West Tampa Chef Rick

Chef Rick continues West Tampa Tobacco Co.’s Cook Book Series, following food-inspired releases such as Boliche Blvd. and Devil Crab. Named for Rick Rodriguez, the cigar gives the company’s co-founder and master blender a more personal entry in the series, closing out the trilogy with a blend made outside West Tampa’s usual production circle.

Made at the Tabacalera Pages de Nicaragua factory, Chef Rick is a 6" x 52 toro featuring a Habano 2000 wrapper over an Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed binder. The filler blend pulls from four Nicaraguan growing regions: Condega, Estelí, Jalapa, and Ometepe. The project also gives Rodriguez a chance to work with Raymond Pages Raffo and a younger Nicaraguan factory, adding a different production setting to the West Tampa portfolio.

Expect Chef Rick to deliver a balanced profile with notes of spice, earth, cedar, and natural sweetness. It is a fitting entry for the Cook Book Series, tying Rodriguez’s blending style to a culinary theme while keeping the focus on tobacco, construction, and the regional character of its Nicaraguan filler blend.