Dona Flor Connecticut Churchill

Dona Flor cigars are one of three premium cigar brands that are handmade by the Menendez Amerino Group in Brazil.

Felix Menendez has been familiar with tobacco from Brazil for 30 years. He learnt his craft from his father at a young age. He has been involved with premium cigars for as long as he can remember. His father, Alonso Menendez Garcia, was one of the most famous cigar manufacturers in Cuba before the revolution. Together with his brothers and Jose M. Garcia, they owned the H. Upmann and Montecristo brands before they had to flee into exile in 1947 due to Castro's revolution. Their journey took the family first to Spain and then to the Canary Islands. "In the Canary Islands, we bought tobacco from Carlos Toraño Senior. He introduced me and my brother Benjamin to the Brazilian tobacco variety Mata Fina." in 1970, the brothers moved to Brazil with their families and founded Menendez Amerino & Cia. Today, the company produces the handmade cigars of the three brands: Alonso Menendez, Dona Flor and Aquarius.

A full-bodied boutique cigar

Felix describes Dona Flor as more full-bodied than the other two brands. The tobacco used for the Dona Flor blend grows in the tropical Recôncavo region of Bahia. "Mata Fina is a mild, aromatic tobacco variety, while Mata Norte is stronger and sweeter."

Numerous well-known manufacturers from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and the USA use the two tobacco varieties from Brazil for their blends, which has greatly increased demand in recent years. Felix appreciates this and attributes it to the high quality and flavour of the tobaccos. "Mata Fina works well in all layers of the cigar, in my opinion best in the filler."

The company currently produces four million cigars by hand every year. So you can definitely speak of boutique cigars.