RoMa Craft La Maestranza

Skip Martin and Mike Rosales named this one after a concept they heard from chef Francis Mallmann: maestranza, meaning the skilled people around you who help you build something great. That idea is literally baked into the cigar. A secondary band wraps the foot with the initials of every employee at the Nica Sueño factory in Nicaragua. That's the kind of detail that separates a boutique from a brand.

A dark, oily Mexican San Andres wrapper sits over a Brazilian binder and long fillers from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras. Full in strength, La Maestranza opens with a black pepper snap and cedar, then rolls into dark chocolate, baking spice, earth, and a soft pretzel doughiness that keeps things interesting all the way through. It started as a limited edition, and RoMa Craft wisely brought it back as a permanent line. Don't let it sit in your cart.