Gurkha Kaizad Toro

Kaizad Hansotia is the man, the myth, the legend, and most of all, one of the best cigar blenders out there. As Gurkha President, Kaizad certainly has his choice of cigars to smoke, and the Gurkha Kaizad you have in your shipment today is the cigar that Kaizad not only created but enjoys on a day to day basis. Lucky for us, he has decided to share it with us. Hailing for the Dominican Republic, this mild smoke has fillers from the United States and Nicaragua, a Dominican binder, and is secured by a stunning Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper. Impeccably balanced and smooth, enjoy this smoke with a coffee with cream.

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.