Augusto Reyes is no stranger to the tobacco industry; his family has been growing tobacco for more than 150 years in the Dominican Republic. Reyes is the 5th generation of his family to work in the tobacco trade and now his son Augusto Jr. joins him.

None of that is unusual, except that instead of growing tobacco—as has been the occupation of most of his family—Augusto is manufacturing hand made premium cigars. Reyes' factory, Corporación Cigar Export, now makes over 14 million cigars a year. Some of the brands he has produced include: Fittipaldi, Tamboril, Rey de Reyes, Cordoba, Garo Habano, Don Lucas Cigars, and many others.

His own brand, Augusto Reyes (AR), includes three lines: Criollo, Epicur and Nativo. Of the three, only the Nativo is a Dominican "puro." This cigar is the fullest in body and strength and has been marketed to the more experienced cigar enthusiast.

The wrapper is a dark and seductive Dominican-grown Criollo 98. I don't think you will find a more beautiful wrapper anywhere. Period. This golden-brown beauty has enough oils to make you worry about the cigar slipping out of your hand, if you're not careful. The leaf is smooth and thick, yet pliable.

The aroma on the wrapper possesses the earthiness of wet forest and the tang of orange oil. In fact, the aroma is so inviting that it begs me to linger, which I do…

I chose a V-cut with this cigar and lit the foot with a triple torch flame lighter.

The Nativo displays flavors of smoked wood, earth, and an undertone of tobacco sweetness. There are also aromatic cedar notes when the smoke is retrohaled. This cigar is medium to full in both flavor and body and it has a long finish on the palate and an aromatic finish on the retrohale. Even with its fullness in body and flavor, this cigar is smooth and sweet tasting until the very end. You are unlikely to experience any bitterness from this tobacco.

The construction on this cigar has been excellent. The draw was near perfect and the burn line was even and the ash firm and solid when dropped into the ashtray. Because of the thickness and resulting resins and moisture in the leaves, the Nativo can exhibit a tendency to go out, resulting in a need to relight. However, my regular practice with cigars that are fuller in body and flavor, is to clip the head and let them sit out for a few hours, or even overnight, before smoking. This has always resulted in much improved performance of the cigar with no negative affect on the flavor characteristics.

The Augusto Reyes Nativo is an excellent cigar. This is definitely a cigar that I would recommend to those who like a full-flavored and stronger smoke.

~Doc