Episode 137
I'm a Sucker for Cameroon Wrappers | Arnoldo Serafin | Serafin de Cuba Cigars | Box Press Ep. 137
Protect the flavor and character of artisan cigars with Boveda. Find out how to use Boveda in your humidor, click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0
Cigar smokers in the Pacific Northwest, you made this Tampa cigar famous. Try the latest iteration of the Juan de Fuca cigar blended by Serafin de Cuba.
Fourth generation cigar maker Arnoldo Serafin talks with Boveda's Drew Emmer about reviving forgotten cigar brands at PCA 2024, the preeminent event for premium cigar and pipe industry.
00:00 This is Box Press
00:09 Juan de Fuca cigars packaged with Boveda
00:31 What is a Juan de Fuca cigar?
00:47 Strait of Juan de Fuca in Pacific Northwest
01:38 Why smoke a closed foot cigar
01:56 Don Ramon 1917 Series cigar—cigar fit for a BOSS! Created to honor patriarch, Don Ramon Serafin, Jr.
02:18 How did you fall in love with cigars?
04:23 Sweeter cigar, medium that's not too strong, not too harsh
04:34 I'm a sucker for Cameroon wrappers
06:00 How many fourth generation cigar makers are there?
06:31 History of Tampa and cigars
07:04 Prince of Wales cigars (Principe de Gales cigars)
What is Boveda? Generations of cigar makers recommend Boveda 2-way humidity control to protect cigars you store. Boveda preserves the flavor and character of premium cigars by keeping them at ideal humidity. Boveda humidor packets prevent cigars from drying out and mold growth. With Boveda in your humidor, you'll enjoy full flavor and a perfect smoke from every cigar.
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Transcript
(upbeat music)
Speaker:- I'm holding in my hand
Speaker:a Juan de Fuca,
Speaker:Tampa, Florida.
Speaker:I'm sitting with Arnold Serafin,
Speaker:and I'm thrilled
Speaker:to announce that Juan de Fuca
Speaker:is the latest
Speaker:package with Boveda
Speaker:cigar box partner.
Speaker:Thank you very much for that.
Speaker:- Thanks for having me.
Speaker:- I'm gonna smoke this. Can
you tell me about this cigar?
Speaker:- Sure, it's an old Tampa label,
Speaker:hadn't been made for about 50, 60 years,
Speaker:and it used to belong to a company
Speaker:called the Morgan Cigar
Factory out of Tampa, Florida.
Speaker:And they had been out of
production for many years.
Speaker:And I just, I really loved the name.
Speaker:I thought the name was really,
really funny and iconic.
Speaker:And when I did a little bit
of research on the brand,
Speaker:it turns out that the brand
Speaker:was being made at the time in Tampa,
Speaker:but it had a strong distribution
in the Pacific Northwest.
Speaker:There's a strait, I don't
know if you've seen it,
Speaker:the Juan de Fuca Strait.
- Yeah.
Speaker:- It goes from like Seattle
up to, like, Vancouver Island.
Speaker:So as a matter of fact, we
went through it last year.
Speaker:We took a trip up to Alaska
Speaker:and I thought that was really cool.
Speaker:- Well, this is great
trivia for you kids at home
Speaker:to ask the question, who is Juan de Fuca?
Speaker:- He was a Spanish navigator.
Speaker:Let me say this for my Greek friends,
Speaker:Greek by birth and, I
guess, Spanish later.
Speaker:So his real name was
Ioannis [Apostolos] Fokas.
Speaker:And I'm a history nut, so
I love this type of stuff.
Speaker:He ended up going to Spain,
Speaker:changed his name to Juan de Fuca,
Speaker:which was a really, really
funny name, I thought.
Speaker:- Hmm.
Speaker:I like a closed foot.
Speaker:I got to thank you for that.
- It's romantic, right?
Speaker:- Well, it just creates a
concentration of wrapper
Speaker:around the first puff.
Speaker:- That's true.
Speaker:- You must love that, too.
- I do.
Speaker:That was kind of like my little idea
Speaker:to give it that real Cuban-esque flavor,
Speaker:taste, you know, look.
Speaker:I did that with another one that we have,
Speaker:which is the Don Ramon 1917.
Speaker:And it's the same thing
with the closed foot.
Speaker:I just love the way they look.
Speaker:It's really appealing to me.
Speaker:- So I have to sit here all day
Speaker:and talk to people that
manufacture tremendous craft cigars
Speaker:and I get to try them all.
Speaker:- What a job.
Speaker:- It's so great.
- What a sacrifice.
Speaker:- Tell me how you fell
in love with cigars.
Speaker:- Well, it's a long story.
Speaker:I'm a fourth generation cigarmaker.
Speaker:My father, my grandfather,
my great-grandfather even,
Speaker:he came to Cuba by way
of Spain, late: Speaker:And he had a tobacco farm.
Speaker:And then my grandfather
grew up in central Cuba
Speaker:alongside his father.
Speaker:And then eventually he had
his own little factory.
Speaker:So it's been passed down
to me. I'm very fortunate.
Speaker:But myself personally,
the bug that got me,
Speaker:when I was about 14 years old,
Speaker:I went down to Cuba with my dad
and to visit my grandfather,
Speaker:and he was rolling his own
little cigars at the time.
Speaker:He was, you know, pretty old at that time,
Speaker:but he still made his own cigars.
Speaker:And I was only 14 years old
Speaker:and I said, "Grandpa,
Speaker:we gotta get into this again, you know."
Speaker:I told my dad, I said, "When
we get back to Florida,
Speaker:we have to get back into the business."
Speaker:And he said, "Do you
really feel that way?"
Speaker:I said, "Yeah, I'm very
passionate about this
Speaker:and I feel like we gotta bring the family,
Speaker:you know, legacy back."
Speaker:And my dad helped me.
Speaker:And he passed away in 2019,
Speaker:but he was-
- I'm sorry.
Speaker:- Thank you.
Speaker:Very instrumental.
Speaker:- No, it's good.
Speaker:You know, it's wonderful
to see the emotion.
Speaker:People don't understand.
Speaker:- Here's a knife, you want me to cut it?
Speaker:- Do you mind?
- No.
Speaker:- So people don't understand
Speaker:the love and the commitment
Speaker:that these families have to the craft
Speaker:of building remarkable cigars.
Speaker:- Let me go a little bit further.
Speaker:- You're close.
Speaker:- Close but no cigar.
Speaker:- You know, close but no cigar. Yeah.
Speaker:(Arnold chuckles)
Speaker:That's the package with Boveda box label.
Speaker:Did you get it?
Speaker:Yeah, I think you got it.
- Yeah.
Speaker:- Yeah, we make those so
you can't get them out.
Speaker:Look at the beauty of that.
Speaker:Serafin de Cuba.
Speaker:Juan de Fuca.
Speaker:It's a new launch.
Speaker:Is it announced at the show
Speaker:or has it been out already?
- Yes.
Speaker:No, this is brand new for the show.
Speaker:- So it's at the show.
- Yep.
Speaker:- It's packaged with Boveda.
Speaker:This is delicious.
- Thank you very much.
Speaker:- How do you describe this cigar?
Speaker:- I would say, you
correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker:I would say it's a mild to medium.
Speaker:It's a Cameroon wrapper,
Nicaraguan filler,
Speaker:but very rich, very flavorful,
Speaker:not too strong, not too harsh.
Speaker:I would say it's got a little
bit of sweetness to it.
Speaker:- I'm a sucker for Cameroon wrappers.
Speaker:And I'm impressed that
this is a Cameroon wrapper
Speaker:that's not showing any
sign of wear and tear
Speaker:in the Las Vegas air.
- Yeah, I know, in the desert.
Speaker:Right?
- Yeah, because typically
Speaker:a Cameroon wrapper
would be a little papery
Speaker:and subject to disintegration
upon touching your lips
Speaker:or your tongue or anything.
- Absolutely.
Speaker:- This is holding its own, it's durable.
Speaker:It starts out just beautiful.
Speaker:I don't know if I'd call it a mild.
Speaker:- What do you think?
Speaker:- I'd definitely call it
Speaker:a medium.
- Medium?
Speaker:- I mean, I'm not feeling
the impact of the strength,
Speaker:but I'm definitely digging the flavor.
Speaker:- You know what's funny
Speaker:is we had never worked with
Cameron wrappers before,
Speaker:and this is my first time.
Speaker:And when I originally blended this,
Speaker:I wasn't really a big fan.
Speaker:And then I started kind of
tweaking it a little bit
Speaker:because it was a little strong.
Speaker:And then I said, "Well, you know what?"
Speaker:I'm gonna bring it down a little bit,
Speaker:tweak it a little bit more.
Speaker:And I think we just got it right
Speaker:that it's medium.
- I like it a lot.
Speaker:- Like you said, it's-
- I like it a lot.
Speaker:- But flavorful.
Speaker:- Well, and, you know, Dellas [Edmisten]
Speaker:has a great palate for cigars and-
Speaker:- What a great friend.
Speaker:- He's very excited about your
joining the Boveda family.
Speaker:- As I am as well.
- Yeah.
Speaker:- So thank you for having me.
Speaker:- So you're launching at
the show and how's it going?
Speaker:Where are you set up?
- Oh, yeah, very well.
Speaker:- We're right by the [Arturo]
Fuente booth, booth: Speaker:- It's a good place to be.
- Great place.
Speaker:Thanks to my friend Carlito.
Speaker:I love to be here, you know,
in Tampa, man, you know.
Speaker:We help each other out.
Speaker:- Well, but how many guys can
say they're fourth generation
Speaker:cigar manufacturers?
Speaker:Carlito can say that.
- Carlito can say that.
Speaker:- The Padróns can say that.
- Yes.
Speaker:- There's maybe a few
others, but not a lot.
Speaker:- Not too many of us out there.
Speaker:- Yeah.
- My son will be the fifth
Speaker:and he's here with me, too.
Speaker:- Oh, that's great.
- So I'm honored. You know?
Speaker:- How old's your son?
Speaker:- He's 22.
- Oh, so he's in.
Speaker:He's working with the line.
- Oh, yeah.
Speaker:And he's actually the person
Speaker:that is involved in like, you know,
Speaker:the packaging of the boxes.
Speaker:And he was actually helping us
Speaker:with the order now with Boveda.
Speaker:So he's instrumental-
- So a lot of people
Speaker:don't understand the history of Tampa
Speaker:and the impact that Tampa
had on the cigar industry.
Speaker:Can you riff on that
Speaker:for a minute?
- Sure.
Speaker:Tampa at one time made 500 million cigars.
Speaker:They actually made more cigars at one time
Speaker:than Havana, Cuba.
Speaker:And it was mainly because of the Cuban
Speaker:and Spanish influence of the time.
Speaker:You know, there really wasn't
Speaker:an immigration law at the time.
Speaker:So a lot of the folks would come over,
Speaker:you know, they'd come and work in Tampa,
Speaker:and then they'd gravitate back to Havana,
Speaker:and do the same thing.
Speaker:And then a lot of them
ended up staying there.
Speaker:But it all started by Mr.[Martinez] Ybor.
Speaker:We, actually, a couple years ago,
Speaker:we brought back Mr. Ybor's brand,
Speaker:which is, in English, Prince of Wales.
Speaker:In Spanish, Principe de Gales.
Speaker:This is the label here.
- It's pretty.
Speaker:- And that was the first
cigar that was made in Tampa.
Speaker:Well, let me go back a minute.
Speaker:Mr. [Ignacio] Haya, who
was a friend of Mr. Ybor's,
Speaker:he actually has Cigar Factory,
Speaker:had Cigar Factory Number One
Speaker:and the [J.C.} Newman
family brought that one
Speaker:back, coincidentally.
Speaker:But I was already working
on Prince of Wales
Speaker:and was like, "Well, I'll
have Mr. Ybor's brand,
Speaker:they'll have Mr. Haya's brand."
Speaker:- Well, and all these legends
- So that's really cool.
Speaker:- are connected and they come
through generations later
Speaker:in the revival of a brand Juan de Fuca
Speaker:with a brand new cigar by Arnold Serafin.
Speaker:And Serafin de Cuba
Speaker:is your company.
- Yes, sir. Thank you.
Speaker:- Yeah, it's awesome.
- Thank you very much.
Speaker:- It's a tasty little critter.
Speaker:(Arnold laughs)
Dellas [Edmisten] was right.
Speaker:- He really enjoys it. He
does have a very good palate.
Speaker:- Yeah. Yeah, it's great.
Speaker:- Well, I thank-
- And a great friend.
Speaker:I appreciate what you guys
have done here for me today.
Speaker:- Well, and I'm grateful.
We're with you all the way.
Speaker:We'll keep them fresh.
Speaker:You keep producing great sticks.
Speaker:- Thank you, sir.
Speaker:- Thanks a lot. Appreciate
you having the chat.
Speaker:- Thanks for having me on the show.
Speaker:- Yeah, thanks, Arnold.
Speaker:(upbeat music)
