Dictador Pavo Real

The cigars of this brand caught our attention for the first time at IPCPR 2015 in New Orleans. As we do every year, we were at the tobacco fair in the USA, seeking exciting novelties for our customers that hadn't yet made their way to Germany. No, it wasn't the ladies at the booth that motivated us to make contact—after all, my sister was also present as a lady—but rather the fact that Abraham "Abe" Flores manufactures these cigars. With his Tabacalera PDR Cigars, he has been highly respected and recognized for his blending skills since the mid-2000s. His factory also produces the Flores y Rodriguez cigars and, for example, the Gurkha Ghost.

The history of these cigars, or rather the rum, is quite remarkable. In the late 18th century, the Spaniard Severo Arango y Ferro traveled to Cartagena de Indias in Nueva Granada, present-day Colombia. On behalf of the King, he was supposed to improve tax collection for the Crown, which probably mainly meant "increase." Due to his rather robust and, let's say, direct manner, he quickly became known and infamous as "Dictador" in the Spanish colonies, which, of course, simply means dictator in German as well. There, he fell in love with the local sugarcane drink, rum. It was this that eventually prompted one of his descendants to enter the production of this spirit. As a homage to his forebear, he named it accordingly: Dictador Rum.

But now, on to the most important matter here: the Dictador cigars! All formats and blends were explicitly crafted to provide an optimal enjoyment when paired with the corresponding drink. Within the three series, the Pavo Real are the mildest and are explicitly recommended as excellent companions for gin and coffee.

Both vitolas feature an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper and are rolled with not one, but two different binders—a Dominican and a Nicaraguan. Interestingly, the filler is a blend of three different countries: Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia. Since the end of 2016, these cigars are no longer being brought to Germany by Don Stefano from Wettenberg; a new importer has not yet been found.