Continent | North America
Outpost Field Notes: Maduro
OUTPOST FIELD NOTES: MEXICAN SAN ANDRES TOBACCO
One of the most popular premium tobaccos to hit the cigar scene in the last few years, Mexican San Andres is renowned for its complexity and adaptability. With a flavor profile that’s as remarkable as it is flexible, it’s an easy choice to take any blend from good to great. We’ll break down what exactly Mexican San Andres tobacco is, go over its history and close out with some of our favorite cigars that feature San Andres tobacco.
WHAT IS MEXICAN SAN ANDRES TOBACCO
Put simply, Mexican San Andres tobacco is tobacco grown in the San Andres Valley in the Southeastern state of Veracruz, Mexico. There, the volcanic soils and humid coastal breezes make for a spectacular tobacco crop. For years, Mexican tariffs made it really expensive to import tobacco from other Central American countries, so Mexican cigar manufacturers became very skilled in cultivating and processing their own cigars, slowly honing San Andres varieties into stellar tobacco over time.
Once agricultural tariffs lightened in the early 2010s, Mexican tobacco was more widely available to the greater cigar world and San Andres varieties that were once hard to get ahold of became available to all.
THE HISTORY OF MEXICAN SAN ANDRES TOBACCO
While the Mexican San Andres leaves of today are well-known, ancient versions have been growing in the area for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found stone monuments dating back to the Mayans depicting priests smoking the tobacco. Seen as a gift from the gods, cultivation spread throughout the Yucatan Peninsula as far as Honduras.
The primary strain enjoyed at the time was a darker maduro strain similar to today’s “San Andres Negro” leaf, which was cultivated by both the Mayans and the Aztecs.
WHAT DOES A MEXICAN SAN ANDRES WRAPPER TASTE LIKE?
Today, San Andres tobacco is typically used as a wrapper due to its incredible flavor and elasticity. Depending on the fermentation method used, the leaf is bold and peppery and can give off notes of chocolate. That richness juxtaposed with a subtle sweetness is a big part of what makes the tobacco unique and what many notice first when enjoying a cigar with Mexican San Andres tobacco.
San Andres leaves can also be used as a binder, though this must be done strategically to balance out the strength and flavors of a blend. San Andres tobaccos are most often used in very bold blends, as their strength will overpower the flavors in more mellow cigars.
CAO CIGARS WITH MEXICAN SAN ANDRES TOBACCO
While a handful of cigar manufacturers use San Andres tobacco, our selection of cigars featuring San Andres tobacco showcase the variety of ways the tobacco can be used when in the hands of true experts.
CAO Zocalo
We put all of our expertise on Mexican tobacco to work for this one. The summation of years of blending, CAO Zocalo balances the intensity and depth provided by the San Andres wrapper with a blend that lets its sweeter side shine. The result is a cigar that’s a little spicy, a little sweet and a whole lot of awesome.
CAO BX3
We did the unthinkable with this cigar. The unspoken rule of San Andres tobacco is “never for filler”...simply because the intense flavors overpower most wrappers and binders and throw off the balance of the cigar. The keyword in that last sentence is MOST. For BX3, we knew the bold Brazilian wrapper and binder couldn’t be eclipsed, so we experimented with San Andres tobacco in the filler for a smoking experience, so epic, so flavorful, so unique that it couldn’t be done by anyone but us.
These are just a couple of our favorite cigars featuring San Andres tobacco, but we’re always experimenting with something new. Explore our full lineup to learn more.
SIMILAR ADVENTURES
Explore other CAO cigars whose origins began on the same continent.
