FLOR
de JARDIN CIGARSFLOR
de JARDIN CIGARS*WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: ROBB REPORT 09/05 & 11/05; SMOKE MAGAZINE FALL 05 & SUMMER 05 TABACCO RETAILER MAGAZINE 06/05 CIGAR ADVOCATE 06/06 CIGAR CYCLAPEDIA 04/06 CIGAR REVIEW 05/06 AFFICIANDO SPRING 06
It is presumptuous to think that one could find a “One&Only” Cigar, and if one was to attempt such a commission, the consensus of opinion would say, “it should come from Cuba.” Surely, it would come from the benchmarks of the Cuban cigar industry: a Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona, a Partagas Lusitania, a Montecristo No. 2 or a Punch Punch. And who can forget the Davidoff cigars that were produced in Cuba prior to 1992? What about the great Dom Perignon and the Davidoff Anniversario 80?
Cuba
has had it problems though. Many cigar experts have chronicled the decline of
the Cuba cigar over the past few years. Those in the Cuban cigar industry succumbed
to the same pressures that affected cigar makers everywhere during the peak
of the cigar boom in the mid-1990s. They planted tobacco in areas that were
not suited for it. They sped up the curing and fermentation processes. They
used tobacco in cigars before it had been properly aged. They rapidly trained
new rollers in the factory, and rushed them onto the production line before
they could consistently create a great cigar. In short, they tried to increase
production before they had all the pieces to the puzzle worked out. Throw in
just one bad crop, and suddenly they not only had mediocre tobacco being rolled
by ill-trained people, but they lacked the full range of tobacco varieties necessary
to create the full-bodied blends associated with Cuba. No wonder everyone has
had some bad cigars from Cuba in recent years.
But the Cubans in
the past year have finally been willing to admit their shortcomings. They are
decreasing their cigar- production targets. They are beginning to return to
traditional methods of curing and fermenting tobacco. They stopped using some
hybrid tobaccos that weren't right for their fields. And they are working hard
to reimpose stringent quality controls in the production process.
This has been a real learning experience for everyone, because we all know that
great cigars are not created overnight. From the time decisions are made about
the tobacco plantings to the finished hand-rolled cigar coming out of a factory,
production can take several years. At the very least, it takes time and a lot
of care.
So, if not Cuba, then where? We went looking for that answer at the big Cigar Convention in Las Vegas last spring. Everyone was there, and we visited all the booths and tried everything tried and true. It wasn't’t until we came upon a booth hosted by a couple of Texans did we take pause to enjoy a great cigar and a wonderful story. We would like to suggest that the answer to our question might lie in the story of two adventurers/entrepreneurs from different parts of the world who were on separate life paths, until they met in the obscure little village of Danli, Honduras.
Juan Benigno Aguilar Valdes is one. Valdes is seen above on a plantation in the rich Ojo de Agua valley in Honduras. He and his wife Isabella immigrated from Cuba seven years ago to establish their own cigar enterprise. It was a new found freedom. There was the freedom from the oppressive regime of Castro’s communist Cuba, and freedom from the problems that plagued the Cuban cigar industry. Valdes knew cigar production and manufacturing like the back of his hand. It runs through his blood having worked in the business his whole life, as have his parents and grandparents. He worked for Cohiba for twenty years in Cuba. He spent his last five years in Cuba in the rich Santa Clara Valley in charge of technical production for the Cohiba. He has lived through it all.
For centuries, Cuba produced the finest tobacco and Cigars in the world. Then, 1959 was the year of the Cuban Revolution. The political climate of Cuba had changed and Fidel Castro's new government nationalized many assets and businesses within Cuba. The primarily American owned tobacco industry was one of these.
These events led to the imposition of a trade embargo upon Cuba by the United States, the world's wealthiest market. Another unforeseen consequence was increased competition. While nationalization had put control of tobacco back in Cuban hands, it was also parent to a host of competitors: the cigar families that had fled Cuba to surrounding regions with suitable growing conditions, countries such as the Dominican Republic and Honduras. Most of the Cubans who left after Castro took over and started making cigars in other countries were "Cosecheros" (growers of tobacco/farmers). This is not the same as those who possess the master skills in the production/blending/selections of tobacco that are critical to making premium cigars. These were in the minority. Many went to the United States or other places and passed the mantle on to their children, or some family members got back into the business during the cigar boom
Valdes, a young man then, stayed through it all and learned everything there is to know about making the finest cigars, especially through the golden years of the late 80s and early 90s. . Forty years later, Valdes was able to join his fellow countrymen who fled Castro’s Cuba many years ago and who have been carrying on the Cuban traditions in the lush Honduras jungles. Valdes is one of the few Cubans who has directly come from Cuba nd transferred his skills and knowledge into the cigar industry of Honduras.
Michael
Makens is the other. Makens became familiar with the term “walkabout”
while attending University in Australia. With the ability to speak four languages,
including Chinese and Spanish, he took the term to heart and has traveled or
lived in over 30 different countries. Every three to six months he is off to
a new place. When asked why he is constantly on walkabout he commented, "Sometimes
you just need to stop your daily routine and see what else the world has to
offer; you never know what you're going to find."
This theory has never proven truer than during a trip to Honduras three years ago when Makens discovered one of life's great pleasures: a hand rolled Honduran cigar. Makens says that in traveling to Honduras, "all I wanted to do was find some nice cigars to bring home for my mends as gifts." As he smoked the finest cigar he had ever enjoyed, he realized that he had found much more.
When Makens first arrived in Honduras, he was surprised to discover that here, in the heart of the cigar world, not only were the factories and cigar producers off limits to visitors, but that there were no cigars for sale anywhere in the town. Discouraged by his less than cordial reception he was nearly ready to move on when a taxi driver said that he could take Makens to the best cigars around. (At right: Makens boards the chicken bus to Danli and the best cigar he has ever smoked.)
The taxi driver drove him out of the town and stopped at an old, run-down factory from which an elderly Cuban man emerged. He introduced himself as Benigno Aguilar Valdes, and after several hours of discussion he finally warmed to Makens and invited him inside. Eventually Makens was allowed to sample a cigar and immediately fell in love with it. "Everything about that first experience was amazing. It was and still is the-best cigar I have ever smoked.”
Valdes
has spent many hours with the inquisitive Texan schooling him on cigar growing
and production. (At left: Valdes teaches Makens
about quality tobacco.) On one trip to Honduras, Makens
brought boxes of the top brands of cigars in the world to give to Valdes. Instead
of sitting around and smoking them, they dissected the premium cigars so Makens
would understand the tobacco plant from "ligero" (top) to "volado"
(bottom). After leaving, Honduras, he knew how to make a quality cigar, and
he had trusted that duties to a cigar artisan.
"Thanks to Juan, there are certain aspects to our manufacturing process that represent traditional skills and knowledge which is a direct link to their family generations," says Makens. "I certainly don't want to say that others are not producing quality cigars, but rather there is a distinct and observable difference in our cigars. One example is that our cigars are triple capped."
Now, after years of tireless work, Makens has founded Flor De Jardin (“Flowers of the Garden,” a reference to Makens’ other business, designing English gardens.) and is fulfilling his dream of bringing premium quality cigars back home to American. Armed with two bundles of cigars and promises to keep in touch with Valdes, Makens returned to Texas with a new future in mind. He was determined to make sure people back home could experience the same cigar that he fell in love with.
To
create the brand, a Honduran/Nicaraguan filler blend available in Ecuadorian
natural or Nicaragua maduro wrappers, Valdes employs less than 20 people at
the factory, developing about 5,000 cigars a month. It has taken three years
for Makens to found Flor De Jardin. "Many things went into starting this
company," he says, "including permits, production, and most importantly
trust from my friends in Honduras." (At right:
Brother Bill Makens inspects fresh picked leaves on a plantation in Ojo de Agua
thirty miles from Danli.)
Today
Makens is striving to introduce his cigar to the world, with quality as his
top priority. From the construction of the cigar to the construction of the
boxes, Makens vows to maintain excellence. "I will only produce as many
cigars as I can and still guarantee the quality. I don't want to be a huge name
producing 20 million sticks a year; I can't maintain quality with those numbers."
(At left: Makens with Juan and Isabella Valdes standing
on the steps of the world headquarters of Flor de Jardin Cigar Co. in Danli,
Honduras.)
What is Makens formula for a successful business? “First, you have to have quality people, with high ethics who you believe in. Juan and his family are such genuine people who are tap rooted deep into the cigar terrafirma. Second, you have to have quality product and service, which means our emphasis will be quality over quantity. And, third it has to be fun!!
Recently Makens' young brother Bill joined him in bringing the world the perfect cigar. After graduating with a business degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003, Makens took Bill on a trip to Honduras as a graduation present to meet his Cuba friends.
Upon arriving at the airport, culture shock immediately set in. “It was completely different from everything that I have been accustomed to here in the US,” said the younger Makens. “I was unable to speak Spanish, and the only way to communicate with people was to use my brother as a translator.”
After spending a
little time with the Valdes, he knew that if he was going to make it in the
cigar business, speaking Spanish was an essential. So he took Juan and Isabella’s
advice to “...to learn proper Spanish so you can communicate in any Spanish
speaking country you need to go to Spain.” Shortly thereafter, he spent
six months in Spain learning to speak Spanish.
Today Bill works side by side with his brother. As for the frequent trips to
Honduras he says “it is nice to finally be able to communicate on my own
with everyone.”
The line comes in five sizes,
featuring natural-shade wrappers from Ecuador or maduro wrappers from Nicaragua:
Churchill: 7 inches by 48 ring; Corona: 6
1/2 x 42; Lancero: 7 1/2 x 38; Robusto: 5
x 50, and Torpedo: 6 1/2 x 52. All
sizes use a Nicaraguan-grown binder and filler leaves from Honduras and Nicaragua.
The strength is mild-to-medium for the natural-shade wrappers, but more medium-bodied
for the maduro-wrapped editions. They are aimed at the top half of the market
and retail for between $6-12 per stick, depending on size.
Our
High Roller PlayerXT clients in the resort casino world and our cigar aficionado
friends have tried a variety of Flor de Jardin cigars and have been very surprised.
Some of the resort casinos are starting to carry the brand. Just recently, the
brand has been featured in Smoke and the September issue of the Robb Report.
If Flor de Jardin is not the “One&Only” Cigar, we believe it
is just a matter of time.
This editor will attest to the quality time spent with Flor de Jardin cigars and the wonderful rum (Flor de Cana) Makens ships to him from his walkabouts in Jardins de Honduras.
You can order Flor
de Jardin Cigars on line by logging onto www.flordejardin.com.
Their office number in Ft. Worth is 817-571-5740.
