Partagas Icon Robusto

Partagas was found in 1845 in Cuba and since has been a staple in humidors across the world. After 170 years of producing numerous premiums, Partagas has released their Icon cigar and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Handmade in the Dominican Republic, the Partagas Icon comes dressed in a gorgeous Ecuadoran Sumatra leaf that hugs a Nicaraguan binder. Inside are four different kinds of long-fillers from Brazil, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and San Andres from Mexico. The combination results in full bodied, complex, rich notes of cream, pepper, wood, earth, and leather. Our panel loved this smoke and commented on the quality of the construction and razor sharp burn. As this smoke is on the full-bodied side, consider pairing it with a Malbec after a nice dinner.

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.