On hand for the Grand Opening and pictured with Oswaldo and Hugo Pla is Antonio Gomez (center) of La Flora Dominicana, which produced the Cigar Aficionado magazine’s #1 Cigar of the Year, Andalusian Bull.
On Thursday, March 2, some one hundred came together to celebrate the opening of PLA CIGARS AND WINE BAR located on the corner of US1 and Sunset Drive in the historic Dorn Brothers building. Companies sponsoring the event included Davidoff Cigars, Gurka, My Father Cigars, A.J. Fernandez Cigar Company, Villager, La Flora Dominicana, Orin Swift Wine Cellars, Marques de Riscal, and Goose IPA. Guests enjoyed catered food by Hugo Pla which included a selection of tappas which Hugo is planning to serve at the store.
The Pla family comes from the Dominican Republic, and for the past several years have run a tobacco manufacturing plant in Villa Gonzalez, a of the in the . The area produces some of the finest in the D.R.
As popular cigar writer J. A. Shapira notes, “…cigars made in the have proven over recent years, to be equally comparable, if not sometimes superior, in quality, flavor and aroma, to any premium cigar hand rolled in Cuba. …the cigars made in the Dominican could easily take a spot in the holy trinity of cigar exporters. Just as they do in Cuba, many of the premium cigars made in parts of the Dominican are hand-rolled and assembled by expert artisans who take pride in traditional old-world craftsmanship.”
