Don Doroteo Begins Shipping Two Salt of the Earth Blends to Retailers

Don Doroteo is shipping two blends that were created to honor the legacy of brand co-founder Juan Lugo’s grandfather Doroteo Delgado, who grew tobacco for La Aurora in the Dominican Republic in the 1930’s.

The first cigar is Salt of the Earth Piedra Angular—a name that translates to Cornerstone from Spanish—which is made up of a Dominican corojo wrapper covering a Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. In addition, Don Doroteo is releasing Salt of the Earth Piedra Viva—which translates to Living Stone from Spanish—featuring a blend composed of a  Cameroon-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador, a Nicaraguan binder and a filler blend from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

Both regular production lines are being made at La Aurora in the Dominican Republic.

According to the company, both are made with tobacco from the 2016 harvest and include andullo tobaccos, which are native to the Dominican Republic. More of a process rather than a specific varietal, the andullo tobaccos are wrapped tightly in large pods known as yaguas—which are shaped almost like 15-foot long burritos—and then wrapped in rope and hung in order to ferment them for up to two years. The end result is something that is more or less a large log of tobacco where slices are cut off and are more commonly chewed or smoked via pipes.

“My grandfather and my Dominican roots are the inspiration for the Salt of the Earth line, which is why we used andullo in both blends,” said Lugo in a press release. “Andullo is distinctly Dominican and has been smoked as pipe tobacco by the Taino Indians on the island 500 years ago.”

The two blends are being released in a 5 3/4 x 54 toro vitola priced at $16.75 each and packaged in 10-count boxes. During the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Don Doroteo indicated that three additional vitolas would eventually be added to both lines—a 6 1/4 x 52 belicoso, a 5 1/2 by 50 corona and a 5 x 50 robusto—but in an email, Lugo told halfwheel that the company is “working on the remaining vitolas.”