Cigar Ambassador, a Dominican Republic-based company that grows tobacco, publishes a cigar magazine, distributes cigars and operates cigar lounges, is launching its own cigar line, called Tobacco Queen, which the company says pays homage to Queen Isabella, the Spanish monarch who funded Christopher Columbus’ expedition, and is dedicated to Lily Wang, one of the company’s co-founders who they call “the tobacco queen.”

Each of the four sizes in the line features a distinct blend, but some similarities are shared across the quartet.

The Tobacco Queen Robusto, which measures 4 7/8 x 50, uses an Ecuadorian habano rosado wrapper, a Dominican criollo 98 wrapper, and a filler of Dominican corojo and an undisclosed varietal grown in Nicaragua’s Jalapa region. It is priced at $14.04 per cigar and offered in boxes of 20 cigars.

The Tobacco Queen Lancero, which measures 6 9/10 x 38, uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper, a Dominican corojo wrapper, and a filler of Dominican criollo 98 and an undisclosed varietal grown in Nicaragua’s Jalapa region. It is priced at $21.06 per cigar and offered in 20-count boxes.

The lone figurado in the line, the Tobacco Queen Salomon, measures 7 1/4 x 57 and used an Ecuadorian habano rosado maduro wrapper, a Dominican San Vicente binder, and a filler that uses Dominican corojo and criollo 98, as well as tobacco from Jalapa. It is priced at $25.92 and offered in boxes of 10 cigars.

Rounding out the offerings is the Tobacco Queen Super A, which measures 9 1/4 x 48, is priced at $28.08 per cigar, and offered in 10-count boxes. Its blend uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper, a Dominican corojo binder, and a filler of tobacco from Jalapa alongside Dominican criollo 98 and HVA.

All of the cigars are made at the company’s factory in Tamboril, Dominican Republic, and became available for retailers to order late last week. They are being distributed by City of Palms Cigar Distribution Services.

“My mother, Lily Wang, is an inspiration to me,” said Ausman Soriano Wong, director of Cigar Ambassador North America, in a press release. “Born in China, she was an unlikely candidate to do what she has accomplished in the cigar industry. This cigar, which is our first blend, is my gift to her in recognition of these amazing achievements.”

Cigar Ambassador was founded in 2005 by Lily Wang and Edward Jin, and claims to be the largest seller of raw premium tobacco to the Asian market. It also publishes Cigar Ambassador Cigar Magazine and operates two cigar lounges in Beijing and Shanghai.

Images courtesy of Cigar Ambassador.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.