One day, long before the cigar world knew his name, Oscar Valladares was at his desk job booking hotels and renting out vehicles in the Honduran tourism industry. That day his employer was short on drivers, so they asked Oscar to head to the airport to pick up a group of “gringos.” To Oscar, the fact that he’d never driven a bus was a minor detail; he wanted some time away from the dullness of his deskwork. When he arrived at the airport, one of the gringos was none other than Rocky Patel there with a group to tour his Honduran cigar factory.
Oscar and Rocky got along famously. Oscar started smoking cigars, and Rocky shared that he had a fine palate. Eventually, Rocky offered Oscar a job, which he declined on the first pass. When Rocky asked a second time and received the same answer, he told Oscar he was passing up an excellent opportunity to make a larger salary. Oscar took the job and stayed with Rocky for nearly a decade. He even started his own company.
This company wasn’t Leaf by Oscar just yet. It was a business distributing Rocky Patel sticks in Honduras as the country had no cigar shops. After trying different things like selling cigars to restaurants and bars to little success, Oscar built dozens of humidors and placed them in bars, restaurants, and various other places of business. This increased sales substantially. So much so that Rocky gave Oscar distribution rights for all of Central America. One day while traveling through Honduras with Leaf & Bean cigar shop owner Island Jim, Oscar shared his goal to open his own cigar factory. Island Jim thought this was a great idea and requested a house cigar for his shop. And thus, Leaf by Oscar was born.
Leaf by Oscar Maduro cigars are one of the more robust offerings in the line. Expect a well-balanced ride with notes of black pepper, sweet cream, honey, and leather. This complexity results from a Honduran binder and filler tobaccos wrapped up in a Nicaraguan Jalapa leaf. And we would be remiss not to mention the wild-looking protective outer leaf that takes the place of cellophane and serves as a more effective shell to keep Leaf by Oscar Maduro cigars fresh.
Please enjoy Leaf by Oscar Maduro cigars at your leisure.
Leaf by Oscar Maduro cigars go great with a group of fellow cigar smokers. But remember to leave the outer leaf intact before you pull out the cigar. See if anyone unfamiliar with the brand does a double-take.
