Don Doroteo debuts new ‘El Legado’ line

Don Doroteo Delgado was a tobacco grower for La Aurora who started growing tobacco for the oldest cigar factory in the Dominican Republic in 1936. But when he passed away a decade ago, none of his children or grandchildren wanted to take over the business. But now his grandson Juan Lugo is honouring his grandfather by making cigars with the Don Doroteo name. The cigars are made by Tabacalera La Aurora due to the historical connection.

“We essentially reignited my grandfather’s partnership with La Aurora in 2021 as it made sense to do so with them, over anyone else,” says Lugo. “He was working with them from 1936, at the age of 16. When he passed away a decade ago now, the business died with him. No one in the family had any interest in getting into the farming business, as most of his descendants had moved on and established lives in the U.S.”

The first cigar under the Don Doroteo line is the El Legado. It’s a cigar with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and binder and filler from Colombia, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. There will be five vitolas in the inaugural release at the PCA Convention and Trade Show, but not all of them are regular production. The Churchill will be event only and the Corona and Belicoso are limited edition. The Robusto and Sumo Toro are regular production

“We were granted exclusive rights to sample private blends that have been aging since I was in high school,” Lugo continues. “We eventually found one that we loved and hence El Legado was born.”

It’s not just creating a cigar in his grandfather’s honour for Lugo. He also bought a farm in the Yagua Valley and he is growing tobacco for future releases. The names El Alcalde, El Sonador and La Reserva Familia are already registered.