While the Meerapfel family is well-known for growing and selling tobacco from Cameroon in West-Central Africa, there have been various attempts to take Cameroonian seeds and grow this somewhat exotic variety of plant outside Cameroon — in places like Mexico and Ecuador, for instance.
One man who set his ambitions high regarding this goal was cigar industry legend (and erstwhile Meerapfel customer) Julio R. Eiroa of JRE Tobacco, who, coincidentally, had already achieved something similar with his grade-A “Authentic Corojo”-seed tobacco that’s considered some of the world’s best to be found outside Cuba.
Eiroa knows a little something about tobacco cultivation and cigar blending, having been active in both businesses for the better part of seven decades.
In Honduras’ Jamastran Valley, Eiroa has grown both corojo-seed and Cameroon-seed tobaccos, and in JRE’s Aladino Cameroon line of cigars, these two varieties of leaves come together — the former in the line’s various fillers and binders, and the latter in its wrappers. The end result is a spectacular puro Honduran cigar.
This vitola of that line, the massive Aladino Cameroon Gordo, is the thickest smoke in the Aladino family. With an aromatic reddish-brown wrapper, impressive construction, and a superior draw, the Gordo possesses a medium-to-full body and medium-to-full strength. Flavors on offer include cedar, earth, leather, coffee with cream, cocoa, peanuts, and brown sugar, along with hints of spice, sourdough, and red pepper.
Available in boxes of 20, these cigars are easily good for a two-hour-plus smoke. Pick up a box today, and get the best of Cameroon and Cuba in a thick stick from Honduras.