Fonseca Original (D.R.)
DiscontinuedThe Dominican Republic Fonseca traces its origins to one of the oldest and most storied names in Havana cigar history. Don Francisco E. Fonseca founded his factory in Cuba in the late 19th century and quickly gained recognition for the quality of his tobacco and an innovative approach to packaging, wrapping each cigar individually in a tube of tin foil and an outer covering of Japanese paper to protect it from atmospheric changes. A tradition that continues to this day on the Cuban version, with each Cosacos vitola still tissue-wrapped by hand.
The Dominican version was entrusted to Manuel "Manolo" Quesada, a fourth-generation tobacco man and one of the most respected blenders in the industry, who produced Fonseca at his MATASA factory in Santiago for roughly 45 years. Quesada built the Dominican Fonseca around a Connecticut shade wrapper, Dominican long-filler tobaccos aged a minimum of five years in tercio bales, and a Mexican binder. The tercio aging process, where tobaccos are packed in palm bark bundles and allowed to rest, preserves the leaf's natural oils and contributes to the creaminess and balance that defined the brand's reputation in the American market. Fonseca is one of the very few Cuban heritage brands not owned by either Altadis or General Cigar. The Quesada family eventually sold the brand to the Garcia family of My Father Cigars, who have continued the Fonseca name under a new Nicaraguan-production chapter.