Alec & Bradley Gatekeeper Robusto

Alan Rubin, the founder of Alec Bradley cigars, has been blending and producing cigars since 1997 that have 90+ ratings from Cigar Aficionado, Cigar Insider, and Cigar Journal, just to name a few. His cigars also consistently make the Top 25 list, making his cigars some of the most sought out in the industry. Now it’s time for Alan’s sons, Alec and Bradley, to take the reins. Their first cigar, Blind Faith, sold out quickly with impressive ratings to boot. Their second, Gatekeeper, is what you have in your shipment and you are in for a real treat. For the Gatekeeper, Alec and Bradley worked with the famous Ernesto Perez-Carrillo at his factory in the Dominican Republic. Starting from the inside out, the Gatekeeper is packed with Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers, secured with a Nicaraguan binder, and finished with a luscious Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. Light ‘er up and find rich medium bodied notes of nuts, cedar, and leather. Enjoy this perfectly constructed cigar with your favorite Bourbon.

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.