Changes at PDR Cigars
Changes at PDR Cigars. Abe Flores, the owner of PDR Cigars, changes the meaning of the acronym PDR, and reblends the El Criollito line. Both to show more pride in the Dominican heritage of the brand.
The changes
From its conception, PDR stood for Pinar del Rio. Pinar del Rio is the tobacco-growing region of Cuba, with the Vuelta Abajo as the epicenter of the tobacco-growing operations. Much of the PDR artwork was also a tribute to Cuban artwork, mimicking old rings such as the old Ramon Allones bands (that came back on Cuban Ramon Allones after PDR used the design). But in the last two years, PDR has been updating all its artwork and packaging to original designs. And now the acronym PDR no longer stands for Pinar del Rio but Puros Dominican Republic.
A few years ago, Abe Flores was visiting Havana, Cuba. He purchased three old lithographs from a street vendor. Three lithographs of old Cuban cigar brands, El Trovador, El Criollito, and El Vinyet. Two out of these brands, PDR is making. El Trovador, which is fitting as Abe Flores is a musician, and El Criollito. The last one gets an update with a new blend and new packaging. The El Trovador had an update last year. Dominican tobacco replaces the Nicaraguan tobacco in the blend, focussing more on the Dominican heritage of PDR Cigars. Dominican and Mexican filler, Mexican binder, and an Ecuador Criollo ’98 wrapper.
Dominican pride
The reason for these changes is a new perspective from Abe Flores. In 2015, PDR Cigars was invited to join ProCigar. ProCigar is the association of Dominican cigar manufacturers. Flores started to realize that he should pay more tribute to the country where he makes his cigar instead of glorifying the Cuban tradition. All the ProCigar events that Flores visited, in Europe and at Dominican embassies all over the world, only fueled that feeling. And now PDR is taking the steps to change, and focus more on the premium cigar tradition in the Dominican Republic than to pay tribute to the heydays of the Cuban cigar industry,
