Prensado means a lot to us and the Alec Bradley story. Rolled at Raices Cubanas (‘Cuban Roots’) factory, the Prensado was first created to pay homage to the Cuban traditions of cigar making rolling the filler ‘entuba-do,’ triple capping the head and box pressing the finished cigar. Blended with proprietary estate grown corojo from the Trojes region of Honduras, Prensado would eventually be named Cigar Aficionado “Cigar of the Year,” propelling our trajectory into cigar culture much quicker than anticipated.

Alec Bradley Prensado became famous when the Churchill size was named the cigar of the year back in 2011. It could be said that this was the cigar that put Alec Bradley on the map. But the accolade had an unexpected consequence and the company had to deal with a level of demand it didn’t necessarily know how to handle. For a brief period, Prensado suffered quality issues as Alec Bradley struggled to meet demand.

Alan Rubin, who owned the company at the time, vowed to correct the problems and doubled down on quality control. Now, more than 10 years later, it’s a fantastic cigar and regained its rightful place as one of the best of the year. The blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobacco is still the same, however, Alec Bradley was acquired by Scandinavian Tobacco Group in February 2023.

We’re happy to say that so far, it seems STG has done everything it can to maintain Prensado’s quality and character, one that shows a harmonious combination of earth and nuttiness before a substantial note of cocoa brings not only some sweetness but intensity as well.