Octavio Tavares Churchill (CT Shade)

Since 1875 the Don Eugenio Cigar Company, a family-owned business, has grown premium Dominican Tobacco on the 2000 acres it owns in the Cibao River Valley near the Yaque veins--the heart of cigar tobacco country. Predating the Castro era, the company has been selling premium Piloto Cubano long filler tobacco to all major labels throughout the world for over one hundred and twenty years. And in 1989, Don Eugenio Jimenez began producing its first limited line of cigars. When Octavio Tavares, a head roller who worked for the family since his flight from Cuba in 1962 died in 1993, the family decided to honor his dedication, commitment and loyalty to their business by naming the first cigar after him. Don Eugenio’s production supervisor, Luis Tejeda, spent many years making cigars for Avo and Davidoff and maintains the highest standards in quality by closely watches over a small group highly trained rollers who are allowed to roll only a certain quota of cigars a day. The tobacco used in the Octavio Tavares line is always either premium Piloto Cubano or Havana seed which provides prime Dominican filler and binders. The fillers in each cigar featured this month are selected from three different Dominican tobaccos. It is aged a minimum of three years in natural drying conditions and the crop year is always printed on the label. The Octavio Tavares cigars are rolled in both Connecticut Shade and maduro wrapper and available in Churchill, Double Corona, Robusto and Torpedo sizes. For more information about the Don Eugenio Cigar Company, call 888-782-4427.

We found Don Eugenio’s Connecticut Shade Churchill to be a very enjoyable, mild, yet flavorful cigar. Note a well constructed cigar with a creamy, smooth wrapper with a slightly oily sheen. Look for some floral notes and a definite creaminess with some nutty and spicy undertones evident as well. The tobacco has certainly been aged properly and we found the finish to have a lingering cedar character. Consider pairing this one with an Oban Scotch or your favorite Czechoslovakian Pilsner.