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San Andrés Wrapper

Updated 2026-07-09 · by Eric

San Andrés is a Mexican wrapper leaf grown almost entirely to become a dark maduro... which is where its cocoa, coffee, and earth reputation comes from.

Where it comes from

San Andrés is named for the San Andrés Valley in Veracruz, Mexico. It's a Mexican Negro leaf, descended from Sumatra seed, and the valley is one of the few places that grows all three parts of a cigar... wrapper, binder, and filler. The leaf is thick and takes well to long fermentation, which is why it so often ends up as a maduro rather than a lighter natural wrapper.

What it's like

As a wrapper, San Andrés tends toward dark, earthy flavors... cocoa, black coffee, a little pepper, sometimes a sweetness people describe as raisin or dark fruit. It leans rich and full rather than bright. Because the same leaf shows up as a binder and filler in Mexican puros, a "San Andrés" cigar can taste very different depending on how much of it is in the blend versus just on the outside.

Natural vs maduro

You'll almost never see San Andrés smoked as a light natural wrapper. The leaf is grown and fermented for the dark end of the spectrum. If a cigar lists a San Andrés wrapper, assume it's a maduro in everything but name... and remember that maduro is a process, not a separate plant.

You'll see it on

San Andrés isn't only a wrapper. On this site it shows up as the binder in the Davidoff Winston Churchill The Late Hour Toro, which WSA rated a Hand-Me-One (2/4)... a reminder that the leaf does quiet structural work inside blends, too.

Keep reading

• Maduro is a process, not a leaf
• Where cigars come from: Mexico
• Wrappers: the whole spectrum
• Oscuro: the darkest class

Reviewed at WSA since this page was written