A Saint Luis Rey From The Dominican Republic

[JohnS]

A Saint Luis Rey From The Dominican Republic

For the first time in the brand’s history, there’s going to be a premium Saint Luis Rey rolled in the Dominican Republic

 Jul 8, 2025 - By Gregory Mottola 

Photos/Altadis U.S.A. 

The non-Cuban Saint Luis brand has had the same identity for many years: a bold blend made in Honduras at a competitive price. Next month, that’s changing. While it will still have a very reasonable price tag, Saint Luis Rey Tabacales is made in the Dominican Republic, a first for the brand, according to brand owner Altadis U.S.A. (Years ago, a bargain-priced, mixed-filler cigar from the Dominican Republic was sold via catalog using the Saint Luis Rey brand name.) Another change here is that the strength has been dialed down to be more medium in body.

The new cigar line was created by Rafael Nodal, vice president of product capability for Tabacalera USA, which owns the brand and distributes it throughout the United States via its subsidiary, Altadis U.S.A. But Nodal didn’t do it alone. This concept was developed in collaboration with the Grupo de Maestros, a team of cigarmakers and blenders at Tabacalera de Garcia, the large Dominican factory where Saint Luis Rey Tabacales are made alongside other famous cigars such as Montecristo, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta.

The cigar is made with a three-nation blend: Nicaraguan wrapper, Cameroon binder and a filler combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos. The Dominican leaf is from Navarette, and the Nicaraguan wrapper was put in place to add a sense of modernity to the cigar. Nodal says that it’s “a perfect fusion of old-world sweetness and new-world spice.”

Saint Luis Rey Tabacales comes in three sizes, all of which have suggested retail prices of less than $10 each: Rothchilde, measuring 5 inches by 54 ring gauge ($7.70); Toro, at 6 by 54 ($8.25); and a 6-by-60 called Titan ($8.95). All sizes come in both 25-count and 50-count boxes.

The new line should appear on retailer shelves the first week of August.

Source: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-saint-luis-rey-from-the-dominican-republic

[JohnS]

Altadis U.S.A. Announces Dominican-Made Saint Luis Rey Tabacales

July 8, 2025 - Patrick Lagreid

Altadis U.S.A. has announced the upcoming release of the Tabacales, a new Saint Luis Rey line that is made in the Dominican Republic.

The cigars reportedly use a Nicaraguan wrapper, Cameroon binder, and a filler that uses tobacco from the Navarette region of the Dominican Republic, along with Nicaraguan tobacco. They are produced at Tabacalera de García, the company’s factory in La Romana, Dominican Republic, a departure from the tradition of producing the line in Honduras.

The Saint Luis Rey Tabacales are being offered in three sizes:

•     Saint Luis Rey Tabacales Rothchilde (5 x 54) — $7.70 (Box of 25, $192.50; Box of 50, $385)
•     Saint Luis Rey Tabacales Toro (6 x 54) — $8.25 (Box of 25, $206.25; Box of 50, $412.50)
•     Saint Luis Rey Tabacales Titan (6 x 60) — $8.95 (Box of 25, $223.75; Box of 50, $447.50)

The cigars are scheduled to be on retail shelves the first week of August.

The company made the announcement via Cigar Aficionado. An e-mail sent to an Altadis U.S.A. representative seeking to obtain the press release and images, as well as to confirm the accuracy of the Cigar Aficionado report, has not yet received a reply.

Source: https://halfwheel.com/altadis-u-s-a-announces-dominican-made-saint-luis-rey-tabacales/452867/

[Wookie]

I think that Grupos team made some really good NC Montecristos a few years back. 

[Chas.Alpha]

5 hours ago, JohnS said:

A Saint Luis Rey From The Dominican Republic

For the first time in the brand’s history, there’s going to be a premium Saint Luis Rey rolled in the Dominican Republic

 Jul 8, 2025 - By Gregory Mottola 

The non-Cuban Saint Luis brand has had the same identity for many years: a bold blend made in Honduras at a competitive price. Next month, that’s changing. While it will still have a very reasonable price tag, Saint Luis Rey Tabacales is made in the Dominican Republic, a first for the brand, according to brand owner Altadis U.S.A. (Years ago, a bargain-priced, mixed-filler cigar from the Dominican Republic was sold via catalog using the Saint Luis Rey brand name.) Another change here is that the strength has been dialed down to be more medium in body.

The new cigar line was created by Rafael Nodal, vice president of product capability for Tabacalera USA, which owns the brand and distributes it throughout the United States via its subsidiary, Altadis U.S.A. But Nodal didn’t do it alone. This concept was developed in collaboration with the Grupo de Maestros, a team of cigarmakers and blenders at Tabacalera de Garcia, the large Dominican factory where Saint Luis Rey Tabacales are made alongside other famous cigars such as Montecristo, H. Upmann and Romeo y Julieta.

The cigar is made with a three-nation blend: Nicaraguan wrapper, Cameroon binder and a filler combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos. The Dominican leaf is from Navarette, and the Nicaraguan wrapper was put in place to add a sense of modernity to the cigar. Nodal says that it’s “a perfect fusion of old-world sweetness and new-world spice.”

Saint Luis Rey Tabacales comes in three sizes, all of which have suggested retail prices of less than $10 each: Rothchilde, measuring 5 inches by 54 ring gauge ($7.70); Toro, at 6 by 54 ($8.25); and a 6-by-60 called Titan ($8.95). All sizes come in both 25-count and 50-count boxes.

The new line should appear on retailer shelves the first week of August.

Source: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-saint-luis-rey-from-the-dominican-republic

@Elpresidente This hits on something that I (and most of us, I’d guess) would love to see a deep dive with Hamlet on. How would a Master Blender go from Nicaragua to D.R., find complementary tobaccos to pair with a Cameroon wrapper and have a profile that he was looking for?

Or is it, like Joni Mitchell said in her lyric to The Drycleaner from Des Moines, “it’s all luck. It’s just luck. You get a little lucky and you make a little money…”

CAH