Sancho Panza Glorioso

Sancho Panza cigars originated in Havana, Cuba in 1852 and are still made there today with an amazingly mild taste for traditional Cuban cigars. In 2001 it was finally available to the United States market when General Cigars started making them in Honduras under the supervision of the late cigar master, Estelo Padrón. Each square pressed cigar is made with a specially selected blend of Honduran fillers, then a Connecticut broadleaf binder is covered with a Connecticut shade wrapper. The construction of this cigar is nearly flawless, as are the flavors. This medium-bodied cigar will start out with excellent woody notes between bitter oak and sweet honey tones. As the cigar progresses, a rich spiciness comes into play with a smooth leathery finish. Like Sancho Panza, the loyal squire who remained at Don Quixote's side through all of his delusions of grandeur, Sancho Panza the Honduran cigar makes a trustworthy companion. To bring out the full flavors in this exquisite cigar we suggest pairing it with a brown ale.

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.