Curacao gets El Piño Blanco

Curacao gets El Piño Blanco. The cigars from El Piño Blanco will be available on the Dutch Caribbean island later this month, or early January. And with that, it’s the first international expansion of the brand. Both the Corojo and Maduro line will be available in Curacao.

El Pino Blanco

The brand is made in Nicaragua by Plasencia Cigars. But the brand is owned by the Dutch tobacconist Mariska Kelch. Kelch is also the importer and distributor for a few brands for the Dutch market. She blended the El Piño Blanco with the help of David Blanco. Blanco is the man behind Blanco Cigars, and Kelch is his distributor for The Netherlands. Initially, Johan Kelch was involved in the project as well, until he tragically passed away.

There is a story behind the name El Piño Blanco. Mariska was in Nicaragua when the social uprising started, and on the way to Managua airport, her group got caught up in a protest. David Blanco, who was driving the car, had to pull stunts like Jason Statham in The Transporter to get out safely. Driving backward at full speed, turning the car around and get the hell out of the riots to keep everybody out of trouble. The hashtag #letsgetpino aka let’s get crazy started, and the name El Piño Blanco was born.

The cigars are available in two different blends. One has a Maduro wrapper, while the other sports a Corojo wrapper. The cigars contain Nicaraguan and Honduran filler and a Sumatra binder. Both wrappers come from Honduras. We reviewed both blends earlier this year. You can find the review of the El Piño Blanco Maduro Robusto and the El Piño Blanco Corojo Robusto by clicking on the name.