The Plasencia family is one of the largest growers of premium tobacco in Nicaragua and Honduras, farming a combined 5,000 acres between the two countries. Nestor Plasencia and his sons, Nestor Jr., Gustavo, and Jose Luis continue a cigar-making legacy that began with their ancestors in Cuba in 1865. Today, they own eight cigar factories where 700 cigar rollers handcraft about 33 million premium cigars every year. The Plasencias employ over 5,500 workers throughout their sizable operation, and you’ve almost certainly smoked cigars they’ve made before, even if you haven’t had a Plasencia cigar.Plasencia 1865 Alma Fuerte is complex, well-aged, and expensive. An oily Criollo-seed Nicaraguan wrapper leaf embraces a bountiful blend of premium long-filler tobaccos cultivated in four of Nicaragua’s main tobacco-growing regions: Estelí, Condega, Jalapa, and Ometepe. A hearty profile of cocoa, earth, and toast layers the palate with a good amount of spice while flavors of leather and wood round out a big finish. Cigar Aficionado rated 1865 Alma Fuerte 93 points and gave it a ‘Top 10’ ranking in 2017.