Mexico

Mexico's cigar story is mostly about one valley. San Andrés, in the state of Veracruz near the Gulf coast, grows a thick, dark leaf that has become one of the most popular maduro wrappers in the business.

Where it grows

The San Andrés Valley, around the town of San Andrés Tuxtla, sits on volcanic soil between the mountains and the sea. The local San Andrés Negro leaf is fermented dark for maduro wrapper, and lighter leaf from the same valley goes into binders and filler.

The style

Mexican San Andrés wrapper brings cocoa and coffee with a little sweetness. You'll find it on cigars rolled in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic as often as on cigars made in Mexico.

Names you'll see

The Turrent family has grown tobacco in San Andrés for generations and makes Te-Amo and Casa Turrent there.