Marrero Cigars has a new factory in the Dominican Republic, and the first cigar to come out of it is showing the artistic abilities of the team within its walls.

The new facility, named MCR Factory, is located in Tamboril and is owned by Joel Vazquez Marrero and Felix Gonzalez, a veteran of the industry for over 30 years and who has spent time with Arturo Fuente, Davidoff and La Flor Dominicana, according to a press release issued by the company. “It has been a dream of mine to own my own factory after working in the best factories in the world,” Gonzalez said. “I’m humbled and honored to be producing Artistico Cigars in my own factory,” alluding to the first release to be released.

The Marrero Artistico Salomon is a 7 x 62 that comes with elaborate decorations on the wrapper. To do so, the cigar uses Dominican-grown Connecticut, candela, maduro and habano wrappers, while the filler is highlighted by habano rosado criollo and corojo 98. The company is producing 250 boxes of 10 cigars, with shipping slated to begin in October. Single cigars will be priced between $25 and $28, according to Marrero.

Marrero will continue to produce its Costa Rican blends in Costa Rica, while the Dominican blends will head to the new factory, which currently has three pairs of rollers producing the company’s cigars. Marrero told halfwheel that the company is also exploring producing cigars for other manufacturers in the future.

Images courtesy of Marrero Cigar Co.

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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 and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, 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.