GTO
Dominican Cigars
Our Process:
GTO Dominican Cigars are manufactured at Tabacalera GTO Dominicana located in the Caribbean island of Dominican Republic. The Dominican has become the ultimate paradise for cigar aficionados. Since the the Spanish arrived in 1492, tobacco has been a driving our history and culture. The Taino, the first inhabitants of the island, were using tobacco on the island in their social, religious and ceremonial activities centuries before the Europeans arrived. Today, Dominican cigars are exported to the United States and compete on the same level as Cuban cigars in the European market. The epi-center for the manufacturing of premium cigars in the Dominican Republic is located in the Valle del Cibao (see information below).
Our cigars are made from the finest, aged first-generation Cuban seed tobacco and each GTO Cigar is meticulously crafted by some of the most experienced torcedors (rollers) in the Dominican Republic. Our family farm, located in Santiago, in the heart of the Valle del Cibao. The Valle del Cibao is nestled between two mountain ranges to the north and south, which provide protection to the tobacco crops from Caribbean hurricanes and storms. The Dominican Republic's most fertile and deepest topsoil is located here. This is not only the prime tobacco growing region of the Dominican Republic but, unquestionably, one of the finest tobacco growing regions in the world. According to Cigar Aficionado Magazine - the "Valle del Cibao is to the Dominican Republic what the Vuelta Abajo is to Cuba." Many of the finest cigar manufacturers in the world are located in this region, as our we.
Founder & CEO:
Dr. Oscar Rodriguez
Dr. Oscar Rodriguez was a long time lover of cigars growing up in the Dominican Republic. It is part of the culture to smoke cigars from a young age and was tradition in his family. He has chose to pursue this tradition with passion and create GTO Dominican Cigar and GTO Tabacalera Dominicana. A cigar smoker since he was in his early 20's, Oscar has a keen talent for blending very tasty cigars that adhere to his family's rich Dominican Republic tobacco growing and cigar manufacturing roots and traditions. What most people like most about the personable cigar maker, who now splits his time between the Dominican Republic and traveling throughout the Southeastern United States, is that he is most approachable and enjoys talking with fellow cigar smokers at events, shops and lounges. There is nothing he loves more than sharing a smoke with his patrons and clientele.
Tabalacera Dominicana GTO
Oscar's family has been planting, nurturing and carefully cultivating first-generation Cuban seed tobacco on their farm within the fertile soil of the Valle del Cibao in the Dominican Republic for some 96 years. In 2010, after learning the craft well from his father and other family members involved in the cigar tobacco growing and manufacturing business (who offered him more than 80 years of cumulative experience in the planting, growing and cultivating of cigar tobacco), Oscar launched Tabacalera GTO Dominicana and to manufacture his own GTO brand of premium cigars.
The Tabacalera produces innovative and unique cigar styles and blends, while still adhering to the tried and true methods that have proved successful for decades. Oscar's creations there range from mild and medium strengthed blends to "sticks of dynamite" using triple ligero to create a full bodied powerhouse. This can be seen with his, innovative, Doble Capas (two wrappers) barber-pole style cigars and Pain Killer line, in both maduro and corojo wrappers. GTO Cigars is a small, boutique manufacturer, one that focuses on using the finest tobaccos that are aged to produce a limited batch of quality, premium cigars. Oscar will never rush thousands of prematurely aged cigars to market. We hope you try one of our GTO cigars and you will soon notice GTO's commitment to quality.
