Find a Medium Capadura for Yourself

According to the tobacconist university glossary, capadura is Spanish for the “second” growth plant leaves. After the tobacco plant has been harvested/primed, the stalk is trimmed down and leaves allowed to grow again. This practice was common in Cuba where the farmers would use the second growth for their own consumption. Reportedly, this practice is most common with Pelo De Oro tobacco varietals, just the kind used in the Capadura brand.

Capadura is a brand purchased out of General Cigar that is imported and distributed by Luba Cigars Corporation based in Miami. Luba Cigars is run by Ruth Elizabeth Batista, who spent much of her life in the production and marketing sides of the tobacco business in the Dominican Republic. Her approach is to avoid mass production and focus upon utilizing quality tobacco in hand made premium quality cigars.

I visited the Capadura booth at the 2013 IPCPR and received some samples for review. Capadura aims its 848 series of cigars at the medium bodied market segment. There are 4 sizes – 6 X 54 toro, 6 X 60 jumbo, 6 X 42 corona and 5 X 50 robusto.  All are made with Havana 2000/Nicaraguan wrappers, Olor Dominican /San Victor binder and 4 Tobaccos Piloto and Olorfrom the Dominican Republic. This review is of the 848 robusto 5 X 50.

The 848 robusto is a dark, attractive cigar. The wrapper has a slightly oily sheen and there is a nice band marked “848” that protects the foot of the cigar and identifies it as the series targeted towards the medium bodied market. The construction is very firm with a pre-smoke aroma of cedar.  The 848 had an easy draw with a very good volume of smoke. The taste was nutty, not overdone and quite pleasant.  The cigar lasted 45 minutes although the final 10 were a little harsher than the previous 35. I found the taste and smoking experience of the 848 superior to the 808 and at roughly the same $5 price, the 848 gets a higher rating of 4.0. This is a good medium bodied cigar.