Bulgari, Tiffany et Al., Cartier, and Louis Vuitton, just to name a few noble boutiques, line the way to our interviewee in Geneva. We meet Jean-Charles Rios, owner of Gestocigars, in Rue Robert-Céard, in the heart of the city on lake Geneva.
The wrapper specialists from Ecuador
With a few tobacco seeds sown into his belt and 50 Dollars that his brother had given him, Angel Oliva took the boat to Tampa. This was going to be the start of a better life, and the Oliva Tobacco Company.
Es perfecto!: The García family
Unlike other family companies in the cigar industry today, the kids of the next generation at My Family aren’t there to take over. Thy were there from the start.
Pete Johnson: Old-school
After 15 years of Cigar making, Pete Johnson is writing songs he hasn’t written for a while, and finding his way back to the sense of tobacco tradition and simplicity that was once the foundation of Tatuaje Cigars. He’s also dressing better.
Fred Vandermarliere: “I love to bring people together”
The sky over Belgium is blue, and the day between Brussels, Handzame and Zwevegem is similar to this agreeable sunny, warm weather. I’m visiting Frederik Vandermarliere, CEO of J. Cortès and, for the past three years, owner of the traditional brand Oliva Cigars.
Cigarface: José Blanco
From La Aurora to Joya de Nicaragua, from his own company to EPC Cigar Co. and about 900 lectures on Tobacco in between, José Blanco not only lives and breathes tobacco himself, he teaches others to do it, too.
125 years of J.C. Newman Cigar Co.: Investing in the future
On the eve of the 125th anniversary of the founding of J.C. Newman Cigar Co., I visited the oldest cigar family of the United States. The very personal insights – both in the legendary factory El Reloj and also in the company owners’ world of ideas – were impressive.
Davidoff: Beat Hauenstein unites the best of two worlds
In a virtual but no less personal interview, Cigar Journal spoke to Beat Hauenstein, CEO of Oettinger Davidoff, on the status QUO of the family company. Despite the atmosphere of the crisis, the passionate skydiver ventured a look into the future. Because, if there is anyone who has learned to deal with difficult situations on the fly, it is the 52-year-old Swiss national.
Jonathan Drew: “We like to surprise”
Jonathan Drew has been at home in the cigar industry for almost 25 years. But JD, as he is known on the scene, has not made it comfortable for himself. The public tries to capture him using terms like “Disruptor”, “Tsunami” or “Provocateur”. All this is true, but – as it happens so often – is only a partial aspect of a great personality who has revolutionized the cigar scene.
ROBERT G. LEVIN, ASHTON CIGARS: CIGARS ARE MEANT FOR FAMILY BUSINESSES
Robert Levin knows the industry from all angles. From his small shop in Philadelphia he built up a globally operating empire, which, as mentioned, stands on several legs.
“Light ’em Up” comes to Asia and the Middle East
Some of the most influential people in the industry share their insights and stories in an exclusive monthly show, starting on June 27th .
ROCKY PATEL 25TH ANNIVERSARY: NO HALF MEASURES
Rakesh “Rocky” Patel is celebrating his 25th anniversary in the cigar industry with the motto “in it all the way.” He is investing substantially in Nicaragua, where he’s now cultivating Connecticut and Broadleaf wrapper, and after purchasing considerable areas of arable land will soon be cultivating 845,000 square meters (120 manzanas). The construction of a…
