Category: Cigars

Cigar exports up
In 2019, the Tobacco Business Group of Cuba (Tabacuba) reported more than $269.8 million in exports, almost $10 million more than in 2018.
Tabacuba plans to raise its revenues to more than $280.8 million in 2020 with the export of quality cigars, according to the group.
During the last meeting of Parliament, Cuban Minister of Economy Alejandro Gil said that an increase in cigar sales would represent about $300 million in annual income for the island.
Tabacuba is in charge of Cuban tobacco activity, from agricultural production, pre-industry, industrial production, marketing, logistics and development. The industry is the fourth largest contributor to the country’s GDP.
February 25, 2020
Preparing to party
Havana is getting ready to host the XXII Habanos Festival, which will begin Feb. 24 with a welcome evening and will end Feb. 28 with the traditional gala dinner.
The event will be attended by cigar enthusiasts from all over the world, with the Bolivar, Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta brands taking center stage.
Attendees at the XXII Habanos Festival will enjoy a five-day activities’ program and learn about the origin, production and various aspects concerning the culture of Habanos. This year, there will be plantation tours to the area of Partido, San Antonio de los Banos, in Artemisa, and tours of the La Corona and Partagas factories.
Other highlights include three evenings of the best live music from renowned international artists, the finest gastronomy in Cuba and the opportunity to try Habanos and drinks from different corners of the world.
The program will also feature practical sessions and keynote speeches led by renowned experts in the world of Habanos.
The gala evening is dedicated to the Romeo y Julieta brand and will conclude with the Habanos Awards and the traditional Humidors Auction, with all proceeds going to the Cuban public healthcare system.

February 17, 2020
Estelli Opens Factory
Cigar Box Factory Esteli (CBFE) celebrates the opening of its new 21,500-square-foot factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.
In business for more than 30 years, CBFE supplies packaging to Drew Estate, AJ Fernandez and Altadis USA, among other prominent cigar companies.
According to CBFE, the new ISO 9001-certified facility offers improved working conditions and will increase the factory’s efficiency
“We welcome our current and future clients to the new and improved factory, said CBFE General Manager Cesar Ramirez Saez. “We look forward to participate once again in the Puro Sabor Cigar Festival in January as well as hosting guided tours to our facility.”
December 12, 2019
Esteli opens factory
Cigar Box Factory Esteli (CBFE) celebrates the opening of its new 21,500-square-foot factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.
In business for more than 30 years, CBFE supplies packaging to Drew Estate, AJ Fernandez and Altadis USA, among other prominent cigar companies.
According to CBFE, the new ISO 9001-certified facility offers improved working conditions and will increase the factory’s efficiency
“We welcome our current and future clients to the new and improved factory, said CBFE General Manager Cesar Ramirez Saez. “We look forward to participate once again in the Puro Sabor Cigar Festival in January as well as hosting guided tours to our facility.”
December 12, 2019
STG Reports Results
Niels Frederiksen
Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) reported net sales of DKK1.85 billion ($273 million) in the third quarter of 2019, down from DKK1.89 billion in the comparable 2018 period.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and before special items were DKK446 million compared with DKK398 million during the third quarter of 2018.
“In the third quarter of the year, we deliver organic EBITDA growth of 5.4 percent, continued margin improvements and a strong free cash flow despite a disappointing development in organic net sales,” said STG CEO Niels Frederiksen.
“This follows better-than-expected progress from our transformational program Fueling the Growth and continued cash flow focus across our business. During the quarter, we were also able to announce our intention to acquire Royal Agio Cigars—a significant step in support of our ambition to become the undisputed leader in cigars and pipe tobacco.”
STG revised its full-year guidance for free cash flow to about DKK1 billion. The revised expectation includes transaction costs from the Royal Agio Cigars acquisition of about DKK20 million, costs for the closure of STG’s Lane facility in the U.S. of up to DKK120 million and lower than previously anticipated costs relating to the Fueling the Growth program.
November 18, 2019
Altria Mulls Sale of Sherman
Altria Group is “exploring options” for its premium cigar subsidiary, Nat Sherman International, including selling the business, according to an article in
Cigar Aficionado.
In a statement, an Altria representative said the premium cigar business is not core to Altria’s tobacco portfolio. Nat Sherman International includes the company’s cigar brands. The Nat
Sherman cigarette brand is not part of the subsidiary that might be sold.
Altria acquired Nat Sherman International from the Sherman family in January 2017.
October 25, 2019
China to host cigar show
The China International Cigar EXPO will take place in the Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center on Nov. 21-22, hosted by China Cigarette Sales Co. and Shenzhen Municipal Tobacco Co., organized by Shenzhen Tobacco Import & Export Co.
The EXPO will feature both domestic and international cigar products and provide a platform for exchanging industry information.
In addition to product displays, the event will include discussion forums, cigar ratings and an event in which experts pair Chinese cigars with tea.
Strategically located, Shenzhen is a major port and consumer market for cigars from overseas. In recent years, the rapid growth of middle-to high-end cigar market in Shenzhen has played a significant role in developing China’s cigar industry.
The EXPO will be held at a 5,000 square meter convention center, with more than 50 domestic and foreign enterprises. The organizers expect more than 100 exhibitors.

September 10, 2019
Preparing for harvest
Farmers in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, expect to plant about 20,050 hectares of tobacco for the 2019-2020 season, according to local press reports.
Accounting for around 65 percent of production, Pinar del Rio is the country’s largest producer and supplier of the aromatic leaf, which is used to produce Cuba’s famous cigars.
Cuba harvested more than 30,000 tons of tobacco for the second consecutive year in 2018, when about 300 million hand-rolled cigars were produced on the island, almost 100 million of them for export.
The tobacco industry is the fourth biggest contributor to Cuba’s gross domestic product. In 2018, its exports reached almost $260 million.
The sector employs about 200,000 workers on the island, with up to 250,000 at the peak of the harvest.
August 2, 2019
Curiosity Drives Discovery

Photos: Royal Agio Cigars
Boris Wintermans reflects on the success of Royal Agio Cigars.
By Brian Ledtke
Royal Agio Cigars may or may not be a name you’ve heard in the United States, but for those in Europe, you’ve probably heard of them before. After all, this company has been around for 115 years, despite being relative newcomers stateside. But with the release of their Balmoral Anejo XO cigar line five years ago and the 2019 release of a collaboration cigar with Litto Gomez of La Flor Dominicana Cigars, suddenly the U.S. market is abuzz.
Sitting across from me at the Royal Agio Cigars booth at the 2019 International Premium Cigars and Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, is current president, Boris Wintermans, the great-grandson of founder Jacques Wintermans. Boris Wintermans is eloquent and passionate about the cigar industry, which is evident not only in how he speaks but also in the way his piercing blue eyes light up when he talks about cigars. But it’s not only his love for cigars that makes Boris interesting; he also has a zeal and curiosity for discovery, and he certainly loves to live life on the edge.
“I like to be inspired by new experiences, whether it’s smoking a cigar or trying out a new motorcycle,” Wintermans says as he lights up a Balmoral Anejo XO Nicaragua. “I like to try new things, enjoy life and live in the moment.”
The Netherlands-based company was founded by Jacques in 1895 using 200 Dutch guilders—about $100. Four generations later, this small entrepreneurial company has become the fourth-largest maker of natural wrapped cigars in the world, making about 800 million cigars, and employs over 2,300 people.
However, Wintermans’ passions initially didn’t lead him into the cigar industry, despite growing up around tobacco.
“I probably smoked my first cigar when I was 3 years old or something,” Wintermans says, laughing. “Just kidding. But I was born into the cigar environment. I don’t know whether it was nature or nurture, but somehow it got into my system.”
After working in the family factory during his teenage years, Wintermans attended university for advertising, and after finishing school, he went backpacking for three months in South America where he visited tobacco plantations, which he says led him on a trail of discovery.
Shortly after returning to the Netherlands and working in the advertising business for a brief time, Wintermans decided the nine-to-five life wasn’t for him, and it wasn’t long after that Royal Agio Cigars offered him a position that he readily accepted.
“I wasn’t forced into it,” Wintermans says. “If I ever want to pass this on to my kids, it will have to be their choice. I just want them to be happy, and if it happens to be in the family business, that’s awesome. If it doesn’t, I’m never going to push anybody into a mold.”
Wintermans recalls being on a sailboat in the Mediterranean with his father when he was about 20 years old, smoking one of their first long-filler cigars, a Balmoral. He remembers it was that moment that really began his love for the industry: “Just enjoying the moment, having a nice Churchill, sitting there, and just enjoying the hell out of that cigar.”

Royal Agio Cigars has been in the U.S. market for quite some time now with their other brands (Panter, produced since 1935, and Mehari’s, produced since 1976), but it was their Balmoral premium handmade cigar line that started turning heads about 5 years ago.
The first Balmoral cigar Wintermans blended was the Balmoral Anejo 18, which used an 18-year-old Brazilian wrapper, and it was a huge hit. Unfortunately, the tobacco used in that cigar was extremely limited, and the company soon ran out, prompting Wintermans to begin planning a follow-up—the Balmoral Anejo XO.
“The Balmoral Anejo XO was the cigar that really put us on the map,” Wintermans says. “What we always try to do with our Balmoral cigars is just start on it and basically see where it ends. We have our curiosity; we want to discover new flavors, new tastes, and that takes us in a certain direction. What we don’t want to do is create something that’s already out there. You sometimes have to smoke 100 samples to get it right.”
Wintermans followed up the Balmoral Anejo XO with the Anejo XO Oscuro to take the Balmoral line in a different direction taste-wise and to surprise not only consumers but also himself. The same can be said for the next cigar in their lineup: the Anejo XO Connecticut, which isn’t your normal mild Connecticut cigar but one with an extra punch that will appeal even to the seasoned smoker. The Balmoral Anejo XO Nicaragua, released in August 2019, rounds out the Balmoral lineup and features a gorgeous sun-grown Nicaraguan Habano wrapper.
However, it was the cigar released just last year and the subsequent follow-up this year that created a buzz that even Wintermans didn’t expect. Last year, Wintermans teamed up with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo of EP Carrillo Cigars, under the newly released Balmoral Serie Signaturas collaboration platform, to create the Balmoral Dueto, which received a mountain of accolades. But this was just the beginning.

This year, Wintermans announced the second Serie Signaturas release, Paso Doble, a collaboration with Litto Gomez of La Flor Dominicana Cigars, which sent shockwaves through the industry. The buzz around the IPCPR tradeshow this July was one of shock: Gomez never collaborates … how did Wintermans convince him?
“Well, we said, ‘Litto, do you want to work with us? We might have a spot left. We may be able to squeeze you in,’” Wintermans jokes. “No, we’ve had a relationship for a few decades now, and we’re not the average guy making cigars. Litto, being a curious guy as well, likes to explore different routes and paths, and he was also keen to see where it could take us.”
“This is not something we normally do—in fact we never do it,” Gomez says, “but for Boris, I made an exception because we share the same simple philosophy: to be the best and do things the right way.”
The Balmoral Serie Signaturas Paso Doble combines each cigar maker’s tobaccos and intertwines them into a balance of flavors that stays true to each cigar maker’s signature blending style—the dark, full-bodied richness of La Flor Dominicana and the sophisticated, balanced intricacy of Balmoral cigars.
“You start out on a route and you create something special, and all of a sudden, people start noticing it, start tasting it, give you positive feedback, and I think that’s one of the most valuable things you can do,” Wintermans says. “That’s what we’re doing it for. It’s nice that people are engaged in the same journey we are.”

If you’ve noticed Wintermans mentioning “journey” and “curiosity” often, it’s because he does. Those words are very much a part of him and what make up his life’s philosophy: “Every day is a new opportunity to try something different. When is the last time you tried something for the first time?” His philosophy has segued itself into Balmoral’s social media hashtag: #CuriosityDrivesDiscovery.
And discover Wintermans has—racing motorcycles and cars, running triathlons, starting a band and even competing in a boxing match.
“With the racing and the boxing, it’s all about thrill, the speed, about taking some risks, but it’s also about just starting something and enjoying it for what it is,” Wintermans says. “And that is what is at the core of our brand.”
Aside from thrill-seeking and cigars, Wintermans’ family is also in the high-tech business—3D printing metal and supplying it to the aerospace and car industries. For now, his brother mostly runs that side of the family business, and Wintermans focuses on cigars, but when asked if he has ever thought about moving to the high-tech business, he pauses to think for a moment and then replies, “It’s an awful lot of fun, but I’m liking the cigar industry.”
It’s Wintermans’ curiousness and love for discovering new things that has brought him to where he is today, and it’s that same passion that will propel him, Balmoral and Royal Agio Cigars into the future.
“Life is not about the end goal; it’s about the process as much as doing what we love to do,” Wintermans says, looking down at his half-smoked Balmoral cigar. “And this is the one thing that’s remained a constant in my life. I’ve switch from one thing to another, but cigars have always been a constant in my life and in my family after four generations.”
August 1, 2019
FDA final guidance
US vape shops that modify a product so that it is deemed by the US Food and Drug Administration to be a ‘new tobacco product’ are required to comply with the agency’s premarket authorization requirements, according to a final FDA guidance.
In a note issued through its Center for Tobacco Products, the FDA said it had posted a notice in the Federal Register announcing the publication of the final guidance, Interpretation of and Compliance Policy for Certain Label Requirement; Applicability of Certain Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act Requirements to Vape Shops. This guidance was said to finalize the draft guidance of the same title, which was available for public comment on January 17, 2017.
‘Under section 903(a)(2)(C) of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [FD&C], a tobacco product in package form is misbranded if its label does not include an accurate statement of the percentage of tobacco used in the product that is foreign-grown and domestic-grown,’ the note said. ‘This guidance clarifies FDA’s interpretation of this as applying only to tobacco products that are made or derived from tobacco. Tobacco products (such as components, parts, and accessories) that are not made or derived from tobacco would not be required to bear the statement.
‘Additionally, at this time, FDA does not intend to enforce this requirement for certain products, including tobacco-derived liquid nicotine, e-liquid made or derived from tobacco, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and waterpipe tobacco. FDA is providing this compliance policy as the agency recognizes the current scientific and technical difficulties of quantifying the percentage of foreign and domestic tobacco used in these products.
‘The guidance also clarifies [that] vape shops that are tobacco product manufacturers are subject to the requirements in section 904(a) and (c) of the FD&C Act, including the requirements to provide ingredient listings, report harmful and potentially harmful constituents, and submit health documents. Those vape shops that modify a product so that it is a new tobacco product are required to comply with the premarket authorization requirements. Vape shops that are engaged in the manufacture, preparation, compounding, or processing of tobacco products are required to comply with the establishment registration and product listing requirements in section 905 of the FD&C Act.
‘The final guidance explains certain activities which modify a product, and which would subject the vape shop to the requirements of the Act that apply to manufacturers and includes a compliance policy for limited circumstances for which FDA does not intend to enforce these requirements…’
March 25, 2019