“Fratello Vice Versa is a short-run cigar intended to let the smoker choose the power of the first puff. If you pick one up, you’ll think there’s something wrong—the cigar has caps on both ends. That’s intentional. You have to cut off both caps, putting one in your mouth and lighting the other. Which end you light determines the initial flavor.” David Savona
“You choose,” said de Frias, standing at his booth at the PCA Trade Show last weekend. Depending on which side you put in your mouth determines if the cigar will start with spice or rather mellow. The cigar band is in the middle, and to help guide the smoker. One end of the band is red and says “full,” guiding you to the end that gives the fuller flavor. The other is yellow and says “mild.” For further guidance, the mild side is capped with a much lighter-looking leaf.
There’s a vast mix of tobaccos in the cigar, from Ecuador, Indonesia, Pennsylvania, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Nicaragua. The cigars are made for de Frias at the La Aurora factory in the Dominican Republic, and it’s been some time in the making. “A two-year process,” says De Frias.
52 x 7
