Cigar wrappers from the Dominican Republic are loved by cigar fans around the world, and cigars from the Dominican Republic are arguably as well known and as popular as cigars from Cuba. The country’s cigar-making history spans back to pre-Columbian times when indigenous tribes like the Taino and Arawak rolled tobacco leaves to smoke, known as “cohiba.” Nonetheless, it wasn’t until the Cuban revolution in the mid 20th century that Dominican cigars became well known; this was the time that many famous and talented cigar manufacturers had to flee Cuba. Those men settled in the Dominican Republic, where they could make use of the country’s fertile topsoil.
Much of the Dominican Republic’s tobacco comes from the famous Cibao Valley, poised between two mountain ranges . The mountain ranges protect the valley and its crops from harsh weather. Despite the fact that several types of tobacco have been successfully grown in the Dominican Republic for quite some time, cigar manufacturers did struggle to produce wrapper leaves. Indeed, many manufacturers asserted that it was impossible as a result of the unstable conditions (harsh weather) in the Dominican Republic. Even the mountain ranges protecting the Cibao Valley were not enough to contribute the necessary stability for the growth of the wrappers. As a result, there were no puros from the Dominican Republic; wrapper leaves were generally imported from other countries.
Carlos Fuentes proved them wrong however and successfully grew Dominican wrapper leaf which he used in his popular Opus X line. He did this by throwing enough money and creativity at the problem to bear his losses until he managed to get the leaves to grow. Planting the rows closer together and using cheesecloth to cover them helped protect them and make for easier harvesting. Since then, other Dominican Republic puros have come into being, inspired by his example.
Examples
- Most of the Arturo Fuente line, including Opus X
- Davidoff Puro d’Oro
- CAO Vision
- Avo 85th Anniversary
- Ashton VSG
- Gurkha Cellar Reserve
- Aging Room Small Batch
Good article. Just a note of correction. Of the listed cigar examples, Ashton VSG wrappers are Sumatra seed grown in Ecuador not the Dominican Republic therefore are not Dominican puros.