DAV Cigars is releasing a limited edition lancero box. For this box, the owners of DAV picked their Mestizo and Aristocrat blends and turned them into a 7×38 Lancero. Each box will contain 10 lanceros, 5 of each blend.

The blends

The Mestizo blend is a rich, full-bodied cigar. The filler is all Dominican. The binder is also Dominican, Olor to be more specific. The wrapper is an aged San Andres wrapper from Mexico. The Aristocrat follows the recipe of Dominican fillers with a Dominican Olor binder. The wrapper, however, comes from Ecuador. It’s an aged Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper. And that combination results in a medium-bodied cigar.

DAV History

DAV cigars is the brainchild of Valot ‘ Val’ Atakhian, Armen Caprellian, and Diko, a third-generation cigar maker. 

Valot ‘Val’ Atakhanian met Avo Uvezian. Atakhanian was on his honeymoon in Puerto Rico with his wife and cousin. As they were indulging in food and drinks one night, they couldn’t help but notice the very talented pianist playing the piano. He was playing jazz, blues and what sounded like Armenian music. The gentleman heard my partner and his crew speaking Armenian so he walked over to Val, extended his hand and asked if he was Armenian? The answer was yes. The pianist then said, “Hi, I’m Avo Uvezian.” Valot then introduced himself and gave no other type of reaction which surprised Avo. Avo asked, “You don’t know who I am?” Val said, “No, but you’re obviously Armenian.” Avo asked Val if he smokes cigars and he had never smoked one at that point. Avo reached in his pocket and gave Val his very first cigar in the summer of 1989, on his honeymoon in Puerto Rico, by a fellow Armenian!! Val was hooked ever since. For thirty years he was in the car business but always had cigars on the back of his mind. 

Caprellian and Atakhanian knew each other through the Armenian community for over 35 years. Both loved cigars and smoked together regularly. During one of the cigar sessions, they talked about starting their own brand and take the passion to a new level. Atakhanian had a connection with a small factory in DR. The friends traveled to the factory to see where it would lead them. That’s where they met Diko, a third-generation cigar maker who runs the factory. It was a small operation with a desire to grow. Forced joined, and DAV entered the American market with two blends. Currently, there are five blends available, with two more in the pipeline. Yet with the current Covid-19 crisis, it’s obvious that the planned release date of June for the new blends won’t be met. But until then, there is the limited edition lancero box to keep cigar aficionados happy.