Billy's Trip to the Dominican

I was lucky enough to be chosen to attend the C.Gars Ltd annual Viaje Al Origin trip to the Dominican Repulic this year and having worked for the company for the last two years, I have to say this trip has been extremely enlightening and given me a whole new understanding of my role here and my love for cigars in general.  The trip took place from the 5th February to the 10th and I was very well looked after by Roy and Anthony of Davidoff cigars. Throughout the week I was able to have an inside look at everything that Davidoff do that makes them different to any other cigar brand out there. This whole trip has made me really appreciate how much expertise goes into the brand and cigars as a whole and being able to see every step from planting the seed, to boxing up the final products has really opened my eyes to the skill that the people behind Davidoff have.

We were taken on tours of both the farms and the factories in which we had guidance and information given to us throughout the entire day. To begin with we went over to Dr. Schneiders farm where we were treated to breakfast in the Tobacco fields and where we were lucky enough to meet Hamlet Espinal and have our photo taken with him. After this the first guided tour happened where Pedro took us through the process of planting the seeds, curing the tobacco in the barns, harvesting tobacco leaves etc. We then moved to the second place, Jicome, where we had another guided tour of the Greenhouses and other aspects of the growing process, we were also shown a demonstration of how they get hold of the seeds and plant them in the trays to begin the process of growing tobacco. We were then shown the stages of fermentation and how they alter things to make sure that every leaf is treated the exact same.  Each leaf is checked over by hand and is colour graded. After being shown everything we were able to sit down and partake in a cigar tasting session, where we received 4 cigars labelled 1, 2, 3 and complete. We then graded them on their different tastes, Sweet, Salty, Acid, Bitter and overall palate, we were also shown how to differentiate the different stimulations. We then had the opportunity to choose our own blend, which was rolled for us and we were given a box of 10 of these cigars which was an amazing gift to receive!

The next day we went over to the Davidoff factory where all of the creation takes place, where the tobacco is aged, graded, rolled etc. The factory was a massive eye opener and has really made me realise how much quality control takes place and how intricate every stage of the process is. There is no room for error and you can see this by the fact only 10% of seeds make it past quality control. Throughout the whole process from crop to shop they have 171 quality control stations and everything is checked by hand, at every stage. After the guided tour we came to the rolling room – La Galera – where we saw the final products being rolled.  I took many photos and then had the chance to sit with a Master Roller who took us through and helped us to roll our very own cigar! This was an amazing experience and I believe that I have learned so much which I can now apply to my everyday role here at C. Gars Ltd.

Written by Billy-Jay Elton-Petts