Graycliff Chateau Grand Cru

Graycliff Cigar Company began as a single roller in the entranceway to Graycliff’s prestigious restaurant in Nassau, Bahamas.  The very first Graycliff was introduced toward the end of the boom and weathered the storm through the impending decline when the boom crashed.  The reason for this was Graycliff ignored the way of the failing fly by night tobacconists who flooded the market trying to get a share and instead took their time and produced a cigar that real cigar smokers would enjoy.

The major aspect that makes Graycliff cigars so exceptional is the minds responsible for blending all of the various cigars in the Graycliff line.  Those minds belong to Enrico Garzaroli, the owner of Graycliff, his son Paolo Garzaroli, and Avelino Lara, head of cigar operations and their Master Torcedore (Torcedore, in Spanish, means Twister, but we know the word better as roller).  Avelino Lara was once Fidel Castro’s personal roller and he is famous for his creations at the El Laguito Factory outside of Havana, Cuba, where he created blends for Cohiba and the famous Cuban Davidoff cigars.  Since the initial release, Graycliff has expanded into an award-winning cigar company winning the hearts and palates of new smokers and seasoned veterans alike.

  In 2005 Graycliff released Avelino’s newest masterpiece, the Graycliff Chateau Grand Cru, which is full-bodied, having deep flavors of leather and a spicy core; the cigar was noted as one of the best new cigars on the market by aficionados attending the 2005 Retail Tobacco Dealers Association trade show, known by many as simply the RTDA.  Many, including myself, compare this cigar to the premium Pre-Castro Cubans of yesteryear, and with carefully selected and expertly blended tobaccos from Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua, the cigar is very much like those aged Cubans, balanced and rich.