Last week we took a little trip to the oldest cigar factory in the DR. I don’t remember exactly what I was expecting- maybe something along the lines of a huge warehouse and rows and rows machines- but this was not it.
The factory itself is in a small, brightly painted building with two, room long rows of desks for the cigar makers to sit at. At the front was an elevated platform with a desk. I imagine this is where the boss sat 100+ years ago, keeping a watchful eye on all the employees. The cigar maker’s desks were divided into about 10 parts each, giving the person who sat there a designated space to work.
The day we went there were only four people rolling cigars, and one guy to give us a tour. While we watched, our guide explained how the tobacco is aged for at least two years before being rolled (it’s aged longer for the higher end cigars). This brings out the flavor. There are also several different sizes of cigars: long and fat (for those who want to smoke one for hours), short and thin (almost like cigarettes), and everything in between. There are different flavors too. Not just the strong vs. mild cigar, but vanilla and honey as well. All I can say is the cigar making is truly and art. As we watched, this guy rolled several perfectly equal, beautiful cigars. Like any art, cigar rolling takes years of practice- I think the demonstrator has been working there for over twenty years.
As for smoking them- I haven’t yet, but I want to. Dominican cigars rival Cuban’s on the world market in terms of quality and I want to at least try one just to say I did.
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