La Galera was launched by fourth-generation Dominican tobacco grower and cigar maker José “Jochy” Blanco, whose Tabacalera Palma produces the cigars in the Dominican Republic. Even the name celebrates cigar-factory tradition: el lector was the reader who entertained factory rollers by reading newspapers and novels aloud while they worked. Appropriately, El Lector is the name given to this 6 x 54 Toro. The Connecticut blend features an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over Dominican Piloto Cubano binder and Dominican fillers that include Piloto Cubano and Criollo ’98; early specifications also list Blanco’s T-112 tobacco in the filler. The profile is mild but flavorful, bringing together cream, cedar, almonds, earth, gentle pepper, and touches of natural sweetness. An espresso is just the thing alongside it. Concentrated roasted-coffee flavors give the mellow cigar a little extra punch, while its creamy, nutty character softens espresso’s bitterness. It’s an especially good morning or after-lunch pairing—refined, uncomplicated, and flavorful without demanding your entire afternoon.
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.
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