Cigar Library
Cigar Industry LegendsAuthor: Inspector Z
Cigar birthdays in March. Like every month we celebrate some of the people in the cigar industry. If we miss anybody on our calendar, please let us know and we will add him or her. Here are the birthdays for March.
The birthdays
March 1: Mike Rosales. The Ro in RoMa Craft. Rosales founded Costa Rican Imports and worked with Galveston tobacconist Skip Martin to create some blends, exclusive to Martin’s shop. That resulted in the Fabrica de Tobacco Nica Sueno. And a year later in RoMa Craft Tobacco. In the 8 years that passed, RoMa Craft has built a strong team and a strong following.
March 2: Abdel ‘A.J.’ Fernandez. Born and raised in Cuba, but now a renowned tobacco grower and cigar manufacturer in Nicaragua. Responsible for many award-winning blends. Not just for himself, but also for other manufacturers. For small private labels, but also the big players love to work with A.J. because of his great skills.
March 6: Lars Tetens. A prodigy who is famous for creating insane infused blends. But also for his spices, candy and leather bags. Last year, his cigars were acquired by Alec Bradley, so expect to see more Lars Tetens branded cigars in a shop near you.
March 8: Janny Garcia Johnson. The power lady behind My Father Cigars. And it’s safe to say that without Janny, there would be no My Father Cigars. Janny came to America and worked as hard as she could to bring her family over. After she managed to get her parents, brother and sister in law to the United States, they founded El Rey de Los Habanos in Miami. That’s where she met her now-husband Pete Johnson from Tatuaje Cigars. El Rey de Los Habanos turned into My Father Cigars.
March 14: Justo Eiroa. The son of industry legend Julio Eiroa, and the brother of Christian Eiroa from CLE. Together with his father, Julio, Justo runs JRE Tobacco. An up and coming cigar brand from Honduras.
March 17: Tonio Neugebauer. A German brother of the leaf that started his own label. Skel Ton, the cigar with the most beautiful label. For now, only available in Germany. See the review of the Skel Ton Robusto here.
March 18: Johan Loomans. One of the two driving forces behind the Dutch Honduran cigar brand Steenbok. And distributor for Kafie 1901 and Mombacho in The Netherlands with his business partner Brigitte Deurenberg.
March 24: Emma Viktorsson. The lady Freya and the wife of industry legend Jose Blanco. President of Las Cumbras Tobacco – Senorial Cigars.
March 24: Juergen W. Roder. The international face of Perdomo Cigars. The world traveler with the most beautiful stories of all his travels. Sit down with Juergen, and he will entertain you with his colorful adventures.
March 24: Reinhold Widmayer. The man behind Cigar Journal. Someone who’s instrumental in informing the international cigar smokers about what’s going on. Publications in several languages make Cigar Journal one of the key media for cigar aficionados all over the world.
March 26: – Joshua Meerapfel. One of the two Meerapfel brothers that represent Arturo Fuente International. And the son of Richard Meerapfel, who saved Cameroon tobacco. Joshua is in charge of the Cameroon tobacco operations for the Meerapfel family. As big fans of Cameroon tobacco, we praise Josh for that.
March 28: Jochy Blanco. The man behind Tabacalera La Palma, where many of the great Dominican cigars are made. Also a tobacco grower and a legend in the industry.Â
March 28: Raymondo Bernasconi. A Swiss brother of the leaf, cigar importer and distributor. But also the owner of the Gilbert de Montsalvat brand. And his cigars are available in several countries worldwide.
March 31: Aitor Zapata. Another European brother of the leaf. From Valencia, Spain. That’s where his family runs La Casa del Tabaco, an import and distribution company for premium cigars into Spain. But the company also owns the international rights for the Condega brand, a brand that’s gaining more and more international recognition.