Episode 117

Glaciers, Lakes, Volcanos & Cigars | Nick Melillo, Foundation Cigars | Box Press Ep. 117

Know why tobacco grows well in Connecticut? Or what revitalized Nicaraguan cigars? Or why a layer of sand on top of clay makes a great foundation for a tobacco plant? Learn cigar facts, how to pronounce Foundation's award-winning El Güegüense Cigar and more. Go deeper into the history of the cigar Motherland of Nicaragua with Foundation Cigars Founder/Owner, Nick Melillo and Boveda's Drew Emmer.

What is Boveda? Premium cigars brands protect their blends with Boveda 2-way humidity control—that brown pack that you find in the box with your cigars. Boveda preserves the flavor and character of premium cigars by keeping them at ideal humidity. At home, continue to use Boveda in your humidor to keep cigars well-humidified or they can be hard to light, burn to too fast or get moldy. With Boveda in your humidor, you'll enjoy full flavor and perfect smoke from every cigar.

Get more cigar tips and news from Boveda emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bovedausa/


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00:00 This is Box Press

01:09 Creating the first All-Nicaraguan blend—El Güegüense cigar

01:45 Smoking a Foundation Olmec Cigar

03:09 Do you put a cigar in the blue flame of a lighter?

04:09 Are you supposed to puff on a cigar a lot?

04:25 Low humidity changes how a cigar smokes, burns and tastes

05:43 Nick Melillo worked at a cigar shop through college

07:41 How Nick Melillo met, started blending tobacco and making cigars with Jonathan Drew, Drew Estate Cigars

18:37 How do you say El Güegüense cigar?

19:54 Are Nicaraguan cigars good?

23:35 Why is tobacco grown in Connecticut?

25:31 What's does the Foundation Cigar logo mean?

28:30 What cigars does Nick Melillo smoke most out from his own brand?

30:19 Olmec Cigar honors the first cigar smokers

32:07 Foundation packaging complements the tobacco blends

33:01 How can tobacco shops get new customers?

34:06 How to make you first cigar experience a good one

34:56 Joe Rogan and Foundation Cigars' Joe Rogan Special Cigar Blend

35:25 Cigar smoking brings people together


Learn more about:

Nicaragua's El Güegüense here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UtXF9uRB-s


Olmec civilization: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/olmec-civilization/

Transcript
Speaker:

- There's a story inside every smoke shop,

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with every cigar and with every person.

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Come be a part of the

cigar lifestyle at Boveda.

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This is "Box Press."

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- This is the-

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- El Güegüense is Nahuatl from Nicaragua,

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so it's indigenous to Nicaragua,

so it's not even Spanish.

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So even people that speak

Spanish can't pronounce it.

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- Well, what is it?

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- It's a dance that's been happening.

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It's the oldest indigenous

satire of the Western hemisphere

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that's been happening in

Nicaragua since the late:

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It's recognized by UNESCO

as a cultural mastery.

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- So how do you get hip to this?

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- Living in Nicaragua since 2003.

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- Did you dance?

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- No, but that imagery is everywhere.

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So when I started my,

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you know, it was about

to start Foundation,

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I wanted to do a brand, you know,

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I was never on the sales

and distribution side for,

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at that time, 12, you

know, 12 years, 13 years.

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So I wanted to, something

that represented.

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I knew I wanted to do

an all Nicaraguan blend,

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filler, binder, wrapper.

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And I wanted to pay homage to Nicaragua.

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Nobody knew who I was in 2015, except

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for the hardcore smokers

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and the shops that had

kind of been following me.

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So, hence, I named it something

a little bit more difficult

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to pronounce because I knew

they would get it, you know,

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I knew they would

appreciate what I was doing.

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As time, you know, brands continued,

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I made them easier to say.

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- So I've been hip to your

Tabernacle and your Wise Man.

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I hadn't been exposed to this, the Olmec.

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And I smoked this last

week for the first time.

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Dude. It's a special smoke.

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It's one of those smokes.

- Why, why is it so special?

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You know, someone told me

recently, another manufacturer

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said, you broke the code.

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Because I think it has kind

of all of those elements.

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For one, the blend is using

the choice of choice tobaccos

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from Nicaragua, the filler

San Andrés Negro wrapper.

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I mean the San Andrés

Mexican wrapper is some

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of the oldest tobacco in the world.

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People don't realize the Negro seed

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predates the Habanensis

seed, the Cuban seed,

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and is one of my favorite wrapper leaves.

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And then you put the

branding together with it.

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I think it just has kind

of all those elements

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that make for magic.

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And you never know sometimes

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how these things are gonna hit, too.

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But we planned big for Olmec,

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but it far exceeded what our plans

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and our projections that we had.

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Yeah.

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- So did you notice the blue

flame never touched the cigar?

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Yes.

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- You did your homework.

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You did your homework.

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- The guy's pet peeve is, well,

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do not let the blue

flame the 3,500 degrees

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or whatever the hell is.

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- Because the blue, it's

3,500, 4,000 degrees

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that blue flame, the

soft flame is probably

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around 800 degrees.

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So it's just such an

intense amount of heat

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to be applying directly to the tobacco.

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And you see the changes.

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- Well, I'm not saying you're a freak

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because it's a pet peeve.

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- No, no, no, no.

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I appreciate the guidance

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because I'm looking at it and

I'm going, okay, tomorrow,

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I'm not gonna be putting the blue flame

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because I'm one of these guys

that's like, ah, you know,

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because you can feel it too

from really far away that flame.

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Yeah. And it's just, I just

think it has some effect when

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initially when you're smoking on the,

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how hot the tobacco smoking.

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And then it affects how the blend,

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what the intention of the blend is.

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So that's why, it's like

when you smoked, you know,

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two, puffing, puffing, puffing, puffing,

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you get the tobacco too

hot, you're gonna affect,

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look at here in Las Vegas.

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So we've been, I've been smoking some

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of the new blends we've

introduced all year.

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Again out here, it's a whole

different smoking experience

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because we're dealing with-

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- 11% relative humidity.

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- 11% relative humidity, maybe.

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I mean, that's an extreme.

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Tobacco needs moisture.

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Can't have too much moisture.

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That's what you guys

do beautifully, right?

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It can't have too less.

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I mean, this temperature

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and moisture from the beginning,

from seed to the farms,

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to the curing barns, to fermentation,

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right up to the humidors is

such an important factor.

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And that's why, you know,

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you guys have really crushed it

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because you made it so easy

to maintain this humidity,

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which I did not talk to

Nick ahead of time about.

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- No, not at all.

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- Yeah, but thank you.

Not at all, not at all.

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Appreciate that.

But we of course, you know.

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So here's one of the reasons

why I'm so excited about you.

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You started in a store.

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- Yep, 1996.

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- I can't tell you.

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- Are we live by the way?

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- We've been live the whole time.

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I can't tell you.

- Can we swear on the show?

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Yeah, you can do whatever you want.

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And if you want we'll bleep it out.

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- No, that's all right.

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Sometimes I have a potty

mouth, but not always.

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And I get carried away

once in a while too.

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Who doesn't?

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- You gotta get into it.

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But I have much respect for

the idea that you started

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in a store and it shows in

the craft that you've created.

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So you're in the, you do the retail thing,

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you understand the consumer,

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you fall in love with cigars.

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- Yes.

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Yeah, that was, I was 18

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- And you fell in love with cigars.

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- Hard, hard.

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- You're still in love with cigars.

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- Big time.

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Yeah, big time.

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You should see me around tobacco.

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Hand to tobacco.

- Yeah, you did a little diddy

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about Connecticut Broadleaf

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and you talked about

getting lost in the smell

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of Connecticut Broadleaf

- Ah, so good.

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when you're holding it up to your face.

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So good.

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I could eat it.

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But yeah, I love, you know, I love cigars.

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My grandfather's is really,

was the beginning of...

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Being able to smoke a cigar

with my grandfather was,

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- He was a cigar guy.

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- They both were.

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And my great-grandfathers

were all cigar smokers.

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So Connecticut had a, it still does,

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but you know, back throughout the 1900s,

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there was a lot of cigar

brands in Connecticut,

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a lot of cigar factories.

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So you had the growing region north

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of Hartford in the

Connecticut River Valley.

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And then you had factories

in Hartford, New Haven,

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Bridgeport, tons of factories.

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They were all using

Cuban fillers before:

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and Connecticut wrappers.

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I mean, that was the, they

called them Clear Havanas.

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That was the combo.

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- So your bobber goes

down for cigar flavor,

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for cigar experience?

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- Yeah.

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- At a young age?

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- Yeah.

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- And then you do the retail experience.

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- Yep.

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- Just going to school, working the store.

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Wasn't in class, working a shop.

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- And then?

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- And then I traveled the world.

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And in the process, you know,

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I met Jon Drew when I first

started working the shop.

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He was first starting and he

had a brand called Samaro.

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It was God awful, but he kept

at it and he kept coming back.

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They then came out with a

brand called La Vieja Habana,

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which Nick Perdomo was making at the time.

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This has gotta be about '98.

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And I took that into the store

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because the women I worked for,

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they put their full confidence in my love

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for cigars and my knowledge.

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By 18, I had known everything

I could about cigars,

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you know, from a book.

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And that was the height of the cigar boom,

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so it was a crazy time to,

to start in the industry.

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So we brought on this brand, I met Jon

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for an event one Saturday

to:

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We kept in touch.

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I graduated school in 2000

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and wanted to get outta Connecticut.

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You know, when you want to travel,

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I worked in and lived in Rome

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and then bought an

around-the-world ticket for $1,500.

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Went to from Paris to India to Thailand,

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Overland down the Mahjong River

into Laos, Vietnam, China.

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So Jon and I were communicating on email.

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So I think the light bulb

went off in his head.

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In the early 2000s, nobody

wanted to go to Nicaragua.

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He said, "Oh, this kid

will go to Nicaragua.

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I'm sure he knows what the

product needs to be at least."

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And I was traveling the world for a year

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and I get an email from Jon,

"Do you want to come down

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and be my right hand man?"

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I was 24.

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- How long did it take you

to answer that question?

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- Right away I was in,

because my next dream trip,

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after traveling the

world, I wanted to travel

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through Central America

and learn how to roll

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and bunch cigars.

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That was like my next, I had to learn how

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to roll and bunch cigars.

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So it came at a perfect time.

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So after traveling the world for a year,

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I was back in the States

for a month and a half.

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Flew down to Nicaragua.

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Jon said, you want the job?

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You gotta start now.

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And I didn't.

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I started right away.

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Didn't leave Nicaragua for two years

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before I went back to the States.

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And you know, Drew Estate

was tiny that time.

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We were working out of the

back of Nick Perdomo's house.

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The back was kicked out rolling tables.

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I lived upstairs of the factory.

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There was two bedroom for about two months

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until my farmhouse is ready.

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Moved to a farmhouse

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because I said, if I'm

gonna live in Nicaragua,

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I wanna live on a tobacco farm.

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That farm is actually, I

use a lot of tobacco from

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that farm in my blends to this day

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because I work with Abdel Fernandez now.

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So that farm, he grows on that farm.

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So I nestled in, you know?

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Here I was, 24 amongst all

these legends that I'd only read

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about in books.

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And here I am a sponge ready

to learn how cigars are made.

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- And you're living with the plant?

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- Living with it.

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Living with it.

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And that's how you know tobacco.

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You have to be a good listener, observer.

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Your senses have to be unbiased.

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You have to be an observer

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because that's, you have to

be able to communicate it.

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Not to get weird, but communicate

and listen to the plant

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because it's very fickle, very fickle.

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- So you probably know personally

the plants that made up

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that Willy Herrera red

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and white label that I fell in love with.

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- Yeah, I worked with that

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with Willy when he first came on board.

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Yeah, yeah.

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I helped a little bit.

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- Beautiful cigar.

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- It's great smoke, great smoke.

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- So, okay, so now you go, you

do the Drew Estate chapter.

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And then, and the wanderlust continues.

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You want to keep rolling?

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- Yes.

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- Or do you wanna immediately

go start your own?

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- No, I was with Drew Estate for 12 years.

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You know, we went from working

out of the back of a house

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with maybe making 5,000 cigars a day

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until 12 years later, a

hundred thousand square

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foot factory,

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105,000 cigars a day.

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So I had been in charge of,

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eventually evolved into the

tobacco purchasing, blending-

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- Did you guys start that

safari thing during the time

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that you were there?

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- Yeah, yeah, of course.

Because the guys rave

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about the trip that they took.

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- Yeah, of course.

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That was '08, '00.

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You know, finally we were, so from '03

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to about '08, there was

so much growth happening.

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And they would call me from

the States, and say, Nick,

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we need more production.

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We would rent out another house,

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we would knock down another wall.

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We would expand and expand,

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and finally we came to a point,

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we had about 10 different

buildings throughout Estelí.

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And I said, guys, this is

as far as I can take it

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without jeopardizing quality, consistency,

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and having problems.

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Like we're, we're, we're working well and-

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- What's your role at that point?

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- Director of Tobaccos and Production.

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So over three years,

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I had just gone hard

into learning everything

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about the leaf, right.

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So I sort of reverse

engineered the cigar coming

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from the retail.

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I then started to reverse engineer

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and really focus on quality control.

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That was one of my main

jobs, was quality control.

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I implemented different filters.

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So here I am, you know, in Nicaragua, sort

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of, Jon left after the first two weeks

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and said to kind of figure it out.

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I had just come off

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of an international business

degree and my love for cigars.

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So I was out to prove myself.

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But the international

business degree came in handy

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because I was able to,

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there was not much organization

happening at that time.

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There was not production

planning, shipment planning.

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And I'm kind of a freak when it comes

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to keeping everything organized.

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So I started implementing

a lot of organization.

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I planned all the production,

worked with the sales team

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to take those projections,

make a production plan,

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tobacco purchasing plan, and

then I oversee quality control,

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and then all the blending.

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- So all the capacities from the-

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- Yeah, everything to

do with the production.

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- Yeah.

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- Yeah.

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So-

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- But that's a beautiful thing

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because you've done everything along,

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I mean, you started at the retail, you go

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through all the capacities in

the production end of things.

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- We built this amazing team.

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You know, it's not, it wasn't just me,

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but all of the team down there.

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We were all around the

same age, young team,

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and we all, they appreciated

me coming from the U.S. side

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to add the perspective of kind

of what they were missing,

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right?

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If you're always in, in the Nicaragua side

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or that side, you don't

understand what's going on

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in the stores and the tobacconist

and what customers want.

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So everybody was real

excited to have me on board

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because I was bringing

this perspective that kind

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of connected all the dots for them.

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And we built up, the team that runs

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that factory today is still

the team that I worked with.

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- Well, and and you're birthing cigars.

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I mean, you're birthing

legendary names like-

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- Yeah, Liga Bravada's a big one.

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Yeah.

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And before that we were known

as just the flavored guys.

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But I appreciated flavored cigars

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from the retail perspective and finding,

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but I didn't smoke them.

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I was a hardcore traditionalist.

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So from '03 to '06, I

was just blending, trying

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to figure out where the

flavor profiles of cigars

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that I loved

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and where those flavor

profiles were coming from.

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- So when you were back

in the retail store, what,

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name a couple of brands that

were your go-tos when you were

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in the store?

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- Oh, Padrón 3000 was my staple.

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I was a big Fuente Opus X since, you know,

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that cigar was launched, I think '94.

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So yeah, I was a big Fuente fan.

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I smoked a lot of Excaliburs

at that time, Excalibur 3s.

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Hoyo de Monterrey.

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Rothschilds were big.

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Henry Clays.

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Yeah, it was a Mac, you

know, I started on Macanudos

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in early on when they were

being made in Kingston, Jamaica.

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And the wrapper was coming right

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from the Connecticut River Valley.

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It was shade from the

Connecticut River Valley,

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San Andrés Mexican

binder, Jamaican fillers.

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So yeah, I, there were so

many great cigars there

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and there were so many bad cigars

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because it was the

height of the cigar boom.

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You had to be careful.

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We called them Don Nobodies.

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There was so many people trying

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to make a quick buck,

get into the business.

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And I always said at

that time, this is about,

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if you can put your heart and soul

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and passion into this,

you're gonna have a chance.

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You can't just wanting to

come throw a band on a cigar

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and expect to make it in this business.

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I mean, it's just, that's too much.

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So 12 years built this family,

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you know, living abroad

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and working abroad is

different than I think living

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and working home and people you work with,

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you become even closer,

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that becomes your community even more.

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And it was really difficult

to make the decision

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to leave Drew Estate.

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I had a great position.

I had a great salary.

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I had all the perks

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and I saw the FDA

regulations at that time.

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So this is 2014.

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And there was so much talk about,

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potentially not being able

to start your own company,

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cut off dates that the FDA would.

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So I said, if I don't do this now,

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I probably will never do it.

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And I knew the experience

that I had built at that time

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that I could, if I failed,

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I could get another job on

the leaf side of things.

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You know, I knew I had some security.

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Now, a 21 year old wasn't

gonna come and take my job

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because of all the

experience that I built up.

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So it took me a couple

years to make the decision,

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and then I finally left in May 9, 2014,

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and then spent the next year developing

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what would be Foundation Cigars.

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We launched at this trade show, PCA 2015,

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with one brand. El Güegüense.

417

:

- El Güegüense.

- El Güegüense.

418

:

It's not Elgay Gunsei.

419

:

- That's a great pasta sauce.

420

:

Yeah.

421

:

- Golognese is a great pasta.

422

:

El Güegüense, El Güegüense, The Wise Man.

423

:

- That was your launch?

424

:

- That was our launch.

425

:

I wanted to do a a hundred

percent Nicaraguan blend.

426

:

I felt at that time, you know,

I knew I was gonna come out

427

:

with Broadleaf blends.

428

:

That's kind of what I was

really well known for being

429

:

from Connecticut you know,

being connected to Liga.

430

:

But it, the Broadleaf wasn't

ready curing at that time,

431

:

but I thought this experience

432

:

of Nicaragua, I wanted to bring

to this part of the world,

433

:

to the consumers, to the retail shops,

434

:

to really show them what

living in Nicaragua is about.

435

:

And the heart and soul

436

:

of Nicaraguan culture is El Güegüense.

437

:

It's everywhere.

438

:

It doesn't matter where

you come from in Nicaragua,

439

:

what your cultural, religious background,

440

:

political background,

441

:

everybody identifies with El Güegüense

442

:

as being distinctly Nicaraguan.

443

:

- So this the, this subject of discussion

444

:

with different leaders in the industry,

445

:

the shift in Nicaragua being perceived

446

:

as a second rate provider of tobacco

447

:

to being a world class

provider of tobacco,

448

:

that happened under your watch?

449

:

- Yes.

450

:

- You were there for that?

451

:

- Yes, because, you know, there,

the country really started

452

:

to open up in 1990, 1991.

453

:

The 80s was a disaster.

454

:

The 70s was a disaster.

455

:

So when the country was opened

up to elections in:

456

:

that was the beginning of the

cigar industry coming back.

457

:

I mean, they had nationalized

the cigar industry,

458

:

I believe during the 80s.

459

:

So it really wasn't

460

:

until they started giving

land back, factories back.

461

:

So 2003 when I moved to Nicaragua,

462

:

it was just starting to

really get on its feet,

463

:

and, yeah.

464

:

- Well, and I would assert that this craft

465

:

that you've built into the Foundation DNA,

466

:

this is as good as any cigar

you're gonna smoke anywhere.

467

:

- Yeah, there's a very, you know,

468

:

I am a tobacco man.

469

:

This has been my experience.

470

:

- Sounds like a song.

Purchasing tobacco from all

471

:

over the world.

472

:

So Ecuador, Brazil, premium,

473

:

we call it black tobacco.

474

:

That's cigar tobacco.

475

:

Where you have Blond and Burley,

476

:

that's all cigarette grades.

477

:

And so from a standpoint of

dark air cured black tobaccos,

478

:

there is a big misconception, you know,

479

:

and mystique around Cuba.

480

:

Nicaragua is very unique.

481

:

It's the land of lakes and volcanoes.

482

:

That's what Nicaragua means.

483

:

Most active volcanoes in Central America.

484

:

The soil is just so you can drop seeds

485

:

by accident and things are growing.

486

:

So what makes Nicaragua

very unique compared

487

:

to any other growing

region is in the world is

488

:

between the lower primings of the plant

489

:

and the upper primings.

490

:

So usually the lower primings are milder.

491

:

The middle of the plant is medium bodied.

492

:

The upper part of the plant

is the strongest, your Ligero.

493

:

The diversity from the lower primings

494

:

to the upper primings is

unlike any other country.

495

:

So the strength levels,

496

:

the flavor going from the lower level.

497

:

So, for example, the upper primings

498

:

of the Nicaragua plant,

the Ligero, the strongest,

499

:

that would be like the Dominican's

middle part of the plant,

500

:

or Cuba's middle part of the plant.

501

:

I'm not saying one is

better than the other.

502

:

I don't see that tobacco as being better

503

:

or worse per se.

504

:

What makes something better or worse is

505

:

your care in the field,

your growing practices,

506

:

your quality control, your fermentation.

507

:

That's what makes tobaccos.

508

:

They're just different, right?

509

:

But Nicaragua, from a

strength flavor-fortaleza

510

:

-we say, there's nothing like it.

511

:

That's why you see all these brands, even

512

:

before Nicaragua became Nicaragua,

Dominicans always used it

513

:

for blending, Honduras,

all these other countries.

514

:

- And it's all about the terroir.

515

:

- It's all about the terroir.

516

:

Yeah. I mean that's what

makes Connecticut unique.

517

:

Connecticut is a Mohegan word

518

:

that means the great tidal river.

519

:

The Connecticut River's 406 miles long.

520

:

Starts on the border of Canada,

521

:

cuts through New Hampshire.

522

:

It's the border of New

Hampshire and Vermont,

523

:

cuts through Massachusetts,

through Connecticut,

524

:

into the Long Island Sound.

525

:

That was a gigantic finger lake at the end

526

:

of the last glacier period.

527

:

So it was this huge lake.

528

:

The lake bed eventually

settled into 30,000 acres north

529

:

of Hartford.

530

:

That's where the

Connecticut River Valley is.

531

:

And it's because of

that glacier that makes

532

:

for a very sandy loam soil.

533

:

So the sand, when you

see the sand, sometimes,

534

:

you think you're at the beach.

535

:

When you look at the

terroir, you're like, what?

536

:

This is so sandy, how does?

537

:

The sand is about this,

538

:

say for example, this high,

539

:

then you have clay at the bottom.

540

:

What happens is, is that the

water filters through easily

541

:

before you get to the clay.

542

:

Whereas if it was all clay,

the water would settle up.

543

:

The root system of the plant

is following the water,

544

:

so it goes deep.

545

:

That makes for sweeter, tastier tobacco,

546

:

which is unique because most

547

:

of the black tobacco growing

regions, cigar tobacco,

548

:

are more volcanic in nature.

549

:

Connecticut's unique

because of the glacier soil.

550

:

So all of this plays a huge factor,

551

:

but Nicaragua has become very unique in

552

:

that the volcanic soil is, it's so rich,

553

:

it's, you look at, it's

just you want to eat it.

554

:

At least I do.

(Drew laughing)

555

:

Some people don't want to eat soil.

556

:

But it's, you know, it's thriving.

557

:

It's amazing.

558

:

And then you have different

regions within the country.

559

:

Estelí is very volcanic,

560

:

whereas Jalapa was much farther away

561

:

from a lot of these volcanoes.

562

:

I mean, you can literally

see in Estelí remnants

563

:

of rocks that were just blown

from some of these volcanoes.

564

:

And you can see volcanoes,

some of them, they're some

565

:

of the most perfect formed

volcanoes, iconic volcanoes.

566

:

- So did that have anything to do

567

:

with the logo for Foundation?

568

:

- A hundred percent, yeah, yeah.

569

:

- Is that, I jumped to that.

570

:

I didn't know that.

571

:

No, no, a hundred percent, yeah, yeah.

572

:

So, because for me, the

foundation of this is the leaf,

573

:

right?

574

:

Good leaf, time, fermentation.

575

:

So within the Foundation logo,

you'll see water, necessary,

576

:

volcano, the volcanic soil and the sun.

577

:

This is, this is the foundation

578

:

for growing, you know, tobacco.

579

:

If you don't have those elements,

580

:

you can't grow good tobacco.

581

:

And it's part of the,

the logo of the crest

582

:

of Nicaragua, very similar to that.

583

:

So, and then the pyramid is the balance

584

:

between polarities, right?

585

:

It's one of the-

586

:

Okay, okay, and then we shift into some

587

:

of your meditative practices.

588

:

This is, are we getting

on the edge of that?

589

:

- Sure.

590

:

- I mean, talk about that a little bit

591

:

because you are not your run of the mill.

592

:

- I mean, I got very big

into like metaphysics,

593

:

studying culture, history.

594

:

Those things always fascinated

me from a young age.

595

:

I just always had a quest

596

:

for understanding why things

were the way they are.

597

:

I was that pain in the ass kid.

598

:

"Mom, why is this?"

599

:

- If you were a priest, you'd be a Jesuit.

600

:

I mean that's like a basic

601

:

- Yeah, there you go.

602

:

- It's that kind of discipline around.

603

:

- Yes, and mysticism, the occult,

604

:

all of those kinds of things

very, very much interest me.

605

:

And mathematics and geometry

are very interesting.

606

:

And the pyramid is that structure.

607

:

It, you know, the Trinity,

608

:

people talk about the Trinity having more

609

:

of a religious context.

610

:

But I think it's, when you trace it back,

611

:

it has a very metaphysic-type meaning,

612

:

and that's the balance.

613

:

It is the balance between

polarities, right?

614

:

You have two extremes,

615

:

and then the balancing

point is the pyramid,

616

:

the balance of polarities.

617

:

This is, you know, the Great

Pyramids are the oldest,

618

:

one of the oldest structures, the-

619

:

- And it's part of the discipline

620

:

that goes into your cigar making.

621

:

- A hundred percent.

622

:

And balance for me with

the blends is crucial.

623

:

- This is absolutely-

624

:

- This is a tasty one.

625

:

- This is-

626

:

- This is the Claro.

627

:

- Do you smoke this?

628

:

I mean, what do you

smoke more than anything

629

:

out of your own line?

630

:

- You know, I have weeks

where I get on different kicks

631

:

because I don't like to

neglect all my children.

632

:

So I will, you know, the Robusto

633

:

and the Olmec, I've been smoking.

634

:

Recently, El Güegüense

Coronas, what you have.

635

:

So I'll switch up.

636

:

Last week it was

Tabernacle Double Coronas.

637

:

We sell so many Double

Coronas, it's bizarre.

638

:

Usually Robusto, Toro is the top,

639

:

but in Tabernacle and Olmec,

the Double Corona size,

640

:

we sell just as many Double Coronas

641

:

as Toros and Robustos.

642

:

It's wild.

643

:

- Why?

644

:

- It's a great question.

645

:

I think the price point

definitely is an influence

646

:

between, and if you have the time

647

:

and you look at the price of the Toro

648

:

between the Double

Corona, you're like, okay,

649

:

the price point is not

that great of a jump,

650

:

and the cigar just keeps going.

651

:

- Well, I smoked this in a larger format.

652

:

It was something like

a Double Corona or a-

653

:

- Was it a big?

654

:

We do do a 60 in this.

655

:

- No.

656

:

- It was probably-

657

:

- It was longer than this.

658

:

- It was a Toro or the Double Corona.

659

:

The Toro's 6x52.

660

:

That's 5.

661

:

So we have a 5, a 6 and a 7.

662

:

- Yeah, I think it was a 7.

663

:

- Yeah.

664

:

- But it was an adventure.

665

:

And I had this moment where I stopped

666

:

and I get, I get, I'm a, I'm

a creature of habit, you know,

667

:

I go to certain bins

when I'm in the humidor,

668

:

and I pass this up, never tried it,

669

:

and I had the experience last week

670

:

and then I have the privilege

of talking to you today.

671

:

It's like, hello?

- Yeah, yeah, that's great.

672

:

Thank you.

Yeah, my pleasure.

673

:

Yeah, Olmec.

674

:

- Olmec.

675

:

- And now what's the

significance of the name Olmec?

676

:

- So this imagery here is,

677

:

these colossal heads were discovered

678

:

in the late '30s, '40s in Mexico.

679

:

So I used to go to San Andrés every year

680

:

for tobacco purchasing in Mexico.

681

:

In this same region where

Negro tobacco is used

682

:

for all of the Mexican tobacco

that's used in our market.

683

:

This was the land of the Olmecs.

684

:

The Olmecs were the mother

culture of Central America,

685

:

pre-Mayan, Aztec, Inca.

686

:

In the late '30s,

687

:

they started uncovering

these colossal heads.

688

:

These are gigantic heads.

689

:

- Heads?

690

:

- Yeah, if you ever get a chance-

691

:

- Like human heads?

692

:

- Not stone.

693

:

- Yes, human heads.

694

:

- Carvings?

695

:

- Carvings, stone.

Not actual heads?

696

:

- They don't know...

697

:

No, no, no, no, carvings.

698

:

They don't know much about them.

699

:

Which is, I'm gonna give

you a quick look at these.

700

:

- Oh, far out.

701

:

- Yeah.

702

:

They started uncovering these heads-

703

:

- These carvings.

704

:

- And they were like, these are not Mayan.

705

:

These are not, they discovered

a whole nother civilization

706

:

that predated the Mayans.

707

:

They were the first calendars.

708

:

- So this becomes part of your story?

709

:

- These are the first cigar smokers.

710

:

That image of the cigar,

711

:

that in the mouth of the lo,

712

:

that's the first image of a cigar

713

:

that I have studied and researched ever.

714

:

- Circa when?

715

:

- 3000 B.C.

716

:

Yeah.

717

:

2000 B.C.

718

:

Yeah.

719

:

- Fascinating.

720

:

- So I thought they were worthy of a-

721

:

- Yeah, yeah, no,

Of a brand.

722

:

this is good.

723

:

Let's name a cigar.

724

:

- Yeah, I mean, for me, you know,

725

:

having been on the blending

side for so many years

726

:

to then create my own brands, you know,

727

:

for me the packaging is a complement.

728

:

I want to complement the blend.

729

:

It starts with the tobacco always.

730

:

But to be able to use things

731

:

that I've been passionate

about, history, culture,

732

:

and use them on my brands.

733

:

I have an amazing art team in Nicaragua.

734

:

One of my best friends, Alex Garcia,

735

:

incredible artist from from Estelí,

736

:

we work hand in hand.

737

:

I'm like the conductor.

738

:

He's the one that man manifests the art.

739

:

And we have a lot of the same interests,

740

:

so it's just exciting.

741

:

- I could talk to you all

day, but you gotta go.

742

:

But I want just touch on one thing.

743

:

- Yes, sir.

744

:

- Introducing new people to cigars.

745

:

Going back to your retail experience

746

:

and your attitude about how we keep from,

747

:

I mean, there's all sorts of

new lux announcements coming

748

:

in the industry, higher price points.

749

:

It's natural.

750

:

I'm not deprecating that at all.

751

:

But how do we continue

to introduce new smokers?

752

:

Yeah.

753

:

- You know, for me, I

think the cigar shops

754

:

and the retail shops are very crucial

755

:

in creating the right environment.

756

:

It is very intimidating for new people

757

:

to come into this industry.

758

:

There are so many blends,

there's so many brands.

759

:

So creating that right

environment in the shop.

760

:

I see those shops that do

create that right environment

761

:

have the most success

in getting new people,

762

:

because it's intimidating.

763

:

It's like me with wine.

764

:

I don't know wine that well.

765

:

If I go into a wine shop,

it's, it's overwhelming.

766

:

So you have to get the right

blend to the right consumer,

767

:

because that's another, if

you don't get the right blend

768

:

to a new consumer.

769

:

If you give them a Tabernacle,

770

:

that's a full body, full

strength blend to somebody

771

:

that's never smoked cigars before,

772

:

that becomes their image

of what a cigar is.

773

:

And it's not necessarily

what all cigars are.

774

:

There's so many different styles.

775

:

So you have to get the

right, unfortunately, a lot

776

:

of people like get cigars at a

wedding or they're at a party

777

:

and then it's sitting in their desk drawer

778

:

and then they try to light it

up and it's not humidified,

779

:

and it's a terrible experience.

780

:

So, but the cigar stores,

I invite the cigar stores

781

:

to be less cliquey, less pretentious,

782

:

and more open to welcoming new people.

783

:

I think new, you know, podcasts

784

:

and our cigar has been featured many times

785

:

on Joe Rogan's podcast.

786

:

It's been amazing.

787

:

- I'm a Rogan freak.

788

:

I watched everything.

- I am too.

789

:

He mentions you regularly.

790

:

- It's crazy.

791

:

Joe has been amazing.

792

:

I don't pay him.

793

:

- How'd you, how did that happen?

794

:

- It just happened three years ago.

795

:

We were able to, a friend of mine,

796

:

we met another friend

that was a cigar smoker.

797

:

Cigar smoking brings people together.

798

:

And he happened to be going

to visit Joe in Austin.

799

:

Joe had just moved to Austin,

brought him a couple boxes

800

:

and that's where it started.

801

:

And I eventually made him his own smoke.

802

:

Unfortunately it's not

available to the public,

803

:

but hopefully one, maybe one day.

804

:

- We've tried to go through the front door

805

:

and dealing with his people.

806

:

- Oh, I've given him Boveda before.

807

:

Well, and he's, he's gotten packs, so.

808

:

- But, and we don't need

to, we'd love to continue

809

:

to support Joe's cigar

freshness through you.

810

:

- I ended up getting

him a couple humidors,

811

:

but whenever I send him,

you know, some sample packs

812

:

of different stuff, I always

send Bovedas to him, so.

813

:

- And he's such a great

ambassador for the cigar industry.

814

:

- So that's, you know,

815

:

these different channels

I think are crucial

816

:

for exposing people to cigar smoking.

817

:

I mean-

818

:

- I'd love to sit and listen

to you and Rogan have a cigar.

819

:

- That would be awesome.

820

:

- What a trip.

821

:

- That would be a trip.

822

:

- I would freak out.

- I mean, start:

823

:

and work your way forward.

824

:

- You know, we've

talked, we chat sometimes

825

:

on Instagram, a little bit.

826

:

He sent me a message this morning

827

:

because I made him a new box

828

:

for his new comedy store that

called the Comedy Mothership.

829

:

But we've chatted about

Connecticut, the River Valley

830

:

because he hates Connecticut,

831

:

because the comedy scene has

been, I think he's had a lot

832

:

of bad experiences there and whatnot.

833

:

But now he's seeing, I

think, you know, the history

834

:

of tobacco there, which we

just opened up our new office

835

:

on a 300-acre farm.

836

:

Would love to have you

guys come up at some point.

837

:

Right in the heart.

- Pay attention.

838

:

Pay attention.

839

:

We're going.

- Yeah, that would be great.

840

:

300-acre farm in the

Connecticut River Valley

841

:

with my good friend Jon Foster.

842

:

So he's been a tobacco

grower there since the:

843

:

So educating people about

cigar smoking is crucial.

844

:

There's so much to know.

845

:

- We would jump at the opportunity

846

:

because we're an asterisk

on the cigar industry.

847

:

On all the industries we

serve, we're a side show.

848

:

We're not the main event,

849

:

but we are all about accentuating

other people's experience.

850

:

- A hundred percent.

851

:

You guys do it well.

852

:

- And whatever we can do to support you

853

:

and continuing to flourish with Foundation

854

:

and the ambassador to the

industry that you are.

855

:

It's a tremendous privilege

for us to talk to you.

856

:

- Same here, same here.

857

:

- And to smoke your cigars.

- Likewise.

858

:

You make spectacular cigars.

859

:

Thank you, thank you.

860

:

- Thank you.

861

:

- Thank you.

I can't thank you enough.

862

:

I'm glad we got to talk.

863

:

Sorry I was late.

864

:

- Dude, I, you're gonna

get on your scooter

865

:

and get onto the next thing,

866

:

but this has been an absolute privilege.

867

:

- Same here.

Nick Melillo.

868

:

The Meli, Meli, Melillo.

869

:

- Melillo.

870

:

- Melillo.

871

:

- There you go, that's the Italian.

872

:

- The founder and the head

chuchi at Foundation Cigars.

873

:

And I am smoking the Olmec.

874

:

I have the El-

875

:

- El Güegüense.

876

:

- El Güegüense.

877

:

- Yes, sir.

Thank you.

878

:

I will practice that.

879

:

I will never do that wrong again.

880

:

- No, no, you're good.

881

:

- And-

882

:

- You're not the only one.

883

:

- Yeah, you are a wise man

when it comes to cigars.

884

:

- No, no, no, no.

885

:

- Thank you very, very much.

886

:

- My pleasure.

887

:

Thank you guys.

888

:

I appreciate it.

- What a treat.

889

:

- Yeah.

890

:

(snazzy music)

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