Ecuador

Ecuador rolls very few cigars of its own, but a large share of the wrappers on cigars made elsewhere grow here. The country sits on the equator, and a thick layer of cloud covers the growing areas for much of the year.

Where it grows

The farms are in the lowlands inland from the coast. The clouds act like the cheesecloth tents in Connecticut, softening the sun so the leaves grow large, thin and even, which is what a wrapper needs.

The style

Growers here plant seed from elsewhere. Connecticut seed gives a pale, mellow wrapper, Habano seed a darker and spicier one, and Sumatra seed lands in between. You'll see Ecuadorian Connecticut, Ecuadorian Habano and Ecuadorian Sumatra on a lot of spec sheets.

Names you'll see

Many of the mild Connecticut-wrapped cigars on the market use Ecuadorian leaf, and Davidoff moved its signature wrapper to Ecuador Connecticut in 2001.