DBL Cigars has been working on a project for the past five years and Francisco Almonte’s painstaking efforts came to fruition this past weekend at the 2025 PCA trade show in New Orleans.
DBL Cigars’ chief horticulturist, Chengo, spearheaded the growing efforts of the new Dominican hybrid tobacco seed, T-13. This tobacco is used as the primary filler in the new Chengo line, eponymously named after its grower. Almonte describes the flavors of the Chengo as something unique to the Dominican Republic, unlike anything that has ever come out of the country that has been cultivating tobacco for centuries.
The Chengo is available in one size, 6 x 52 toro, with two wrapper options, Mexican sun-grown Habano and Mexican San Andreas maduro. Both wrapper options have the same Sumatra-seed binder and all-Dominican filler grown on the DBL farms, including the new T-13. Almonte describes this cigar as a very flavorful full-bodied, full-strength cigar – the strongest DBL has ever made.
DBL also unveiled the 12th Anniversary, a premium cigar made to commemorate the company’s 12 years in business. This cigar is also available in the same Mexican Habano and Mexican San Andreas maduro wrappers as the Chengo. The binder is Dominican Corojo 99 and the filler blend is a complex mix of Criollo 98, T-13, and Carbonell, all 100% organically grown on DBL Cigars’ organic farm in the Cibao Valley Region of the Dominican Republic. The 12th Anniversary is available in one size, 5 ⅞ x 56, and presented in 12-count or 20-count boxes.
