 Where There's Smoke
For golfers who love cigars, there's no better destination than the Dominican Republic
By Ron Kaspriske
Golf Digest Index
Spring 2007
Just as every golfer should make at least one pilgrimage to St. Andrews, Scotland, every cigar lover should visit Santiago in the Dominican Republic, the cigar capital of the world. Although Cuba maintains a reputation for premium smokes that is helped in part by the U.S. trade embargo, the D.R. has become the industry leader. Last year the U.S. imported about 160 million cigars from the Dominican Republic, more than twice its nearest rival, Honduras. And it's not just quantity. Of Cigar Aficionado magazine's 10 best cigars of 2006, five were Dominican; only two were Cuban. The D.R.'s top handmade brands include Arturo Fuente, Ashton, Davidoff, Macanudo and Partagas.
"I assure you that the very same quality and care that were put into Cuban cigars before Fidel Castro took over are now being put into the premium brands here," says Carlos (Carlito) Fuente, president of Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. "The popularity of Dominicans with Americans wouldn't have grown to what it is today without that level of quality." The Fuente Fuente OpusX Double Corona is every bit as powerful as the most robust Cuban, cigar critics say. Made entirely of Dominican tobacco, it has been produced by the company for more than a decade and sells for up to $50 per cigar in the United States. It was named 2005 Cigar of the Year by Cigar Aficionado.
For cigar-loving golfers, the D.R.'s draw is strong. Not only does it have top-rated golf under a tropical sun (see "If you go ... " sidebar below), but its cigar factories and tobacco farms will leave you with a new appreciation for that heater you've been puffing on. A bonus: These trips are about as far from a typical touristy Caribbean vacation as you can get. Fuente's company will let you tour its operations, but don't expect anything formal. Just call ahead (809-226-2500) and ask to make an appointment. A tour can range from a brief walk-through to an all-day adventure, which includes a trip to a tobacco farm and then to the factory, where you'll see the entire assembly process--even the construction of cigar boxes. There are no fees for the tours, but Fuente says he likes visitors to make a donation to his Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which provides schooling and medical care to underprivileged Dominican children.
IF YOU GO ...
Travelers who want to combine cigars and golf in the Dominican Republic can fly into either Santiago or Puerto Plata.
A decent hotel choice in Santiago is Hodelpa Gran Almirante (809-580-1992, hodelpa.com/properties/gran_almirante), five minutes by cab from General Cigar. Santiago is an industrial city and not especially scenic, so you might want to limit your stay to one night. Just remember to take taxis rather than renting a car. The streets are narrow, confusing and congested with drivers who make their own rules.
Puerto Plata, about 90 minutes away on the island's northern coast, is serviced by a larger international airport and has direct flights from New York, Atlanta and Miami. Its beachfront resorts offer the most comfortable accommodations.
The Puerto Plata region is home to two good golf courses. The closest is the Playa Dorada Golf Course (809-320-3472, playadoradagolf.com), designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1976. Playa Dorada's green fees are $40 in the summer and $75 in the winter. (The No. 1 course in the D.R. is the legendary Pete Dye-designed Teeth of the Dog, on the country's southern coast, about five hours away.)
The setting at Playa Grande (809-582-0860, playagrande.com) is better than Playa Dorada, so you won't mind the hour-plus drive from Puerto Plata to play it. Also built by Jones Sr., its route along an elevated, rugged coastline offers stunning ocean views. The course is expected to go private in 2008. For now, the green fee is $140.
Eight hotels in the area offer golf packages, including the Victoria Golf & Beach Resort (809-320-3232, victoriagolfhotel.com) and the more upscale Casa Colonial Beach & Spa Resort (866-376-7831, casacolonialhotel.com).
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If you're short on time and want just a snapshot of the cigar-making process, the region's only cigar museum--the E. Leon Jimenes Tabacalera in Santiago's Villa Progreso neighborhood--is open daily (8 a.m.-5 p.m., 809-571-0332) and offers free 25-minute tours of the cigar-making process. The museum is part of La Aurora tobacco company, the oldest in the Dominican Republic. The company also produces Presidente Beer.
General Cigar Dominicana, whose Macanudo brand is the most-popular premium handmade cigar in the United States, is a huge operation, with 2,100 workers in its Santiago facility. Touring it is like taking a trip to a U.S. factory of the early 20th century, with rows and rows of uniformed workers sitting in front of wood benches or boxy metal equipment, repeating the same tasks over and over. It's fascinating to watch a young woman cut cured tobacco leaves into perfect cigar-wrapper shapes. Or see a team of three workers quickly and expertly roll a dozen of the 550 cigars they can make in one day. The rollers, who earn about $100 a week on average, are paid only for each quality cigar produced, so they work extremely fast and with precision.
Perhaps the most startling thing about a cigar-factory tour is the smell of tobacco as it ages and ferments. Tobacco emits ammonia, a smell that literally takes your breath away in some rooms at General Cigar. Ammonia is one reason cigars are stored in cedar boxes--the wood absorbs the gas.
Among General Cigar's most coveted boxes are the Partagas Limited Reserve Decadas and the Macanudo 1997 Vintage, which both sell for more than $20 per cigar, says general manager Jhonys Diaz. Those prices are as much an indication of the craftsmanship involved in assembling a cigar as they are in the growing of the tobacco leaves.
At Fuente's beautiful farm, Chateau de la Fuente, you can see tobacco in all stages of growth, from tiny buds to 10-foot plants. It's an hour south of Santiago and set in a Shangri-La-like valley surrounded by mountains and lush tropical vegetation. Actor Andy Garcia, who is friends with Fuente, recently produced and starred in a movie ("The Lost City") that was partially filmed there.
Little understood by cigar smokers is the life cycle of tobacco and how it's cared for, Fuente says. First it is coddled in a nursery as a plant no bigger than a clover. It's then moved to the fields under protective cheesecloth to keep the harsh sun off the plants. Finally, when fully grown (one leaf can be nearly two-feet long), it's moved into the farm's picturesque grass-roof curing barns for roughly seven weeks before heading to the factory.
Next door to Chateau de la Fuente is the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation's all-grades school and medical center. "Many of the children in the area had never seen a toothbrush or lived in a house with electricity and potable water," Fuente says. School was never an option for them until the charity opened.
"The workers and their children are our lifeblood here," Fuente says. "If we are going to be a part of this country and make premium cigars here, then we believe taking care of the people is just as important as the products we make."
Photograph by Andrew Kaufman
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