Cigar of the Week: Flor de Gonzalez Sandwich

The invention attributed to the fourth Earl of Sandwich - the sandwich - in the 18th Century has meanings well beyond its original definition of a piece of meat between two pieces of bread. One such usage is in cigars, where the term "sandwich filler" has come to mean smaller pieces of leaf placed or folded within long-fillers to create the interior blend of a cigar.

Such cigars are considered inferior in construction to those which use all long-filler leaves that run the entire length of the cigar, but it does not mean that - if properly constructed - such cigars cannot be just as enticing and excellent as long-filler blends.

That's the story of the Flor de Gonzalez Sandwich cigar. It's the seventh of seven different series in the boutique Flor de Gonzalez line, which are made in both Miami and in Nicaragua. The Sandwich is made in Nicaragua and features an Ecuadorian wrapper, Indonesian binder and long and short Nicaraguan-grown filler, offered in bundles of 25.

The quality in construction is what immediately strikes you about this cigar: It smokes like a long-fill. If you didn't know that it was a mixed-filler cigar, you couldn't tell by the way it burns.

There's a sweet aroma to this medium-bodied blend and it offers a rich, caramelized taste that continues with considerable brightness right through to the end. A note of spice enters in the second half to signal that the end is near, but by then you're already well satisfied with your choice.

Need another reason to try a Sandwich? How about an astonishing retail price point of just $1.00 to $1.32 per cigar, not including local sales and tobacco taxes! There are five larger sizes in this range, from the Lonsdale at seven inches and 44 ring gauge on the small side, up to 7 1/2 inches and 50 ring for the Super Cazador.

Looking for a cigar for the golf course? This is it!

(Rich Perelman is editor-in-chief of CigarCyclopedia.com, offering comprehensive daily coverage of cigars, accessories, issues, people and prices at www.CigarCyclopedia.com.)

Rich Perelman

3/24/08

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