Victor Sinclair Bohemian Bamboo North Beach

The Bohemian "Bamboo" series is another of the manufacturer's physically beautiful cigars. Draped in a delicious, ultra-smooth and silky Connecticut-seed wrapper with a gentle pig tail twist at the head, its size and shape make it ideal for a medium-length smoke. The filler is a tasty blend of Dominican tobaccos, and the binder is Dominican, as well. Though the taste is quite mild, it is extraordinarily pleasant: deep and complex with distinct notes of cedar, pepper, and coffee. This brand was introduced in 2003 by Victor Sinclair Cigars to offer a mild-to-medium-bodied, somewhat spicy taste—and they nailed it! This is a good cigar for beginners and a great any time of day smoke for novices and seasoned aficionados alike! Try pairing it with a Dominican rum; one panel member recommend Brugal 1888 Dominican Rum.

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.