Rough Rider Sweets Churchill

Don’t let the name fool you—the Rough Rider Sweets Churchill is anything but rough. Produced in the Dominican Republic at Jochy Blanco’s Tabacalera Palma, the brand became part of the company’s portfolio when it acquired IndianHead Cigars in 2015. Despite its sweetened cap, Rough Rider Sweets is not considered an infused or flavored cigar; instead, that touch of sweetness complements the tobacco underneath. The 7 x 50 Churchill wears a silky Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper around a Cuban-seed Dominican binder and Dominican Piloto Cubano and Criollo ’98 long-fillers. Mild and exceptionally smooth, it offers creamy notes of nuts, cedar, honey, and natural tobacco, with sugarcane-like sweetness from the cap. Its long Churchill format makes for a relaxed smoke without introducing intimidating strength. A cold cream soda is a fun match. Vanilla and caramel-like sweetness echo the cigar’s honeyed character, while the carbonation keeps the combination from becoming overly rich. It’s an easygoing, almost dessert-like pairing that works particularly well for newer cigar smokers or anyone craving something on the mellow side.

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.