Episode 135
Would You Smoke a $100 Cigar Every Day? | Sans Pareil Cigars | David Swinburne | Box Press Ep. 135
Whether you're holding on to a $100 Sans Pareil Gold or a value smoke, preserve that cigar's flavor with Boveda, click here to get emails: https://hubs.la/Q01BLsBF0
Sans Pareil is pronounced sahn-pah-rehy. (BTW, Boveda is pronounced boh-veh-dah.)
Sans Pareil is French and translates to "without equal or unparalleled." Fitting for four lines of ultra-premium cigars that command $38 to $100 a stick.
Should you save a Sans Pareil for a special occasion? Or work celebratory sticks into your cigar rotation? If you smoke luxury cigars regularly, do they lose their panache?
David J. Swinburne, CEO and co-founder of Sans Pareil cigars talks luxury cigars and new releases with Boveda's Drew Emmer at PCA 2024, the preeminent event for premium cigar and pipe industry.
00:00 This is Box Press
00:12 NEW Green line of Sans Pareil Cigars
01:51 Shout out to the Cedar Room Fine Cigars & Lounge, Scottsdale, Arizona
02:54 Re-release of Super Lancero in the Sans Pareil Gold line
04:48 New Sans Pareil Toro cigar, The Jeddo
05:09 What Sans Pareil cigars should a new cigar smoker try?
05:54 Sans Pareil cigars origin story
07:41 How the wrong humidity affects cigars—Sans Pareil cigars are packaged with Boveda
09:51 What's next for Sans Pareil cigars?
What is Boveda? Luxury cigar brands like Sans Pareil protect 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 a perfect smoke from every cigar.
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Transcript
- David Swinburne from Sans Pareil
Speaker:has joined us for a chat
Speaker:about some extremely unique
and wonderful cigars.
Speaker:Tell me what I'm lighting, David.
Speaker:- This is our first release
since: Speaker:And this is the Green, which,
Speaker:what makes this one unique
is the Habano wrapper.
Speaker:High quality, as always
with all of our cigars,
Speaker:aged, and well-balanced.
Speaker:You know, when you smoke our cigars,
Speaker:there's nothing that's
gonna hit you in the face
Speaker:and say, "Oh, there's a lot of that.
Speaker:There's a lot of this."
Speaker:It's more the nuances.
Speaker:It's the enjoyment.
Speaker:And we think that the
Green hits with this.
Speaker:- I started my day with this cigar
Speaker:over coffee this morning at about 6:30,
Speaker:and I was really impressed.
Speaker:The guys gave me one yesterday.
Speaker:And congratulations on
just a very accessible,
Speaker:the draw is great.
Speaker:The construction's beautiful.
Speaker:It's obvious that quality
is a huge consideration.
Speaker:And I understand you're
kind of a quality expert.
Speaker:- Yes, quality, supply chain.
Speaker:I recently joined within
the past year or two.
Speaker:Always been a founder, always part of it,
Speaker:but recently joined to do more activities,
Speaker:bringing in the expertise of
supply chain quality control.
Speaker:But I'll be honest,
Speaker:Jochy Blanco at Tabacalera
Plama makes it easy.
Speaker:His facilities, his employees,
Speaker:everyone who works on these cigars,
Speaker:it's an absolute blessing.
Speaker:- He's a tremendous
reputation in the industry.
Speaker:- The most humble gentleman I know.
Speaker:- And he's helped a tremendous number
Speaker:of very recognizable
names in this industry
Speaker:to be successful.
Speaker:So my first exposure to your brand
Speaker:was at the Cedar Room
in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Speaker:- That's right.
Speaker:- A buddy of mine from Minnesota
Speaker:was living down there and I was visiting,
Speaker:and he shared what I
think was called an A.
Speaker:- Okay.
Speaker:- And it was just sublimely delicious.
Speaker:It's a lux cigar, it's
a very high-end cigar.
Speaker:You brought with you a box today
Speaker:of a new announcement.
Speaker:Is this A?
Speaker:- It's almost a re-release.
Speaker:So back in 2017, when
we came to the market,
Speaker:we brought what we call the Super Lancero.
Speaker:And that is a 13.5x40 ring gauge cigar.
Speaker:And of course, everyone
thinks we're crazy, right?
Speaker:There are so many things that can go wrong
Speaker:with that long of a smoke.
Speaker:And Jochy Blanco was the only one
Speaker:that would be willing to
take that risk with us.
Speaker:So we created that and we
call this our Gold line.
Speaker:Our Gold line in the new release
Speaker:is gonna be a Maduro wrapper, chocolatey,
Speaker:just as a beautiful cigar.
Speaker:- And it's a fun joy.
- This is fun to unbox.
Speaker:I mean, this is just.
Speaker:And the amount of detail
Speaker:that goes into even making the
container that it comes in.
Speaker:Now how long is it gonna be?
Speaker:I mean, a Lancero of this size
Speaker:is gonna take a few minutes to smoke.
Speaker:- Yes, I've talked to multiple people.
Speaker:It all depends on what you're doing.
Speaker:If you're going on YouTube
and doing your stuff,
Speaker:and just focusing on smoking it,
Speaker:they can get down to about two hours.
Speaker:For me, I'm enjoying it, conversation,
Speaker:not that they're not enjoying it,
Speaker:but you know, going through
Speaker:and going through the
experience of conversation,
Speaker:about four.
Speaker:About four hours.
- Four-hour cigar.
Speaker:- Yeah.
- Wow.
Speaker:And it's an absolute privilege for us
Speaker:to have our [Boveda]
pack in your cigar box.
Speaker:It speaks to your commitment
to delivering freshness
Speaker:to your clients.
Speaker:I mean, what a treat to have
something this exquisite.
Speaker:You know what, it reminds me
Speaker:of when I first met the
folks from Atabey and Byron.
Speaker:This exceptionally long curing process,
Speaker:very disciplined,
Speaker:very picky about what makes the grade,
Speaker:what goes into the product.
Speaker:- Yes.
Speaker:- So it's a wow factor.
Speaker:What is the price point on the Green?
Speaker:- So this is gonna be $35.
- Okay.
Speaker:- And then we have one more size larger,
Speaker:which is the Diademas,
Speaker:kind of a big Figurado and that'll be $48,
Speaker:which goes along the same lines
Speaker:of all the prices of our cores.
Speaker:- No wonder I like it so much.
Speaker:I mean, it's just a lovely cigar.
Speaker:What's the price point on this?
Speaker:- So this one's gonna be $100.
Speaker:And then we have one more size,
Speaker:which is gonna be a Toro size on the Gold.
Speaker:It's gonna be 54x6/6.5.
Speaker:Once again, the Maduro wrapper,
we're calling it The Jeddo.
Speaker:- When you introduce somebody
to the Sans Pareil line,
Speaker:where do you start them?
Speaker:What's the entry point?
Speaker:- So I actually love the conversation
Speaker:that I have to bring that up.
Speaker:Going through and explaining that Jochy,
Speaker:100% he made this Dominican
Puro, the Blue Criollo '98.
Speaker:That's my number one go-to
Speaker:for introducing someone to the blend.
Speaker:It's something that has subtleties.
Speaker:It's creamy, it's enjoyable.
Speaker:It attracts many different people,
Speaker:not just I like this taste or that taste.
Speaker:So it's a great
introduction with the Blue.
Speaker:- As a founder,
Speaker:when did this all begin?
Speaker:When did the story start for Sans Pareil?
Speaker:- About 2016.
- Okay.
Speaker:- 2016 we started
Speaker:and it was really a project
Speaker:of can we do this?
Speaker:And I remember, we came to the market
Speaker:and everyone thought we were crazy, right?
Speaker:That's an expensive cigar.
Speaker:You look around today,
this is no big deal.
Speaker:It's crazy to think.
Speaker:I'm not saying that we're a trailblazer,
Speaker:but it's like, it was crazy then.
Speaker:Five years later, it's not crazy anymore.
Speaker:Maybe we're onto something here.
Speaker:- Yeah, and there's a number
of lines that have come out
Speaker:with a lux version of their cigars.
Speaker:So we had a very spirited conversation
Speaker:with Rocky [Patel] last year about a...
Speaker:he actually packaged it
looking like a gold bar.
Speaker:It's the most expensive cigar
Speaker:that he's ever brought to market.
Speaker:I think quality speaks for
itself and discerning palates,
Speaker:people that love cigars, they find it.
Speaker:I may not be burning five
Speaker:or six of these a day,
- Sure.
Speaker:- But I'd certainly want
this to be in my collection
Speaker:for when I have a special occasion
Speaker:or as the peak of my smoking experience
Speaker:for any particular session.
Speaker:I mean.
Speaker:- It's something that, you're right.
Speaker:I am blessed, absolutely blessed.
Speaker:But if you smoke these every day, right?
Speaker:It's like you want it for
almost a special occasion.
Speaker:You don't want to have, you know,
Speaker:a filet mignon every single day.
Speaker:But it's there
Speaker:and it's great.
- A couple times a week.
Speaker:- Fair enough, yeah.
Speaker:I wouldn't mind that either.
Speaker:You're absolutely right, Drew.
Speaker:But it is something that is special.
Speaker:It's something that is
consistent no matter what.
Speaker:When you're ready, it's
there for you to enjoy,
Speaker:and you know that you will enjoy it.
Speaker:And I would like to make
one more point, Drew,
Speaker:on the point of Boveda.
Speaker:These are very finicky
when it comes to humidity.
Speaker:And I'm talking even slight percentages.
Speaker:If that changes, I'll be honest,
Speaker:our cigars do not taste the
way that we wanted them to.
Speaker:So it's a no-brainer to
bring Boveda into our cigars.
Speaker:And it tells the customer too, that knows,
Speaker:oh, the percentages make a difference.
Speaker:They see that logo in there
Speaker:and it shows that we truly
care about our products.
Speaker:So I do wanna thank you, guys,
Speaker:for allowing us to do that.
Speaker:- Well, it's a privilege.
Speaker:We consider it a privilege.
Speaker:You know, we've had a habit of, for years,
Speaker:of taking the names and
the faces of the people
Speaker:that lead these companies,
Speaker:making them a part of our For My Humidor.
Speaker:You guys have made that commitment.
Speaker:It's a real privilege for us
Speaker:to be the asterisk on your business,
Speaker:to be the freshness guarantee.
Speaker:I don't know if you've gone
down this road with Mike [Stous]
Speaker:I think it's a conversation
that we should have.
Speaker:The quality that you, guys, are producing,
Speaker:the legacy that you're creating.
Speaker:And with a relatively
young company, I mean,
Speaker:that's not a long period of
time in the cigar industry.
Speaker:- Absolutely.
Speaker:- So I think with you as a founder
Speaker:and coming on now as the CEO
and running the show again,
Speaker:it's good timing to possibly talk
Speaker:about getting you up on the wall.
Speaker:- Oh man, I can't wait.
Speaker:I'll even sign it for you.
Speaker:- All right, yeah.
Speaker:I need an autographed copy.
Speaker:- Blessings, you know.
- I appreciate it.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah, that's great.
Speaker:Just a beautiful line of cigars,
Speaker:tremendous testament to
quality and commitment.
Speaker:I don't know, it doesn't get a lot better
Speaker:than what you've brought to
market and shared with us.
Speaker:- And hearing those
words, it never gets old.
Speaker:It never goes unappreciated
Speaker:because we put everything
we have into these cigars.
Speaker:And hearing that feedback,
it just feels fantastic.
Speaker:- Well, and you had a
vision in the beginning.
Speaker:I'm curious what the vision is today.
Speaker:What's the next few
years look like for you
Speaker:and the trajectory of
the Sans Pareil line?
Speaker:- Yeah, so actually, I
was talking with Jochy
Speaker:and the team on the supply chain.
Speaker:We're looking at our inventory,
seeing where we're at.
Speaker:The main reason we're
back at the trade show
Speaker:is to bring on more retailers.
Speaker:You know, we're not
bringing it to the masses,
Speaker:but it's people that truly
understand what we're doing.
Speaker:So if we have a retailer
Speaker:that can explain that to their customers
Speaker:and they have customers that enjoy that,
Speaker:we're looking to partner with them.
Speaker:You can even look at it.
Speaker:We don't even put our name on the cigar.
Speaker:We highly rely on the
tobacconist to partner with us.
Speaker:- Sans Pareil?
Speaker:- Sans Pareil.
Speaker:- Sans Pareil.
Speaker:- But people call it Sans Pareil as well.
Speaker:Heard it both ways.
Speaker:- And what does it mean?
Speaker:- Yeah, so it's actually
a French phrase for
Speaker:"without equal".
Speaker:So these are unmatched, unequaled.
Speaker:- Unparalleled.
- Unparalleled, exactly.
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:- And the five bars is
actually the five founders
Speaker:that when we started with the project
Speaker:of bringing this to light.
Speaker:So everything revolves
around what we started with.
Speaker:And the symbol is showing
where we'll always be.
Speaker:- Beautiful.
Speaker:You've done a great job, man.
Speaker:You gotta be really proud.
Speaker:- Oh, it is the hardest
work I've ever done
Speaker:and the most enjoyment I've ever had.
Speaker:- How terrific.
Speaker:How true.
Speaker:Thanks a lot for having a chat with us.
Speaker:- Thank you, Drew.
Speaker:- Yeah, really a treat.
