Cuba Libre One Belicoso

Cuba Libre One is hand-crafted by Nestor Plasencia in his massive Nicaragua factory that produces delicious super-premiums for more brands than you can even fathom. Fortunately, he has the manpower and the resources to make each and every cigar perfect no matter how many are made. Note the crisp, glossy white band with impressive silver and blue accents on this ultra-bold, mega-flavorful cigar—it literally jumps off the dark Nicaraguan Habano ligero wrapper, this Nicaraguan’s most apparent trait. It’s a gorgeous leaf from the Jamastran Valley of Honduras with an oily, flawless appearance that’s brimming with flavor. The cigar sits heavy in the hand because, well, there’s a ton of tobacco rolled into each one. Below the surface is a robust blend of Cuban-seed ligero long-fillers from Esteli and Condega, Nicaragua paired with additional ligeros from Honduras. It has two binders: a feisty Habano leaf from the Jalapa Valley and a flavorful Costa Rican leaf. All these tobaccos produce an exceedingly complex cigar from first light down to the nub. Cuba Libre One is rich, complex, and balanced. Surprisingly potent, it’s layered with notes of coffee, earth, pepper and cream, complemented by a spicy-sweet finish. This meaty handmade is not for every enthusiast, but full-flavored boutique fans are likely to love it. Try this one with a well-aged dark rum such as Appleton Estate’s Distilled 21-year-old or a VSOP cognac.

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.