Roberto “Tito” Rodriguez speaks of his hand-rolled cigars in a vocabulary similar to that of wine tasting. At Rodriguez Puro Cigars, words like “robusto” and “claro” are standard terms. Experienced cigar-lovers refer to flavors that resemble dark chocolate, cognac, and even chili pepper.
Tito knows them well. He began making cigars more than 40 years ago as a 9-year-old apprentice in the generations-old family business in the Dominican Republic.
“The shade-grown leaf of the wrappers on our best cigars still come from Connecticut, but no one has better filler than ours,” he says. “That part comes from our own Dominican plantation. It uses Cuban seed that we brought in many decades ago.”
Tito is able to carry on an animated conversation, with hardly a glance at his table-top, as he makes slashing cuts using a razor-sharp leaf-cutter.
“All the talk today is about ‘organic’ this and ‘natural’ that,” he says. “I put the word ‘pure’ in our name to make the point that we don’t use any chemicals in growing or curing. You can tell the difference in the flavors.”
The front of Tito’s shop is furnished like a club-room, with deeply cushioned leather seats facing a big-screen television. Customers come in, light up and watch a few innings of baseball or a horse race.
Between puffs one of them said of the experience, “I love my wife, I love my home – but this is heaven.”
Rodriguez Puro Cigars is located at 587 Central Ave. Call (201) 963-7073 or visit rodriguezpuroscigars.com.