A Saint Luis Rey From The Dominican Republic
The non-Cuban Saint Luis brand has had the same identity for many years: a bold blend made in Honduras at a competitive price. Next month, that’s changing. While it will still have a very reasonable price tag, Saint Luis Rey Tabacales is made in the Dominican Republic, a first for the brand, according to brand owner Altadis U.S.A. (Years ago, a bargain-priced, mixed-filler cigar from the Dominican Republic was sold via catalog using the Saint Luis Rey brand name.) Another change here is that the strength has been dialed down to be more medium in body.
The new cigar line was created by Rafael Nodal, vice president of product capability for Tabacalera USA, which owns the brand and distributes it throughout the United States via its subsidiary, Altadis U.S.A. But Nodal didn’t do it alone. This concept was developed in collaboration with the Grupo de Maestros, a team of cigarmakers and blenders at Tabacalera de Garcia, the large Dominican factory where Saint Luis Rey Tabacales are made alongside other famous cigars such as Montecristo, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta.
The cigar is made with a three-nation blend: Nicaraguan wrapper, Cameroon binder and a filler combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos. The Dominican leaf is from Navarette, and the Nicaraguan wrapper was put in place to add a sense of modernity to the cigar. Nodal says that it’s “a perfect fusion of old-world sweetness and new-world spice.”
Saint Luis Rey Tabacales comes in three sizes, all of which have suggested retail prices of less than $10 each: Rothchilde, measuring 5 inches by 54 ring gauge ($7.70); Toro, at 6 by 54 ($8.25); and a 6-by-60 called Titan ($8.95). All sizes come in both 25-count and 50-count boxes.
The new line should appear on retailer shelves the first week of August.
For a vertical brand tasting of the Saint Luis Rey Tabacales, see a future issue of Cigar Insider.
