Oliveros Gran Retorno Connecticut Ragtime

Oliveros’s president, Rafael Nodal, specializes in limited short-batch cigars made from very good and very rare tobaccos that are available in quantities too low for most brands’ production quotas. In 2012, Nodal created a spinoff company called Boutique Blends Cigars which features his Aging Room and Oliveros cigar lines as well as his other line, Swag Cigars. The Oliveros Gran Retorno Connecticut (which translates to Grand Return) is perfect for any time of day. Mild to medium bodied, this handsome stogie has a Honduran Connecticut wrapper that hugs a Nicaraguan binder and a mixture of Honduran, Nicaraguan, and Dominican fillers. This stogie is a little stronger than your typical Connecticut-wrapped cigar, but it pays off with notes of earth, light spice, and sweet coffee. Perfect morning, noon, or night, enjoy it with a cuba libre.

The Nicaraguan cigar industry originated when Cuban cigar makers escaped the revolution and re-established their livelihood in Nicaragua with Cuban-seed tobacco. Blessed with dark, rich soil, their new home was ideal for tobacco cultivation and Nicaragua quickly became known for cigars that rivaled Cuban quality. Unfortunately, revolution and war came to Nicaragua in the 1980s and devastated the industry, but it’s rebounded dramatically and is once again producing tobacco considered by many to be the finest in the world.

The Esteli Valley is in many ways the heart of Nicaraguan production and is known for its very powerful and spicy tobacco. The Jalapa Valley produces arguably the finest tobacco in the country: somewhat sweeter and less intense than Esteli, but extremely complex. The tobacco of the Condega Valley is often described as a blend of the other two regions.