The Digest | New Jersey Magazine
Issue link: https://magazines.vuenj.com/i/701166
Where does this complexity come from? These particular cigars started their lives in the Dominican Republic, where a majority of Davidoff's tobacco is grown and manufactured, though the company also grows tobacco in Nicaragua and Honduras. In the Dominican Republic, Davidoff uses three seed varieties: Dominican Olor, a tobacco native to that country, and the one given to Columbus by the Natives when he landed, a transplant called San Vicente, and Piloto. Of these three seed varieties, there are 28 hybrids, each of which can produce a slightly different flavor outcome. While seed types certainly offer their qualities, the tobacco's real flavor comes from the soil composition and microclimate. This is called terroir, the environmental factors that influence the traits of a crop. "The main factor that we're concerned with in cigar production is in the soil," said Stone. "The mineral content will give the outcome of the flavor in tobacco. From that we will determine what seed variety we're going to plant." Different minerals influence the tobacco's flavor in a variety of ways. Nitrogen, for example, determines the strength of the cigar because a higher nitrogen content means a higher nicotine content. The ratio of calcium to magnesium in the soil determines the tobacco's sweetness. The higher the ratio, the sweeter the tobacco. Low pH content in the soil causes the tobacco to have a longer aftertaste when smoked, something that heavily influences the flavor of Cuban cigars. Microclimates affect this mineral content. "In the Dominican Republic, our master cigar maker Hendrik "Henke" Kelner, has identified 14 different microclimates in the central Cibao Valley, which is the main growing valley for tobacco in the Dominican Republic. In the last 12 years, he discovered an area outside of Cibao Valley in a non-traditional area for growing tobacco to create a 15th," explained Stone. Each microclimate is so influential on mineral content and growing condition that the same seed grown in different microclimates can produce significantly different flavors. VUE ON LIFESTYLE V U E N J . C O M 63