Q&A with Cavalier Cigars
Last month, most all of you saw this beautiful cigar when you opened up your box.
We are so excited to share Cavalier Cigars with our CigarClub family for the first time ever. After meeting up with them at this years TPE trade show in Vegas and smoking a few of their cigars, Jeff and I were hooked. We had to get these cigars in our boxes.
We caught up with Sebastien Decoppet, Founder of Cavalier Cigars, and asked him a few questions about the brand:
When was Cavalier Cigars founded?
The Swiss based company, Cavalier Genève was founded in late 2015.
The US based company, was founded in late 2018.
How did you get into the business?
By curiosity, I would say. I was enjoying cigars and very interested in the process,
which made me decided to move from Switzerland to Central America and ended up moving to Honduras at the age of 22.
Over all I was very lucky to meet Adin Perez and Nestor Plasencia the first day I was in Danli, and have this amazing family offer me to stay and learn from them.
Last, having been offered the opportunity to stay with them in Danli and learn, this turned into a year of learning and working in the factories and fields practicing all the steps involved in making a cigar. Which is, I believe, the only way to know and master the processes. It is an experience that I feel extremely lucky to have been given from them.
Where do you make your cigars?
The Cavalier Genève cigars are made in Danli, in the San Judas Tadeo Factory.
Why do you make your cigars there?
I stayed with Adin Perez, first of all because they thought me nearly everything I have been fortunate to learn about tobacco and processes living down there but also because we developed a friendship that is very important. I strongly believe this industry is a very relationship orientated world.
He is part of one of the most important families in the industry and I really think it is a privilege to work with a member of this family.
On top of it, the knowledge, expertise and dedication to tobacco I've seen from them is absolutely incredible and it allows me to learn and evolve every time.
Do you have a line you are most proud of?
That is a very difficult question. Obviously the White Series was my first blend and has received a lot of consideration from the media and high rating which makes it a special cigar line to me. But honestly all we do, we do with the intent to provide the best experience we can working with the tobaccos we selected. So, as I said, it is difficult to really say one is more than another.
Do you have any new cigars coming out this year?
We most definitely planned releases for this year, but since we are still stuck in this strange pandemic, we will have to wait and see how the situation evolves so we can provide the markets with the cigars at an ideal moment for everyone.
I can't give a lot of information yet on what will be seen in the new releases but make sure to keep an eye out. We have been working on something that will be very interesting!
We should also release the yearly Limited Edition (LE2020) and the small batch cycle remains for the White Series, Black II and USA exclusive even though we will most probably push the next release a little further due to the situation. Those cigars are always very much sought after.
How do you go about blending a new cigar? What does your process look like?
I must say it varies every time. It's inherent to the creative side of the cigar industry I think. What is certain is there are always at least 3 of us involved in the process. Myself, Eylin Decoppet (my wife) and Adin Perez.
But in general, it all starts with a tobacco that I never used yet catches my attention.
We then go down to the factory and get this or these new tobaccos to see how they behave and what their characteristics are. We then browse through tobaccos we are used to work with to see how they will compliment or fail to compliment that first tobacco we are working around. And then go step by step towards adding and removing tobaccos from the test blends until we reach the result that highlights the tobaccos in the best way.
It is actually interesting how, to me, blending is a savant mix of alchemy and science. Alchemy because we believe that blending X and Y together will provide us with gold (which is definitely not always the case) and "science" because we know the specifications characteristics of the tobaccos we are using and therefore allows us to have a clear view of what they should bring into the blend.
Whats something you want the CigarClub Family to know about Cavalier Cigars?
We definitely have something for everyone with lines covering the spectrum from mild to medium all the way up to medium full. Me work exclusively with tabacos de primera to blend cigars in a way to deliver the most complex flavor profile possible with these blends. Everything is made in partnership with a member of the Plasencia family (Adin Perez).
And most importantly cigars are overall a stunning way to share with amazing people accross this world, so #SmokeGoldStayGold and be the best version of yourself!