Cohiba
Cohiba

During his second voyage to the New World in 1496, Christopher Columbus revisited western Hispaniola, which is now known as the Dominican Republic. To his surprise, he discovered that the Taino Indians of Hispaniola were smoking leaves of cured tobacco. "Cohiba," they called it. Today, Cohiba remains as much a part of Dominican history as ever. The History: Five centuries after Christopher Columbus heard the word Cohiba for the first time in the Dominican Republic, a Cohiba cigar was developed in the same country by Diaz y Cia in l978. The Dominican Cohiba cigar, which was reformulated in the 1990s, is the only Cohiba cigar that can be purchased legally in the United States. The Cigar: The Cohiba cigar that is crafted today in the Dominican Republic took years to develop. The dark, rich wrapper leaf is grown in the sub-tropical West African climate of Cameroon. The supple and flavorful Jember binder is grown in Indonesia. To balance the richness of the wrapper, the smooth-smoking Piloto Cubano filler leaves are grown in the Dominican Republic. The Experience: The Dominican Cohiba is a deeply satisfying cigar, rich in flavor and history that does not overpower the smoker.