At the 2019 IPCPR/PCA trade show I got the opportunity to catch up with Luis Cuevas Jr. to sit down and sample one his newest offerings and talk about whats new. I have known Luis for about 4 years now, originally meeting him on a trip to the Dominican Republic with my good friend Ryan Gallimore. Back in 2015, Ryan had a cigar brand known as Swinger Cigars and Casa Cuevas was the factory that made his cigars and number of others including some of the Gurkha Cigars line.
The Casa Cuevas Cigar Company and Factory has been around for a long time in the Dominican Republic. They have been producing cigars for both boutique and large brands alike during that time. A little over 2 years ago the company moved in a new direction and decided to bring back cigars under the Casa Cuevas brand and this year they launched a couple of additional offerings in addition to re-branding the line they launched a couple of years ago.
As opposed to last year, the company had their own booth and they did a magnificent job setting it up. It was clean, bright, and spacious with comfortable seating to sit and enjoy a cigar and conversation, which is exactly what I did. I noticed there was a quite a bit of traffic there also.
Cigar Talk with Luis Cuevas Jr.
Cuevas Reserva Line
As I mentioned they also had a couple of new offerings being showcased at the show. The Cuevas Reserva line is a grandfathered line for the company.
The Cuevas Reserva Maduro has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Mexican San Andres
- Binder – Dominican, Pilloto Cubano
- Filler – Dominican and Nicaraguan (ometepe)
The blend is a personal favorite of Luis Cuevas Sr. as it boasts a full-flavor smoking experience, in a perfectly balanced medium to full bodied cigar.
The Cuevas Reserva Natural has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorean Connecticut
- Binder – Habano
- Filler – Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and the U.S.A.
This blend provides a perfectly smooth smoking experience which features nuanced earthy flavors.
The Cuevas Reserva’s are beautifully packaged in vintage Cuban style 20 -count boxes.
Both blends have been released in three vitolas with more to follow in the future.
- Toro – 6 x 50 MSRP Natural $9.90/ Maduro $10.90
- Torpedo – 6.25 x 52 MSRP Natural $10.40/ Maduro $11.40
- Robusto – 5 x 52 MSRP Natural $9.50/ Maduro $10.50
Casa Cuevas “La Mandarria”
Back in February 2019, the Casa Cuevas Cigars distribution center, in Miami was robbed. The perpetrators used sledgehammers to break in and steal over 25,000 of the Casa Cuevas brands which included the Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flaco and Casa Cuevas core line of cigars. That unfortunate incident did not deter the Cuevas family as they made the decision to forge ahead and create a cigar that will mark the era where they faced and overcame adversity; and so was born La Mandarria (translates to Sledgehammer).
President of Casa Cuevas Cigars, Luis Cuevas Jr. stated:
” La Mandarria is a testament to the values that my father taught me as a child. He was a fighter who optimized the American dream. As a small cigar company, the robbery was an obstacle, but nothing he hasn’t been able to deal with in his storied past.
The Mandarria represents the principal tool used against us, but also represents the strength and will of my father. We look forward to sharing “La Mandarria” with the public in Las Vegas at the 2019 IPCPR”.
Wrapped in beautiful Ecuadorean Habano wrapper and featuring a pig tail and shaggy foot, these cigars will be the first full-body and full-strength cigars in the Casa Cuevas line-up. MSRP is $12.00 per cigar, and initial production will be limited to 500 boxes.
The Mandarria is described as a full-bodied cigar that is expressed in a single 6 x 52 toro vitola. This vitola was chosen as Master Blender Luis Cuevas Sr. felt this vitola was a perfect balance between its strength, which is a representation of the “Mandarria” name, and the cigar’s nuanced flavors.