The biggest market in the world for cigars contains absolutely none which are Cuban. Each year more New World cigars are sold in the United States of America alone than Cuban cigars are in every other country combined. It seems amazing that such a tobacco-loving country is denied the opportunity to purchase the best tobacco, but this is the reality of the political difficulties between the 2 countries. The trade embargo which has been in place since the 1960s prevents the world’s keenest cigar smokers from sampling the magic of Havana.
Of course, this is the situation on paper but the reality is often slightly different. The Americans are a resourceful lot; just as they managed to find a way to drink during prohibition 100 years ago, many of them will find a way to smoke Cubans today. The most popular method is to shop online and have the smokes come directly to you, but trips to Mexico and the Caribbean can also see Americans sneaking some sticks into their luggage to carry home as souvenirs. In 2017 the Obama administration enacted a small reprieve to the sanctions on Cuba, meaning that while American businesses still could not import Cuban cigars wholesale, private citizens could bring back up to 100 cigars from their travels. Sadly, and like so much of the good done by President Obama, this was swiftly reversed by his successor.
Finding Cuban cigars can be difficult in America - unless you're Jay Z
So what will the majority of Americans be smoking this Fourth of July? Luckily, the New World of cigars has plenty to offer the discerning smoker. One of America’s closest southern neighbours – almost as close as Havana itself – is Dominican Republic. The nation occupying the eastern half of Hispaniola may not have the same terroir as Vuelta Abajo, and therefore the same complexity of flavour to its tobacco, but it does have some of the best cigar factories on the planet. Many Cuban families driven out by the revolution found themselves here, and established the brands they had operated in Cuba as new businesses. For this reason it is possible to see names usually associated with Havana – Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and more – grace American cigar store shelves. The brand who have seen the most success since their relocation across the water, however, is Davidoff.
When Davidoff decided the cigars they were being issued by Havana were no longer worthy of their name they searched long and hard to find a maker who could match their exacting standards of construction. Eventually they found Henke Kelner and began to create the wonderful cigars we get from the brand today. In 2021 they increased their production by 35%, thanks in no small part to the demand from America, and every stick is guaranteed to smoke perfectly. It takes 10 years to reach the level of skill required to be taken on as a torcedor for Davidoff, and that attention to quality is evident in each of their smokes.
The Davidoff Limited Edition 2022 Gran Toro
Another family who made the journey from Cuba to Dominican Republic to continue their cigar journey, long before the Davidoff relocation and via the United States itself, are the Fuentes. More than 100 years ago Arturo Fuente left his home outside Havana to travel to Florida, where he established a business rolling cigars using tobacco imported from his homeland. After the embargo put paid to those imports, his descendants who had inherited the firm eventually settled in Santiago to continue the work he had begun. Today, Arturo Fuente cigars rank among the best in the world, and the best-selling in the US.
These are not the only brands who have chosen to base themselves in Dominican Republic, but they are among the best. Thanks to the craft of the makers there and the natural resources of the land, they can also lay claim to being among the best brands in the world. Few New World cigars can come close to Cubans in terms of flavour, but Dominican Republic runs them pretty close. It was for that reason that EGM Cigars chose Davidoff as our first non-Cuban brand to stock, and for the same reason that our own line of cigars, soon to be available to buy, is made there. We debuted these smokes at Pitti Uomo 102 in Florence last month, and can’t wait share them with our loyal customers around the world.
The EGM Cigars custom blend, arriving soon!
We all know that cigars are perfect for a celebration, and there is no bigger celebration on the American calendar that Independence Day. While some in the USA will doubtless be lighting a Cohiba this Fourth of July, having found their way round the restrictions somehow, those who have not managed to find some could do a lot worse than to choose one of the premium brands from Dominican Republic.