprietary technique, the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper was left on the stalk to ripen which gives it a unique flavor, not to mention a stunning color. Underneath is an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and a uniquely fermented blend of Nicaraguan filler leaves grown from proprietary seeds grown in Estelí. This bold flavor combination has notes of pepper, sweet earth, cocoa, nuts, and coffee that is consistent from foot to nub. Enjoy it with an after dinner cappuccino.

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.