Don Doroteo came on the scene a few years ago, seemingly out of nowhere. I probably wouldn’t have heard of them if not for a friend (who’s presence in cigar media I miss), who went from brobering for them, to working for them, to stepping away from the cigar industry altogether. I didn’t pay much attention to them after that, 
until another friend, one of the best PR guys in cigars, started working with them and sent me some samples. I was surprised by the presentation of the samples. They came in a beautiful leather case with a cutter and lighter, very fancy, and, like the cigars, on the expensive side. On the other hand, I 
guess I shouldn’t be surprised, this is par for the course with Gabriel’s clients, he seems to get them to go over and above with the media packages. Honestly, the quality of the case is amazing, I hope the cigars are as well. Don Doroteo cigars wirkes with La Aurora in the DR, so that bodes well, it’s a sentimental favorite factory (and brand) for me. I started with the El Lagado in toro.
The Don Doroteo El Legado is a beauty, with a Ecuador Sumatra wrapper and binder, and fillers from Columbia, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. If you aren’t a Sumatra fan, this might not be for you. Strike that, try it anyway. It’s different from many Sumatra wrapped cigars I like. It starts with some citrus tang, maybe some acidity, but settles down. As it progressed it got sweeter, and I like some sweetness. This was apparently rolled in 2008, which is funny to me, being cynical and all, since the company on;y started in 2021. I suppose the fact that the namesake of the company was a tobacco producer who worked with La Aurora some 85 years ago ties things together. Regardless, I found this cigar to be quite enjoyable.
The Don Doroteo Salt of the Earth series has two blends, both utilizing Dominican Andullo tobacco in the blends. This is more of a fermentation method than a variety, and it’s ancient. They tightly twist the leaves into a rope or sausage, and wrap it in palm leaves and hang it for two years to ferment. This has been used in a few cigars in the past, I can think of the La Aurora ADN, the Ventura Project 805 (also made by La Aurora), and maybe the CAO Amazon Basin. I started with the Piedra Viva. This cigar has a Ecuador Cameroon wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers from Condega, Dominican Corojo, Criollo 99 and the Andullo. The literature lists a harvest date of 2016, but it doesn’t say which tobacco. I suppose we can say that there’s 7 year old tobacco in the blend and be safe. I pretty quickly deduced that there was Criollo in the blend, not a fan. There’s a nice toastiness to the flavor and it was a little sour, but not in a bad way. Of course, the burn and draw were excellent, when was the last time you had a poorly made cigar from La Aurora?
Finally, I smoked the Piedra Angular, in the 5¾” x 54 size, the same size as the other two. I usually include the sizes for each cigar, but I figured I wouldn’t be repetitive. I like the size. This one has a Dominican Corojo wrapper, over the same blend as the Piedra Viva. This one also has some acidic bite to it, not sure if that’s the Andullo or the Criollo. I like the citrus tang, it reminds me of something I smoked 20 years ago but I can’t remember what. Again, well made, and a nice cigar. Both of the Salt of the Earth cigars did have a bit of saltiness, not sure if that’s put into my head by the name, or a real flavor component. Good stuff. All in all, these three Don Doroteo cigars were tasty. If you run across them in the wild, give them a look. I look forward to having an occasion befitting the use of that case though!
Thanks to Gabriel and Juan Lugo for the opportunity to sample these! It’s been announced, Goose’s Cigar & Sonny’s Italian Food Fest 2024 tickets are on sale HERE. May will be a busy month, so pencil this in for the first weekend! That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
