When it comes to lower priced cigars that offer the flavor and quality that cigar smokers demand it is hard to find a more recognized brand than Dutch Masters cigars. This iconic brand has been around for over a century, and it is certainly a cigar brand you will find in just about any cigar shop around the world.
Early Times
The first Dutch Masters cigars were produced in the United States in 1911. It is actually not a Dutch brand at all but does take the name from the painting of Dutch gentlemen, painted originally by Rembrandt in 1662 which is on every box of cigars produced by the company.
In the early days of the brand they produced full sized cigars, but today they are known for both the full cigars are well as their cigarillos. The cigarillos are often known by their catch name of mini-dutches, and they are available in many smoke shops, convenience stores and even in cigar shops.
The Rise in Popularity
While all of the machine-made Dutch Masters cigars were always popular, it is in the mid-1950s through the 1960s that the company and the brand became highly recognized.
In a bold move, the company actually started to advertise their smokes by sponsoring television programs that were hosted by Ernie Kovacs. Mr. Kovacs was a very well-known comedian and a cigar smoker, although it is reported that he only smoked hand-rolled cigars when not advertising for the brand.
Flavors and Options
As mentioned earlier, there are two sizes of Dutch Masters cigars available. The full cigars are more traditional and come in boxes of individually wrapped cigars to preserve freshness and moisture in the tobacco.
They tend to be a mild to moderate strength cigar with Cuban tobaccos as the filler and a natural wrapper. They can be flavored or simply aged; both are a great option. Typically the flavored cigars will be in a foil wrapper, and they are very distinctive with their band and label style.
With the smaller Dutch Masters cigars or cigarillos, there are a wider flavor-options. This ranges from the sweeter flavors of honey, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate to the more pronounced flavors of berry fusion, grape, mint and rum fusion.
With the ongoing popularity of Dutch Masters cigars and the continued marketing of low-cost, top quality cigars there are sure to be favorites for cigar lovers for years to come.
