Macanudo Gold Gran Robusto

Macanudo cigars are produced by the General Cigar Company. Since 1848, General has been producing fine cigars: Bolivar, Cifuentas, Cohiba, Partagas, and Punch, among others. Their Macanudo line is known for its smoothness and consistency. "Macanudo" in Spanish means "best of the best," or "first-rate." Macanudo Gold gets the second half of its moniker from its rare golden Connecticut Shade wrapper--rare because it's made from leaves from the 1st and 2nd primings of a specially grown crop. The wrapper is elegantly thin yet supple with fine veins. Note how smooth its texture is, without a hint of graininess. The filler is a blend of long-fillers from the Dominican Republic (Piloto Cubano) and Mexico and the binder consists of 1st and 2nd primings of San Andrean tobacco, also Mexican. The wrapper imparts an unusual sweetness throughout the entire medium-bodied smoke. Look for hints of cinnamon and spice as well as flavors and aromas reminiscent of creamed coffee and white oak. The panel consensus was that the Gold Gran is impeccably flavored and balanced; overall an excellent cigar.

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.