Take
a Tour of our Cigar Factory in The Dominican Republic.........
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Take
a Tour of our Cigar Factory in The Dominican Republic.........
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Our
tour starts off with the mountains surrounding Tamboril and Santiago, the
second largest city in the Dominican Republic. This is "tobacco country"...
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This is where it all begins. Sunshine,
good soil and of course cool temperate mountain breezes create the perfect
harmony for quality tobacco. Some people call this region, "the alps
of the Caribbean". What ever you wish to name it, this area has some
of the richest soil in the world.
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Don
Leonardo Ventura is the man responsible for creating the blends of tobacco
for Los Maestros. When he is not busy explaining the cigar process
to visitors (as shown here), he is busy at the factory making sure that
the proper blends are used at all times, and attending to quality.
.Senior Ventura comes from a family that has been in the cigar business for three generations. |
| The tobacco leaf comes from the field to the drying room. It is then deveined and bundled for use in the cigar making process. Only the best leaves are selected for Los Maestros cigars. Inferior quality leaves are sold to cigarette manufacturers or to other cigar manufacturers.....The truth is, when you compare a cigar to another tobacco product (such as cigarettes), you are obtaining something which is made from the highest quality tobacco grown. |  |
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The Tobacco leaves are carefully inspected in the special storage room or "drying room" located within the factory itself. Different leaves may be used for different parts of the rolling process itself. As an example, it is preferred that the leaves used for the "wrapper" are free from blemishes, sunspots or other imperfections.....It is here also that special techniques are used to produce the "flavoring" that has become popular, such as vanilla cigars. |
| The leaves which are ready for use in the actual rolling process are brought the cigar rolling tables, which are shown here. Only experienced master rollers are permitted to roll cigars in this area. In an industry that has seen great change and turnover in staff these past few years, Los Maestros is proud to have a group of master rollers that have been with the company from the start.......This means that quality is high and consistent, and that the customer can be assured the same person is still "on the job" of creating their favorite cigar. |  |
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Neil & Louis spend time with each roller to make sure things are going smoothly and to discuss any production or other problems........Here we see a "weekend" visit, with a roller's son carefully watching his father from the back (not in photo). One day, he will take his father's place and become a master cigar roller himself. This is what makes Los Maestros different - A small, family oriented company whereby the customer gets to know the craftsmen. |
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Mr.
Rick Gammons, a US distributor of the Los Maestros product line, visits
the factory and speaks with the master rollers. Rick comes from a
long line of tobacco farmers in North Carolina, so he is no stranger to
the tobacco industry.......In fact, should you have a question or
like to hear more about enjoying your own hand made Los Maestros cigar.....Send
Rick an email !
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The finished hand rolled cigar moves from the master roller to the banding room. It is here that cigars are once again double checked for size & quality, and banded.......Surprisingly enough, this type of work is assigned exclusively to women. Why? Because women have smaller hands and are accustomed to working with sewing and embroidery. For this reason, they usually are faster and also have better coordination.....and you thought that the making of cigars were only left to the men? |
| Once
the cigars have been checked and banded, they are ready for packaging &
final shipment to the customer.
. Los Maestros makes a small but varied
enough line to satisfy even the most discriminating cigar afficionado.
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Here Neil & Mr. Marinic, who has come
all the way from Singapore to visit the factory of his favorite cigars,
samples a new product line and "talks cigars" with the people in the factory.
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Thank you for taking our quick virtual cigar factory tour. When in the Dominican Republic, gives us a call or send us an email. We love to hear from our customers ! Tel. 809-299-1702 Email: godfreyn@codetel.net.do |
