Artista Cigars ART-56

The history of Artista Cigars dates back to 1956. Some aficionados may still know the tabacalera under its former name El Artista, which was changed to its current name in 2023 as part of a rebranding. Today, the company produces several million cigars each year in Tamboril, Dominican Republic. Artista Cigars also grows its own tobacco, which is used both for its own brands and sold to other manufacturers. Over nearly seven decades, Artista has grown steadily, and the current head of the company, Radhames “Ram” Rodriguez, leads the business in its third generation. He is an extremely personable yet highly driven businessman who aims to develop Artista Cigars into one of the leading names among Dominican cigar manufacturers. Among other things, he is also active in logistics, which many other cigar manufacturers from the Dominican Republic take advantage of by sharing container shipments to Europe with him, thereby reducing costs.

Artista Cigars: Dominican Cigars Since 1956

The Artista Art 56 cigars, as a mixed filler cigar—also known as a “Cuban sandwich” or “medium filler”—offer a lot of tobacco for the money. No expense was spared on the tobacco, but another clever idea from Ram comes into play during production. These extremely affordable, hand-rolled cigars are rolled in the tabacalera’s rolling school. This means that torcedores in training essentially deliver their journeyman’s piece here! The Art 56 cigars are a project in which the rollers strive to become the best. We were able to see from various test samples that the trainees’ craftsmanship is indeed quite good, and the cigars leave no room for complaint in terms of construction. This allows Ram to offer these cigars at very fair prices.

Quality and Tradition From Tamboril by Ram Rodriguez

The blend uses exclusively Dominican tobaccos. These Dominican puros are available in three different wrapper options: Natural, Maduro, and Claro. For the launch in Germany, two vitolas of each were initially introduced. Speaking of introductions: these cigars were not presented at the traditional PCA (Pipe and Cigar Association) trade show, but rather at the relatively new and emerging TPE (Tobacco Products Expo) in Las Vegas. The Tabacalera Artista Cigars has long-standing experience in producing affordable cigars. For example, the Casa de Garcia cigars have been made here for many years, with a blend quite similar to the one presented here. You can find an overview of all Artista Cigars here.