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Dominican Republic Rum and Cigar Tour
When you think of the Dominican Republic, you can’t help but think of two of our finest guilty pleasures – rum and cigars. Known as the drink of the noble, rum was the first-produced alcohol and was the choice of drink of seafarers from naval officers to pirates alike.
Nothing goes better with a noble drink than a fine cigar, so we have combined both tours into one. Rum and cigars go hand in hand and so do the tours of their factories.
Discover the process of what makes the Dominican Republic’s rum and cigars some of the most choice and sought after in the world. So, book our services for the best Dominican Republic Cigar Tours.
The Rum Tour
History
China and India drank a predecessor to rum since the 1400s’ which was a simple fermented sugarcane water. In the mid 1600’s slaves working on a sugarcane plantation on the island of Barbados used molasses (a byproduct of sugar refining) and then distilled it. By distilling the fermented sugarcane water, they produced the first known rum.
Fast forward to 1929, Julián Barceló moved from Spain to the Dominican Republic on a quest to produce the best rum in the world. By 1930 he had already started producing and selling his rum locally by using the sugarcane grown in the eastern provinces of the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana). By 1950 Julian Barcelo’s rum was an enormous success and the Barcelo Rum company was in full production. This will be the factory that you will tour.
Throughout the coming years Barcelo Rum would become a coveted brand with selection of rums obtained from a time-tested fermentation & ageing process, along with just the right barrels and blends. Barcelo Rum is currently the 4th most distributed brand of rum in the world reaching 50+ countries.
About The Rum Factory Tour
Quick History of Rum Making
Discover how over the years the process of creating one of the finest rums in the world has been honed into perfection. Throughout the years they have experimenting with fermenting, distilling, and then preparing the perfect barrel to age the rum in. Discover and see with your own eyes how world class rum is made.
Tour the Rum Making and Storage Process
Tour the rum factory floor – from the sugarcane start of the process to the final step – bottling and ready for you to enjoy in the factory tasting room. See how the sugarcane is turned into rum, the fermentation process, the distilling, how the oak barrels are prepared, the storage of the rum and all the way to the end of the process, bottled rum.
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Dominican Republic Cigar Tour
Tour the largest hand-rolled cigar factory in the world which produces world famous cigars such as: Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann, Don Diego, and their most famous cigar, the Montecristo.
History of Cigars In The Dominican Republic
Until the mid 1950’s Cuba led the market on cigar production, and, if you wanted a good cigar, it had to come from Cuba. With the impending Cuban revolt and the US embargo on Cuba in the late 1950’s many of the who’s who of Cuban cigar rollers fled Cuba with the Cuban tobacco seed in hand. They set out for countries that would allow these skilled craftsmen to flourish in their trade.
Most of the rollers went to Central America, but a few settled in the Dominican Republic. Soon, the Dominican Republic would stand on the world stage for cigar production because the soil, rainfall, sunshine and climate of the Dominican Republic allowed the recently migrated rollers the
ability to create cigars with deep, bold, and rich flavors.
With so many micro-climates in the Dominican Republic the soil varies depending on which part of the island the tobacco plants are grown, allowing the growers an ability to create a diverse group of flavors.
In modern times, growers such as Arturo Fuentes have been recognized by experts such as Cigar Aficionado,
winning the cigar of the year in 2017 for their Eye of the Shark cigar.
It is now estimated that over 40% of the world’s cigars are produced on the small island of the Dominican Republic.
About The Cigar Factory Tour
Walk the cigar factory floor with a knowledgeable guide who will explain every step of the process of creating the perfect hand-rolled cigar. You will learn where the plants are grown, how the leaves are properly dried, which part of the leaves are used to create the flavors, the blending of the filler leaves, how the binder leaves are then wrapped to secure the filler and finally how the wrapper leaf is rolled over the binder and filler.
In a time when the art of hand rolling is becoming extinct, watch the expert rollers of La Tabacalera de Garcia roll some of the finest cigars in the world. If you want, you can even roll a cigar. Just ask the guide.
After you have heard about and seen the process of creating a perfectly hand-rolled cigar and perhaps even rolled one yourself, you will then have an opportunity to purchase cigars to take home with you.
Add-ons
Depending on your pick-up and drop-off location the Rum and Cigar Tour will only take about a half day. This will leave you plenty of daylight to enjoy and or explore other areas of the country. Because of the proximity to either the cigar or rum factories and if you were looking to add something else to your day, we suggest either exploring the Cueva de las Maravillas (Cave of Wonders) and/or a lunch at a local beach restaurant overlooking the water.
Cueva de las Maravillas (Cave of Wonders)
Located directly in-between the cigar and rum factories, this cave was the home to the native Indians of the Dominican Republic (Tainos). This cave is surprisingly big for a cave, so you don’t have to worry about close spaces and the cave has a great stair system for getting around inside. With over 500 unique and original pieces of artwork – petroglyphs (rock engravings) and pictographs (rock paintings) – along with the underground lake, this is great add-on to the Rum and Cigar Tour, or it can be done on its own. (About 1 ½ hours)
Lunch at the Beach
You can take a break during your day for lunch on the beach or you can enjoy a nice dinner as the sun is setting over the Caribbean Ocean. Enjoy a nice local’s lunch/dinner at the beach. Traditional whole fish and plantains are enjoyed by the locals at the beach, but if that is not your thing, the menus have lots of options.
Depending on where your pick-up and drop-off locations are, we can suggest the best beach and restaurant to enjoy.
Itinerary
| Tour of the rum factory | 1 hour (approx.) |
| Tour of the cigar factory | 3/4 hour (approx.) |
*Contact us for the travel time based on where you will be staying, but here some estimated times from the popular vacation spots
Pricing
Please contact us directly to let us know your pick-up/drop-off location, the number of people in your party, and, if you would like either of the add-ons (cave exploration or lunch/dinner at the beach). For tour quotes.
Dominican Republic Cigar Tours & Rum Tours
Questions & Answers
Facts About The Dominican Republic Cigar and Rum Tour
Cigar and Rum Tour From Santo Domingo
The cigar and rum tour from Santo Domingo takes about 3 1/3 hours (round-trip) for the transportation + the tour time (1 hour for rum factory and 45 minutes for the cigar factory).
Cigar and Rum Tour From La Romana
The cigar and rum tour from La Romana takes about 1 3/4 hours (round-trip) + the tour time (1 hour for rum factory and 45 minutes for the cigar factory).
Cigar and Rum Tour From Bayahibe
The cigar and rum tour from Bayahibe takes about 2 hours (round-trip) + the tour time (1 hour for rum factory and 45 minutes for the cigar factory).
Can I receive a refund if I need to cancel?
Even better than a refund, we don’t charge you till the day of the tour. Once you have been dropped off after an exciting day, we will charge you at that point. With no pre-payment you don’t have to worry about a refund. If you need to cancel your Rum and Cigar Tour, we simply ask that you provide us as much notice as possible so we may try to re-book the now available time slot.
Is there a dress code?
Yes and no. The premier cigar factory will require gentleman to wear pants and closed toe shoes. If you would like to view the smaller version of the same cigar factory at that location there is no dress code. There is no dress code for the rum factory.
Can the Rum and Cigar Tour be split up if I want only one?
Yes, or course. Let us know what you want to see and do, and we will make it happen.
What time does the Rum and Cigar Tour start?
The Cigar and Rum Tours usually start every half hour except for lunch time. Because the tour is a half day tour this tour can either start in the morning or afternoon. Simply let us know what time works best for you.
Can we purchase the cigars and rum from the tour?
Yes, at both the cigar factory and the rum factory there is a small store where you may make purchases. There is a rum sampling at the end of the rum tour which might help you decide on just which bottle of rum you want to take back with you.
Will we sample the rum and cigars?
Part of the rum tour includes sampling the various rums they produce in their sampling room. Unfortunately, the cigars will not be able to be sampled.
Which cigar factory will we tour?
La Tabacalera de Garcia Factory in La Romana is the factory we take most people to as it is the largest hand-rolled cigar factory in the world, but if you have a specific factory you would like to visit, please let us know.
Which rum factory will we tour?
The Barcelo Rum Factory in San Pedro de Macoris is the factory we take people to who are staying on the Caribbean side of the island (south).