Joe's Favorite Cigar

Thirty-Five Years of Learning What "The Best" Tastes Like.

Now his favorite cigar is made by family.

From General Cigar Co. in 1991 to a factory in Port St. Lucie, Florida today — this is the long road that led Joe to the cigar he reaches for himself.

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A Journey, Not a Guess

Joe Didn't Just Pick a Favorite. He Earned One.

Joe's education in fine cigars didn't start with a hunch or a hobby — it started with Elaine, thirty-five years ago, and it never really stopped. What follows is the real story of how a private label business born in the middle of the mid-90s cigar boom ended up, decades later, with Joe's favorite cigar being rolled by the man he calls his Cuban son.

The Long Road to a Favorite

How We Got Here

January 2, 1991

Elaine Breaks Into the Business

Elaine joined General Cigar Co. as a salesperson — and quickly found most of the men in the industry wouldn't help a woman doing "a man's job." It wasn't new to her; she'd faced the same thing years earlier at the U.S. Postal Service and as Southeast Sales Manager for WD-40. None of it held her back. She became the first person in the company to win the President's Award for Excellence, blew past every sales quota she was given, and went on to serve as Sales Trainer and Assistant Sales Manager across 22 states.

1991–1999

Taught by "The Son of Montecristo"

At General Cigar, one man did take Elaine under his wing: Benji Menendez, the company's head blender and taster until his retirement in 2013. Benji taught her how to feel, touch, and smoke tobacco like a professional — an education Elaine carried with her for the rest of her career. Around this same time, Joe's own favorite was the Partagas Limited Reserve — green label, 6x46. "Tasted great."

August 1995

Joe's Private Label Dream, Bad Timing Included

Joe decided to launch a private-label cigar business — right in the middle of the mid-90s cigar boom, when every major manufacturer was selling out of everything before the month was half over. Bob Siatta of El Sol Cigars in Tampa took pity on him and shared some Honduran cigars just to get him started. Lew Rothman of Santa Clara/JR Cigars sold him bundles over the next several years — including Joe's very first cigar in the business, a Nicaraguan bundle. "I couldn't believe a cigar could taste so good."

Mid-1990s

A One-Time Shipment Changes the Favorite

An importer named Nick, whom Joe knew through a magazine feature on private-label cigars, brought in a one-time shipment from the Dominican Republic. It was outstanding — much smoother than the Nicaraguan. A new favorite, at least for the moment.

1998

Guillermo León and La Aurora

Guillermo León of La Aurora Cigars in the Dominican Republic agreed to make cigars for Joe's private label — a smooth Dominican with a Connecticut wrapper that several cigar shop owners called the best they'd ever smoked. It held the title of Joe's favorite for about a year.

1999

Millennium, and the Maker of Davidoff

A Dominican friend, Juan Alvarez, introduced Joe to Hendrik "Henke" Kelner — the maker of the world-famous Davidoff, AVO, and Griffin's cigars. Kelner began making a brand Joe created, Millennium: Kelner's Tan Label alongside León's Blue Label, both excellent. When Millennium ran into trademark trouble with the big manufacturers' own existing "Millennium" cigars, the brand folded — but Joe kept using Kelner's cigars for every private label that followed. From 1991 to 2001, every bit of Joe's education in luxury tobacco came from Dominican sources — still the most popular cigar imports into the U.S. today.

April 2001

Meeting Jorge

Joe and Elaine met a young Cuban Maestro named Jorge Doctsch, who had escaped Cuba in November 1999 at just 23 years old. Joe began bringing Jorge along to events across the country, and Jorge practiced his English on Joe and Elaine the entire way. Around this same time, Joe was studying to become a Certified Tobacconist through Tobacconist University, fascinated by the differences between the Dominican and Cuban schools of cigar-making. During the downtime between events, Jorge gave him private demonstrations — the entubado method of bunching, the triple-ring panuelo finish — "like having a private tutor for premium tobacco."

2001–2010s

Two Cigars, Side by Side

For years, Joe smoked Jorge's cigars at the shows — the draw was incredible — but kept his private-label business on Kelner's Dominican cigars. As Jorge's buying power grew with the tobacco importers in Miami, the quality of what he could source kept improving. And because of family, Jorge always made Joe's cigars with the best of whatever he had.

Today

The Switch, and the Favorite

Once that consistency locked in, Joe switched every private-label cigar over to Jorge. Thirty-five years after Elaine first walked into General Cigar Co., Joe's favorite cigar in the world is the one made by his own Tabaquero — family, through and through.

The Craft Behind the Cigar

Why It's As Good As the World's Finest

A major part of why Cuban cigars are considered the best in the world comes down to the rolling technique — and Jorge learned it firsthand, working in the factories of Havana before he left Cuba. Every cigar he makes for Joe follows that same tradition.

Entubado Bunching

Every filler leaf is rolled individually into a mini-tube before being wrapped with the binder leaf — the Cuban Maestro technique that produces an exceptional draw.

The Full Panuelo

The wrapper is finished with three rings around the head of the cigar, the traditional mark of a Cuban-trained roller's craftsmanship.

Best-of-the-Best Tobacco

Jorge selects premium Dominican fillers and binders alongside fantastic Connecticut Shade wrappers, sourced through trusted importers in Miami.

A Certified Eye

Joe is a Certified Tobacconist through Tobacconist University — thirty-five years of study behind every cigar he puts his name on.

"Your cigars are as good as the world's finest. Joe guarantees it."

Take One Home

Joe's Cigar

6x50 Toro

$240 + s/h
Text Joe to Order

Photo of the box coming soon.

Not Better Than the Best. Just As Good.

Joe's spent thirty-five years learning what the world's finest cigars taste like — General Cigar, Davidoff's own factory, La Aurora, and now his own Tabaquero. He's not claiming his cigar beats them. He's telling you, from decades of firsthand experience, that it stands right there with them.

The Man Behind the Cigar

Jorge At Work

Master Tabaquero Jorge inspecting a tobacco leaf Joe and Elaine outside the Davidoff factory Joe and Elaine with a friend at a cigar trade show A vintage Cuban-style cigar band bearing the Sweigart seal A guest enjoying one of Joe's cigars at an evening event A guest enjoying one of Joe's cigars

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Text Joe to order your box, ask about bulk pricing for events, or just talk cigars.

Text Joe: 404-441-4438