Cigar Aficionado

Trinidad has gone full Dominican. A new cigar from Altadis U.S.A. called Trinidad Santiago is slated to hit store shelves by the end of September, and it's made with only Dominican tobacco. The new smokes were blended by Rafael Nodal of Boutique Blends fame—best known for his Aging Room line of cigars.

"Trinidad is one of the lesser known yet highly regarded Cuban heritage brands, and we wanted to reimagine it with a more contemporary look and a modern flavor profile by using 100 percent Dominican tobaccos," Nodal said. Trinidad Santiago is the first project that Nodal has undertaken since ing Altadis U.S.A. back in May.

This new version of Trinidad is rolled only with tobaccos grown in the Cibao Valley of the Dominican Republic by José "Jochy" Blanco. It's also made at Blanco's Tabacalera Palma S.A. factory in the Dominican Republic, where other Aging Room cigars are rolled. Scheduled to ship by the end of the month, Trinidad Santiago will come in three sizes: Corona, at 5 inches by 48 ring gauge; Toro, 6 by 54; and Belicoso, 6 by 52. The cigars have suggested retail prices ranging from $8.90 to $9.90 and come packaged in 20-count boxes.

This isn't the first time Nodal has created a heritage brand for Altadis U.S.A. In 2015, Altadis collaborated with Nodal to make a Romeo y Julieta cigar with an Aging Room twist. The result was called Romeo by Romeo y Julieta Aging Room Small Batch F25. Since the collaboration, the relationship between Nodal and Altadis has grown stronger. Earlier this year, Altadis U.S.A. took over distribution for Boutique Blends Cigars and Nodal signed on with Altadis in a brand development role.

Trinidad Santiago is the most recent non-Cuban Trinidad brand to be developed by Altadis. In 2015, the company launched Trinidad Lost Blends—a limited-edition cigar—and in 2012 the company created Trinidad Paradox. Altadis first released a Trinidad core brand in 2002, and it saw some popularity, but Altadis quietly delisted the line from its portfolio of cigars. Original Trinidads are no longer shown on the Altadis U.S.A. website.

According to Nodal, Trinidad Santiago will be a regular-production line, but made in small batches.