Pirates Gold Piramide #2

This seems to be the month for some big-ring lovelies and when it comes to tasty, affordable handmades, no one does it better than Rolando Reyes Sr. at his legendary Puros Indios factory. Rolando Reyes, known as the indefatigable Zen Master of tobacco blending is not just the best tobacco man alive, we've been told he's a control freak which might account for his renown. He personally inspects every single cigar made in his factory, working late at night, every night. Is it any wonder Puros Indios is in a league of its own? The medium-bodied Pirates Gold Piramide #2 utilizes a dark natural wrapper from Ecuador and a complex blend of Dominican, Brazilian and Nicaraguan long-fillers. After a long cedar nap in the aging vaults, these full-flavored stogies dish out a smooth and mellow array of earth, coffee, pepper and spice, none of which are so overwhelming you want to put it down; in fact, you'll likely just want more. Check out the re-order prices on these. They're a great Honduran handmade cleverly disguised as a cheapie and a perfect everyday smoke. Try this one with a well-aged dark rum such as Appleton Estate's or Gosling's Black Seal.

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.