Palma Real Paradisus Connecticut Churchill

Even though you may not have heard of Palma Real, this line has been around for some time and has developed a popular following to their high quality bundles. The Paradisus is a premium version that was released last year and was developed by José Blanco at the famed Tabacalera La Palma in Santiago, Dominican Republic – the same factory where some of the highest rated cigars are born. The Paradisus starts with a light gold USA-grown Connecticut wrapper, Dominican binder, and a careful blend of Piloto Cubano, Criollo 98, and Olor Dominicano long-fillers. Mild in strength, the profile is smooth and loaded with creamy hints of nuts, pepper, sweetness, and earth. A great cigar for any time of day, try it with a cappuccino.

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.