First Impressions: Heeren van Ruysdael – Brazilie Editie

A couple weeks back, Jerry and I were fortunate enough to score a couple of press passes to Cigars International’s annual Cigarfest. While making the rounds, I was approached by a fan of Stogie Review. This person introduced themselves as Alex and began speaking to me about Dutch cigars. Alex went on to tell me that he is originally from the Netherlands and makes occasional trips back home. While there, he sometimes picks up some dry cured Dutch cigars.

Alex then asked me if I would be interested in doing a review of the few that he felt stood out among the rest. I accepted and looked forward to smoking my very first Dutch cigar. I knew going in, from my discussion with Alex, that these sticks were made of short filler and were produced by machine. Given that information, I had an idea of what to expect in the construction and consistency departments.

With my expectations set pretty low, I fired up my very first Dutch cigar. The cigar of the day was the Heeren van Ruysdael – Brazilie Editie, which translates to “The Gentlemen of Ruysdael”. This cigar features a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper with a filler blend from Sumatra and Brazil.