I had the chance to meet Roberto a while back during my previous
employment and it is when i discovered his cigars AZAN, now i am smoking Azan quite often and i am looking forward to try his new brand : Roberto Duran.
AZAN is the only Cuban Cigar brand ever founded by a Chinese Migrant. here is the short story :
1870: Kwan Ben Sen and his two brothers migrate from China to Havana, Cuba, to eventually settle in Manicaragua, the center of Cuba.
1928: Kwan adopts the Cuban name: Domingo Azan and he is soon known by Cubans
as the ‘Chinese from Manicaragua’. Together with his sons and nephews he
starts to produce hand made cigars. The cigars become very well known
in the region, using long filler tobacco leaves from Hoyo de
Manicaragua, which is considered one of the top tobacco region in Cuba.
1938:Luck is on Mr Azan’s side, he wins the national lottery. He invests the
money into building a state-of-the-art cigarette factory. It soon
becomes the main source of local employment and the biggest
infrastructure in the region. The factory’s high quality products
conquer the region rapidly
Post 1961: After the Cuban Revolution in 1959 the former Azan factory becomes part
of the state runned “Empresa de Tabaco Torcido Villa Clara,
Manicaragua”. They produce high quality Cuban cigars for export. The
town museum, across the street from the factory, features many items
from the cigar factory including cigar and cigarettes packages and
advertising materials.
2012: Year of the Dragon. The come-back of the only Cuban cigar brand with Chinese roots. Azan is relaunched by Roberto Pelayo Duran in Nicaragua.
The Wall of Cigar : Set apart the legal smoking age, when and how
the passion for cigars did come to you?
Roberto : It was during my
last year of University. I was 21 or 22
and about to graduate as Bachelor in International Economics; I wanted to work
for a bank, then I was introduced to the head of Cubatabaco – the former Cuban cigar
export company –. Apart from being a
great manager, Francisco Padron enjoyed being a mentor for young talents. We started meeting regularly; he was giving
me excellent cigars including Cohiba Lanceros, Esplendidos, but were the Cohiba
Coronas Especiales that really hooked
me. Then Padron convinced me that the
best carrier option in Cuba was to work for the cigar company, pretty much the
only one Cuban product with a real marketing strategy, at that time, to
continue conquering the world.
Do you remember your very first cigar?
Yes, I was 12 and took it from my Grandfather. He used to smoke many cigars a day, perhaps 8
or 10. Never saw him without a cigar.
What is your smoke of choice when in good mood
and when in bad mood?
I don’t smoke in bad mood. Now a days, rather than being a habit I try
to reserve a great time of the day or the week to enjoy a cigar and it has to
be a good time. I love Cuban Cigars but
frankly I have seen myself smoking more and more Nicaraguan cigars and learning
all the variety of flavors. In my
factory – Nicatabaco SA – in Esteli, we produce fantastic cigars. Our Azan white line and Roberto Duran are two
cigars that I smoke very often.
What is your beverage of choice while smoking?
Coffee before 6 and Whiskey after 6
How many cigars do you smoke per day?
It depends. Some days
I don’t smoke. Others I could smoke 6
cigars. But as average probably one.
If you had to give only one advice or tip to a
cigar smoker, what would it be?
Don’t pre-judge a
cigar due to origin. You can be very
surprised.
Do you have an anecdote to share?
Many. One of my favorites was the late 90’s when Bill
Clinton visited Hong Kong. We sold over
HKD 2 million in Cuban cigars to his entourage.
Another of my favorites is when I give some of our Nicaraguan blends to
some of my ex-colleagues in Cubatabaco and Habanos SA and they argue that the
cigars are Cuban.
Which celebrities do you think represent well
the world of Aficionados?
The one that comes to my
mind is Arnold Schwarzenegger, the only politician I know that in today’s world that kept his cigars
being a high-ranking politician.
Tell us a bit about your new brand Roberto Duran.
We are very excited
about Roberto Duran. It is of course a
medium to strong flavor, very well balanced.
We didn’t care about the cost of the filler and binder; we simply chose
the best quality. The most distinct
element will be the wrapper. We have
obtained this year in Ecuador a criollo, light brown Colorado wrapper that no
one else has and that we haven’t seen it seems the early days of Cohiba. That makes the Roberto Duran a top top
cigar. We have aging them now for over 8
months and I fighting with my guys in the factory for them to stop smoking it,
otherwise we will smoke the whole inventory ourselves.
How do you see the Cigar Market in Asia in the
future?
Market is growing mainly due to the
growing demand in China. It will be very
beneficial if the market in China opens and give fair opportunities to the
brands to compete. The Asian smokers are
starting to understand non-Cuban cigars as well. The big different is that Cuban Cigars are
basically one blend, one flavor, tobacco from a relative very small area. Nicaraguan and other cigars have tobacco from
a wide variety of regions with very different flavors. It takes a while for a Cuban cigar smoker to
be able to understand the different flavors and taste of tobacco, before he can
really appreciate the quality offered by some of them. I know it because of myself, it took me a
long time to get through it and now I smoke more Nicaraguan than anything – and believe me, I have a choice.
Which is beside the U.S.A. your larger market?
Canada
How many cigars do you produce every year?
Our target this
year is to produce over 1 million cigars.
We are a boutique factory, focused on quality and brand building.
Tell us more about your rated cigars
There
has been many ratings for Azan, and all have been very good and excellent. You can visit facebook: Roberto Duran Premium Cigars
and see all of them
Roberto Pelayo Duran began his life’s work in his homeland of Havana, Cuba where tobacco grabbed a hold of
him, and never let go. Supervising the production of cigar
manufacturing in Cuba was only the beginning as he later went on to
assemble and manage distribution of all Cuban cigar brands for Asia for The Pacific Cigar Company Ltd. After various high level
positions in the tobacco industry Roberto’s new venture gives him the
platform to introduce a brand of cigars, AZAN, that offer the same
quality, construction, and detail which he exceeded from those he
supervised while in Cuba.
Azan Cigars are 100% handmade by
skilled cigar rollers and buncheros. The size of operation allows Azan
to maintain a dedication to quality and excellence, setting Azan apart
from its competitors. This hand rolling requires even Azan’s very best
cigar buncheros months to learn. Each cigar roller and bunchero is
specialized in one size only to become the absolute master in the art of
cigar making.
Azan is one of the biggest kept secrets in the
history of Cuban cigar brands and is particularly unique as it is the
only Cuban cigar brand ever founded by Chines.
Azan Tobacco Group Includes :
Azan Tobacco Ltd HK
Robeto Duran
Premium Cigars - USA
Nicatabaco SA -
Nicaragua
Fincas Azan SA -
Ecuador
