The Dominican Republic is the volume home of many premium cigars sold in the United States. Santiago and the Cibao valley are the names to know. A Dominican cigar is often a blend: local filler, imported wrapper. It can also be a Dominican puro — Fuente Fuente OpusX is the famous proof that Dominican wrapper can be grown, at Chateau de la Fuente.
The industry’s modern shape dates to the years after the Cuban embargo, when families such as Fuente rebuilt in Santiago (1980). Other houses were already growing tobacco in the Cibao. Both facts can sit on the same page.
Dominican is not a mildness guarantee. It is a country of manufacture, and sometimes of leaf.