The historical backdrop of tobacco in the Dominican Republic is a lot sooner than that of other quality tobacco sources. It was from the island of Hispaniola where Rodrigo De Jérez, a sailor on Columbus ‘ first trip to America, brought the first cigars to Spain. Long before the Cuban Revolution caused an exodus of tobacco to Miami and other Caribbean countries, the tradition of tobacco manufacturing was rooted in the Dominican Republic, where a region that passes through the world capital of premium cigars is located. The Dominican Republic currently exports more than 350 million cigars annually, is the world’s leading producer of quality cigars, and has earned cigars’ nickname country. The careful management of the crops and the producers’ innovative attitude has made the Dominican Republic cigars receive numerous praise from cigar lovers worldwide.
When the U.S. embargo on Cuban products began in 1962, Cuba lost its primary cigar market; this and the nationalization expectations led numerous Cuban cigar manufacturers to seek other locations. Many settled in the Dominican Republic, including Arturo Fuente. In a few decades, the Dominican Republic has become the other excellent cigar country, surpassing even Cuba in exports.
The Arturo Fuente stogie brand was conceived in 1912 in West Tampa, Florida. In that year, the brand was launched by a 24-year-old Cuban immigrant named Arturo Fuente (November 8, 1887-February 11, 1973 – as A. Fuente & Co. Fuente had arrived in the United States in 1902, leaving his hometown, Güines, Cuba, after the Spanish-American War.
The company’s original factory was a three-story wooden building, one of nearly 200 cigar manufacturing facilities in Tampa alone. All these manufacturers would import tobacco from nearby Cuba for production in finished cigars. But for several decades now, this family’s tobacco farm is located in Bonao, about 75 kilometers north of Santo Domingo. Due to its climatic and soil conditions it had all the vocation to produce an excellent layer of leaf.
The company was formed in 1924, at which time A. Fuente & Co. had grown to the point that it employed 500 workers. In its hundred years of history, Tobacco Source has suffered numerous setbacks, such as burning its first factory in Tampa, the embargo tobacco from Cuba delivered, and the destruction of another of his factories, Nicaragua, at the hands of the guerrilla sandinista. In 1998, Nature struck them again with Hurricane George’s passage, which destroyed most tobacco houses on their Bonao estate. However, with much effort, they managed to rebuild their Chateau de la Fuente completely.
Arturo Fuente launches Arturo Fuente Anejo, this limited edition cigar only once a year. This cigar is made with the best Dominican filler and folio that is gradually matured five years in Cognac barrels, and enclosed by a lovely ready leaf and afterward matured for one more year.
The profile of Arturo Fuente Anejo is earthy with hints of cinnamon, while the nose of the foot serves some incredibly sweet molasses. Once the cigar is toasted and lit, there is an initial sweet molasses to which a little subtle cinnamon is attached.