What Are Rosado Cigars?

It used to be there were, like, two kinds of cigar wrappers. You know, light and dark. And everyone thought the dark one was really strong, but it wasn’t. Then, when you started loving and learning more about cigars, you found out there are as many different kinds of wrappers as there are names that the cigar industry can come up with. Well, almost.

What Are Rosado Cigars?

Among the cigar wrappers that have gained popularity over, I’d say, the last five years are those wrapped in a Rosado wrapper. What is a Rosado wrapper? Very simply, “rosado” means “rose-colored” and, in the case of cigar wrappers, the Rosado is also known as a Colorado Claro. This wrapper used to be fairly rare outside of Cuba and, indeed, this is a Cuban-seed wrapper – but it is increasingly found among non-Cuban cigars, sometimes released as limited-edition smokes. It has great flavor.

Today, there are other strains of wrapper carrying the name Rosado, including Corojo Rosado and Habano Rosado.

Rosado Cigars

Ashton Symmetry delivers a ton of complex flavor with a Habano Rosado wrapper leaf grown in Ecuador. Beneath it lies a well-aged core of premium Dominican and Nicaragua binder and filler tobaccos. Notes of cedar, figs, baking spices, and coffee beans mingle in a full-bodied finish for around $13-$14 per cigar. Symmetry is blended by Carlito Fuente and produced at the world-renowned Fuente factory in the Dominican Republic.

The Tatuaje 15th Anniversary Rosado is a great example of a limited-edition blend. This Nicaraguan cigar comes in a Belicoso, 5.5 x 52, about $19; and a Torpedo, 6.5 x 52, about $21. Made by the Pepin Garcia factory, this cigar is full-bodied with a Rosado wrapper grown in Ecuador. The filler is rich Nicaraguan tobacco. It’s spicy, woody, and intense with notes of coffee and leather with a very strong finish.

The Garcia family is also making the medium-full My Father Fonseca, which is rolled with an oily, reddish Corojo Rosado wrapper covering premium Nicaraguan long-fillers. The Robusto, 5.25 x 54, is about $9. You notice the coffee beans right away, then leather and cocoa pop through with nutty nuances. The finish is a little woody.

Alec Bradley offers a Nicaraguan Churchill, 7 x 50, about $4 per stick (a box of 20 for $84.95) in the Nica Puro Rosado line. This cigar was rated 91 points by Cigar Aficionado. The Rosado wrapper is shiny with all-Nicaraguan filler that delivers a medium-full profile consisting of chestnuts, cashews, leather and black pepper notes. This is a very reasonably priced, very accessible cigar.