On a warm and sunny day in Tamboril, considered to many as the cigar capital of the world, lying in the outskirts of Santiago, Dominican Republic, lies Jose Arnaldo Blanco, known to all as “Jochy”, puffing calmly on cigar. A man who has worked with tobacco for as long as he can recall and his unconditional love and passion for it is obvious to all.
Through hard work and determination, he’s grown and processed tobacco to perfection throughout his tenure as a manufacturer and grower for the last few decades, and his factory Tabacalera Palma has been the home for outstanding cigars that have gained the love and appreciation of smokers all over the world.
As he calmly takes a slow draw from his caramel-like colored wrapped cigar, he realizes that everything is exactly the way he wants it. Staring fondly at a painting across his desk, he appreciates rollers in the factory nearly 80 years ago and a smile starts to reflect. In his mind, this is the perfect time to bring to life exactly what he’s looking at. It’s where it all begins, La Galera is where cigars are produced in a factory; it’s where the magic happens. This is when La Galera cigars is born.
Imperial Jade
La Galera is thrilled to announce the launch of our new cigar, La Galera Imperial Jade, wrapped in Cameroonian seed tobacco grown throughout Cameroon.
Cameroon wrapper cigars are few and far between, and not without good reason. The seed for this type of tobacco is disease prone, low yield, and produced in Cameroon; a Central African Republic that lacks experienced producers and knowledgeable personnel for pickling, curing, and classifying the tobacco.
The lack of tobacco know-how in Cameroon means extra work for us at the factory. When the tobacco is received it must go through additional processes, making sure the tobacco is up to the standard that we require it to be before we even think of putting it in one of our cigars.
To make working with Cameroon even more of a challenge, the wrapper is wafer-thin and stiff, making it a nightmare to handle.
The final product is something that, like the imperial jade, is alluring, enticing, smooth to the touch, and irresistible to look at.
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Criollo
Filler: Piloto Cubano and Criollo 98
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera Palma
Strength: Medium
Size: Chiquito Perfecto (4X40/52)
Tasting Notes: Toast, Classic Wood, Cedar, Citrus, Red Pepper