This post is also available in: Spanish

tabacalera_de_garcia_factory_tours The Tabacalera de Garcia, established in 1971 is the world’s largest hand-rolled cigar factory with a long and varied history, making it an absolute must place to visit – whether you are a cigar lover or a casual aficionado! Lucky for all who visit, this fully operational factory and historical gem, is located just outside of Casa de Campo and is open to the public, for tours which take you through the many stages which go into the creation of every cigar. If you have not taken this tour, its time you did. 
  Tour Prices: • Enthusiasts Tour (hand made rolling and packing), 30 mins: US$5 (redeemable on cigar purchases) • Aficionados Tour (complete handmade), 60 mins: US$10 (redeemable on cigar purchases) • Private VIP Tour (complete tour and cigar tasting), 12o mins: US$20
In my time in Casa de Campo I have visited the Tabacalera de Garcia no less than 3 times – once with my mother, once with some friends and once on my own to try and take some good photographs and to finally remember the process so that I could write about it! As you can imagine, it is an attraction in its own right.  Every time I visited, I was always amazed by how enormous the factory and production is, how complex and precise the cigar-making process is and how every stage of the production is essentially done by hand – the old fashioned traditional way.

During the tour, you are lead step by step through the entire Cigar-making process, from the processing and preparation of the wrappers when they first arrive, through to the blending of the different leaves, which create each unique cigar. You will get the opportunity to learn all about the different types of tobacco that go into the process and how they are blended to keep a consistent flavor – something that just seems impossibly difficult. Near the end of the tour you will also see hundreds of thousands of cigars being hand rolled, the old fashioned way. This is quite the experience!

The Tabacalera de Garcia employs more than 4,000 people and is home to the makers of the Finest Dominican Cigars: Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann, Don Diego, Santa Damiana, VegaFina, and Onyx amongst others – on this tour you will see the proud handwork of the cigar industry’s most experienced craftsmen and women, working on some of the worlds leading cigars.

Here are some of my photos of when I did this tour (I didn’t want to publish too many – because you should go see the factory for yourselves!)