Cigar Insider: Cuban Crafters National Sales Director Alberto Noguera
Thursday, April 26th, 2007Back in February we published two Quick Smokes featuring Cuban Crafters cigars: a Cameroon Robusto house blend and a J.L. Salazar Reserva Especial. Both fared very well.
If you’re not already familiar with Cuban Crafters (and you should be, especially if you like great smokes at inexpensive prices), they are purveyors of premium, boutique cigars that are “made in small batches with attention to each and every detail.” You can read more about how Tabacalera Esteli grows and cures their tobacco here.
Today we’re honored to have Alberto Noguera, national sales director of Cuban Crafters, as the second guest on our Ask a Cigar Insider series. Pictured below with famed cigar legends (from left) Don Kiki and Jorge L. Salazar, Mr. Noguera discusses his cigar-related hero, what makes boutique cigars unique, and why his cigars are “Cuban.”
SG: How long has Cuban Crafters been in the cigar industry?
AN: Don Kiki has been in the cigar industry his whole life. Tabacalera Esteli, our cigar manufacturer, has been in business for 14 years, and Cuban Crafters has been in business for five years.
SG: What’s something all cigar enthusiasts should know about “boutique” retailers like Cuban Crafters?
AN: Boutique premium cigars, like the ones sold at Cuban Crafters, are handmade in small batches and limited quantities. This assures quality and consistency. All this is possible due to the fact that we are the farm and factory of our own cigars. There is no greater detail on quality, and the tobacco leaves are hand-selected to create a distinguished, complex flavor. While difficult to find in many cigar retailers, boutique premium brands are something different from the ordinary mass-produced cigars commonly available in most shops. Their flavor and aroma is unmatched.
SG: Cuban Crafters doesn’t sell Cuban cigars, so what’s with the name?
AN: Cuban Crafters is owned and operated by Cubans that fled the island. All the tobacco grown by Cuban Crafters is Cuban seed tobacco, and all our cigars are made the old fashioned Cuban way.
SG: Who is your cigar-related hero?
AN: Orlando Padrón. His field and factory is close to ours, and he taught Don Kiki how to maintain quality – especially the principle of quality over quantity.
SG: If you could only smoke one cigar (that Cuban Crafters doesn’t produce) for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
AN: The Padrón Aniversario, which has the same floral taste as our J.L. Salazar and Cuban Crafters Cabinet Selection lines. They are made with rich sun grown Habano tobacco, our favorite full-bodied leaves.
Many thanks to Alberto Noguera for taking the time to answer our questions. To get a taste of premium Cuban Crafters cigars, be sure to visit www.CubanCrafters.com.
Tags: cigars
Thanks for another great interview, Patrick. I think Mr. Noguera’s comments on the differences between “boutique” and “mass-produced” cigars were the most interesting. While there’s plenty of big market stogies out there that I love, sometimes you just can’t beat a boutique.
I love the self-promotion he slipped there : The Padrón Aniversario, which has the SAME floral taste as our J.L. Salazar and Cuban Crafters Cabinet Selection lines.
Bit of a stretch there to compare the JL Salazar to a Padron Annv.
Can you really blame the guy for promoting his cigars? He’s the national SALES director, for Christ’s sake.
While I would agree that the comparison is a bit of a stretch, isn’t possible that Mr. Noguera actually holds the cigars his company produces with such high esteem?
After all, I wouldn’t want to work for a company that produces a product I hate — cigars or otherwise.
James-
Having had both, I would agree that the JL Salazar isn’t quite a Padron Anni. But as you could read in this quick smoke, I think the JL Salazar is a nice smoke… and a bit cheaper than the Padron.
I’m going to need to pick some up for some needed experimentation
While I’m not faulting the guy for pushing his stogies, I’m sure they’re great, but I used to sell cars at a Kia dealership and it would be silly for me to say that the Kia drives like a BMW. In somethings, there is just no comparison…
[...] The Toro is a six inch by 52 ring gauge stogie that’s six years in the making. Cuban Crafters makes no secret of the fact that they spend three years selecting and curing the best leaves, then another three aging them. [...]
I tried one of the Cuban Crafters cigars the other night and was very impressed. I had never smoked that type of cigar and found it to be very robust. I look forward to smoking it again.