The above post is correct. When the Salazars rolled their first generation of Nicaraguan cigars, it was at the factory which was destroyed by Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas. This was the factory that produced the original Joya de Nicaragua. The actual frontmark was not Salazar Diplomate. It was Salazar Cubano Diplomatico. Actual production was very tiny, and almost none reached the United States because contrary to the Salazar's claim of an exotic blend, they were Habano puros rolled in Nicaragua, but still subject to the U.S. embargo. When the Salazars fled Cuba, they took with them Crillo seed stock, which officially didn't leave Cuba until 1998. They planted those seeds in Nicaragua, and the first production of Salazar Diplomaticos was first generation criollo, wrapper, binder, and filler. Without knowing where they were rolled, one could not ascertain that they were not rolled in Cuba. Needless to say, successive generations of the seed stock was subject to genetic drift, disease, and attempts at cross breeding. Within two years the Salazar Cubano Diplomatico was a significantly different cigar....and gone.

While this transpired, Henry "Kiki" Berger, of Tabacalera Esteli, was just a youngster.

Sorry Steve...You are incorrect...what we are referring to is a totally different cigar...They haven't made these in quite awhile!

I cut and pasted this from "Cigar Arcana" by Professor Arnold Ehret:

It is said that the blend is known only to Sr. Salazar. There is only one roller for each vitola, and each roller is blind. Two were blinded for the purpose --voluntarily, of course. The blind master rollers work from a presorted stack of filler, binder, and wrapper, and take a great deal of pride in making each cigar a masterpiece. Aficionados of the virgin thigh rolling technique may feel threatened by this revelation, but rest assured, this little sacrifice is worth it.

Less widely known, the rollers are fed a certain diet which gives their saliva, used to hold the cap to the wrapper, a certain quality similar to the swallow spit that gives Bird's Nest Soup it's unique and erotically stimulating flavour. The claim that the cigar is an aphrodysiac remains controversial.

eleltea: Ha ha....very silly.

On a serious note, I did email Mario Salazar after my last post, because I thought I may have made a factual error. I received a reply this morning, and just got Mario's permission to copy and paste it.

To: [email protected]

Subject: Salazar Cubano Diplomatico

Steve: It's good to hear from you, and thanks for sending me that web page. I read all the comments and got a good laugh at all the misinformation. For the most part, what you wrote is correct. The Salazar line of cigars is now being made by Kiki, and I think these cigars are better than anything he's ever made. We're very happy with the whole line, but getting them into the retailers is where we are right now. Knowing your tastes, I'm sure you'll really like them.

The first comments about preferring cameroon and maduro wrappers were particularly hilarious. During the boom, in about 1995, we heard that a Mexican factory was cranking out cigars bearing our family name. We couldn't find out where they were coming from, though we suspected that rollers from the Aromas de San Andres factory were making them at home from Mexican farm tobacco filler. There was no way to confirm the source of the cigars. We did trace the dress boxes to a manufacturer in Manila and distributor to Dallas. Steve, those boxes were beautiful. And what surprised us most was that they used Cuban box codes and dating that was accurate to the early fifties. Can you imagine people falling for this? Why would any cigar retailer or smoker think twice about buying Cuban puros that said cameroon or maduro on the dress box? The wrappers were the cheapest Indonesian and Mexican wrapper on the international market. It was the garbage none of the majors wanted. The maduros weren't even fermented leaf. It was dyed Mexican and Indonesian leaf. Anyone who believed that Salazar Cuban puros made in the 1950s could have maduro or cameroon wrappers son estúpidos o ignorantes o ambos.

These guys who say they like these cigars should be smoking Harvesters and White Owls. What posers!

Send me your new address and I'll send you an assortment of our new line.

Buenos deseos,

Mario

And that's the information from the horse's mouth. Apparently the Salazar Diplomate did exist, but was trash.

I am familiar with this Salazar Diplomente you're referring to (an absolute true dogrocket..Ugh!)...These are a completely different cigar line sir...These were not widely released at all, only released (as far as I can remember from trying to recall the conversations of my late uncle from when I was a boy in the late 70's...He passed in 1985) in four states (Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington) and only in very limited quantities...This is why I feel so lucky to have several boxes in my collection!...These have been in my family since my uncle purchased six or seven boxes in the mid 50's...He smoked through two or three boxes and I now have three sealed boxes and one opened box containing eleven sticks left.....I will never trade any of them nor will I sell any of them...I do gift some to my close friends so they can have the opportunity to try this magnificent, very well-aged vitola.

Keith

Steve,be sure to post a review when you get that sampler. X

Let's move along folks ... nothing to see here ... let's just all go home ... come on now ... move along ...

xibbumbero: You may recall that you offered to smoke a candela with me on my late father's birthday. Well, his birthday is coming up in November.

So, I've boxed up a couple of the Don Tomas 18 year candelas with a couple of the last original Salazar Diplomaticos. I still have a few from the original cabinets dating back to 1963-4. One cab was belicosos; the other was true torpedos. The torps are covered with plume, but seem smokeable. After all these years, I'm sure they've become very mild, but the belis still look pretty nice. I'll send them out Friday afternoon. I hope you're still on the "Beach" or somebody will be getting some vintage sticks and wondering why.
Steve*R

Stevo,me still be here. Mucho thanx. X