Mexico
The state of Veracruz is home to the majority of Mexican tobacco. Filler is often made from home-grown San Andres tobacco plants. Mexican tobacco is often light, but when coupled with a dark maduro wrapper it delivers a spicy taste.
Dominican Republic
Cibao and Yaque Vallies are primary sources of tobacco in the Dominican Republic. They yield three traditional tobaccos known the world over. Olor, Quisqueya’s only native tobacco, gives a mild and neutral taste. It’s often used to bind and fill cigars. Piloto Cubano is a plant derived from Cuba’s Vuelta Abajo. Its rich, intense flavor is often used to add strength to filler. San Vicente is a hybrid of Piloto developed on the farms of San Vicente, but light and acidic in taste. Overall, Dominican cigars tend to be milder smokes when compared to Cuban or Honduran cigars.
Brazil
Bahia, on Brazil’s central east coast, is the tobacco growing region of the country. The most commonly grown tobacco is called Mata Fina. Mata is a dark, sweet tobacco and used primarily in cigars as filler.
Not only does your cigar’s birthplace make a difference in how it tastes, but things you would never think of – how and where it was raised, its texture and color—all affect your cigar smoking experience. So the next time you decide to indulge, you’ll be armed with all the info you need to do some “name dropping” yourself.
Image credit- istockphoto.com/Daniel Bendjy