Dapper: Desvalido Lonsdale Cigars

Ian Reith, founder of Dapper Cigars, describes the Desvalido as the cigar he's always dreamed of making but, until now, had yet to find the right tobacco and form the connections necessary to make this dream cigar a reality. The name of the line hints at this waiting process, literally meaning "defenseless" or "helpless" in Spanish, with a colloquial meaning in Cuba that refers to someone with little hope of "making it" — an underdog, if you will. It's a very personally referential and symbolic cigar for Reith: the rooster logo representing pride and bravery in Spanish culture, as well as Ian's zodiac birth year, with the deep purple hue and accenting gold connoting royalty juxtaposed against the cigar's underdog name.

As a cigar, the Desvalido features an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper sourced from the Oliva Tobacco Co. The filler blend consists also of Oliva tobaccos from Jalapa and Estelí in Nicaragua, as well as Connecticut Broadleaf from the Lancaster Leaf Tobacco Co. The last filler component remains undisclosed, as does the U.S.-grown binder. The Desvalido is blended to be a full-bodied cigar in both flavor and strength, marked by notes of honey, cream, hazelnut, and coffee, with floral hints.