Meet Dapper Cigar Co.: The Newest Brand in Our Humidor
The newest brand in the Creekside humidor started with one man trying to make one great cigar. Nine Dapper cigars are now on our shelves, and we think you're going to like them.
We're always looking for boutique brands that put the tobacco first. Dapper Cigar Co. is exactly that. It's a small, independent company out of Fresno, California, with serious relationships in Estelí, and the lineup now in our humidor runs from a medium-bodied Sumatra all the way up to full-strength Broadleaf.
Who is Dapper Cigar Co.?
Ian Reith founded Dapper in 2013 with a simple goal: make one great cigar. His background was in tech, not tobacco. He was a cigar smoker who kept traveling to Estelí, Nicaragua to learn how cigars are made. That first cigar was the Cubo Claro, rolled in a small factory in the middle of Estelí. Ian was mostly making it for himself and his friends, but word got around, retailers started asking for it, and a boutique brand was born.
The name has a good story, too. Ian showed one of those first banded Cubos to a friend, who looked at it and said, "That's a very dapper looking cigar." It stuck.
Where are Dapper cigars made?
Most of the Dapper lineup is made at Nicaragua American Cigars S.A. (NACSA) in Estelí. NACSA is the manufacturing arm of the Oliva Tobacco Company family, and it's the same factory trusted by some of the most respected names in boutique cigars. Production manager Raul Disla runs the floor and works closely with Ian on the blends. Much of the tobacco comes straight from Oliva Tobacco Co. farms, including La Joya in Estelí and Cofradía in Jalapa. That farm-to-factory connection is a big reason these cigars smoke the way they do.
The Dapper lineup at Creekside
El Borracho San Andrés Robusto (5 x 50)
Dapper calls it "brawny yet subtle," and that's a fair description. A Mexican San Andrés wrapper covers a Jalapa Habano Rosado binder and Nicaraguan fillers from Estelí, Jalapa and Condega. It's full in strength and flavor, and Dapper's own notes call out semi-sweet chocolate, cedar, citrus and licorice. If you like a dark San Andrés smoke with real backbone, start here.
Shop El Borracho San Andrés
El Borracho Broadleaf Robusto (5 x 50)
This one takes the original El Borracho blend and turns it up. Dapper added more Nicaraguan ligero from Oliva's La Joya farm and swapped the wrapper for a rich U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf. The result is a bold, full smoke built for experienced cigar smokers.
Shop El Borracho Broadleaf
La Madrina Habano Toro (6 1/8 x 52)
"La Madrina" means "godmother," and the band art draws on Day of the Dead imagery. The blend pulls from five countries: an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper, a Mexican San Andrés binder, and fillers from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and U.S. Broadleaf. It's full-bodied, with notes of chocolate, earth, nuts and pepper.
Shop La Madrina Habano
La Madrina Shade Robusto (5 x 50)
Same binder and filler as the Habano, but dressed in a light-tan Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper. Don't let the color fool you. It smokes rich, creamy and sweet with a real kick of pepper. This is a great pick for the Connecticut smoker who wants a little more going on.
Shop La Madrina Shade
Desvalido Robusto (5 x 50)
"Desvalido" roughly translates to "those without hope" in Cuban Spanish. Ian describes it as the cigar he dreamed of making for years. It started as an event-only cigar, a collaboration between Ian, Raul Disla and the Oliva Tobacco Company, before joining the regular lineup. An oily Ecuadorian Habano Rosado Café wrapper covers an undisclosed U.S. binder, with fillers from Jalapa, Estelí and U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf. Full strength, with spice, pepper, earth and natural tobacco sweetness.
Shop Desvalido
Desvalido Disla Robusto (5 x 50)
Raul Disla took the original Desvalido and reblended it into a more Nicaraguan version. It keeps the Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper and leans harder into Nicaraguan tobacco. Expect a hearty, full-bodied smoke with deep notes of spice, earth and coffee. Smoke it next to the original Desvalido and see which one you like better.
Shop Desvalido Disla
Siempre Sun Grown Robusto (5 x 50)
"Siempre" is Spanish for "always." Ian named it during a rough stretch: he was dealing with a serious illness at the same time the FDA announced it would regulate premium cigars. Instead of slowing down, he went all in, and Siempre became Dapper's highest-end line. The Sun Grown has an oily Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf binder, with fillers from Estelí, Ometepe, Jalapa and Honduras' Jamastrán Valley. Dapper rates it medium to medium-plus.
Shop Siempre Sun Grown
Siempre Rosado Robusto (5 x 50)
Ian and Raul set out to make the strongest, most flavorful cigar Dapper had ever made, without relying on under-fermented tobacco. They chose an eighth-priming Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper that spends two years in fermentation. By the end, the leaf is dark, and the rosado tint only shows when you hold it up to the sun. A heavy Nicaraguan Habano binder and Nicaraguan and U.S. fillers round it out.
Shop Siempre Rosado
Cubo Sumatra Toro Grande (6 x 54)
Cubo is where Dapper started, so it's a fitting place to finish. The Sumatra version uses a reddish Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder, with Nicaraguan and U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf filler. It's medium strength, with earth, pepper, chocolate and cedar, plus an earthy, spicy retrohale. This is the easiest entry point into the brand.
Shop Cubo Sumatra
Where should you start?
- Want something approachable? Start with the Cubo Sumatra or the Siempre Sun Grown.
- Usually smoke Connecticut? Try the La Madrina Shade.
- Like a dark, full cigar? Go with the El Borracho San Andrés or El Borracho Broadleaf.
- Want the full Dapper experience? Grab a Desvalido and a Desvalido Disla and smoke them side by side.
Find Dapper at Creekside
Every Dapper cigar on our site is available as a single, a 5-pack or a box of 20. Stop by and ask the crew what they've been smoking, or browse the full lineup in our Dapper Cigars collection.
