Blue Label

Launched not long ago, in 2007, the medium-to-full-bodied Blue Label hails from Danli, Honduras. The maker is Gran Habano, the father-son team of Guillermo and George Rico, guys who are under-the-radar, making reasonably priced and consistently good cigars that are, like them, unpretentious. Their various Gran Habano blends—the 3 Siglos is perhaps the best known—are spectacular, but the lip-smacking Blue Label is perhaps their most interesting. It's a complex cigar that features a hearty, rich, medium to full-bodied flavor profile. This is one for those who favor fuller-flavored blends. With its thick, dark brown, Habano leaf wrapper and carefully applied caps, it's definitely a handsome cigar. Its silky chocolate wrapper (with a tint of red) is leathery to the touch. This one sits heavy in the hand and feels firm from head to toe. The wrapper cloaks a long-filler combo of 5th generation Honduran, Nicaraguan, and Dominican tobaccos. Note your Blue Label is well-packed and firm to the touch. The cigar opens with a rich, oaky sweetness, followed by copious clouds of creamy smoke. There are some unique spices. As it burns it becomes increasingly heady and satisfying, there's a core of crisp tobacco flavor and an interesting vanilla-like flavor that becomes a little nutty towards the end. This is one that gets better as it burns, finishing strong in the final two inches. Look for a spicy cedary aroma—ginger and cinnamon or nutmeg—that's a nice touch. It's light enough that it doesn't overwhelm the flavors but it's assertive enough to make a noticeable and pleasant contribution. Pair this smoke with a good German Pilsner such as EKU Pils, which members of our International Beer Club are receiving this month. If you would like to become more familiar with beers, domestic and/or international, consider joining our Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club at www.beermonthclub.com. Prosit!

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.