Posted By Lucas Woith on February 11, 2011
When you think of the big time cigar brands, you usually think of Macanudo, Cohiba, Romeo y Julieta, etc. As most dedicated cigar enthusiasts know, an overwhelming
majority of cigar companies are small businesses, and are run by people with a deep passion for cigars.
While Arganese Cigars does not have the name recognition of Cohiba or Macanudo, they are quietly turning out some of the best cigars in the industry. With their US operations headquartered in quaint Westerly, RI, and their Dominican operations run out of Santiago, owner Gene Arganese is working hard every day to produce quality cigars at an affordable price.
When the cigars were originally released in 2005, they had three wrappers, a Connecticut, a maduro, and a Nicaraguan. Each wrapper came in a mild, medium and full body variety. It became a little confusing for the consumer, and in 2008, Arganese paired down their line up, while adding two new cigars, the ML3 and CL3.
On a personal note, I know Gene Arganese and his staff very well, having worked with them on a number of projects. I have probably smoked more of their cigars than any other brand in my life. As any cigar enthusiast can tell you, friendship only goes so far, if I didn’t like Gene’s cigars, I wouldn’t smoke them!
I have had the pleasure of spending time with Gene both at his office in Rhode Island and his house, fields, and factory in Santiago. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about Gene and cigars is passion. As I’ve written before, passion is something that is very important in the cigar industry. The manufacturers that got into the industry during the cigar boom to make a quick buck are long gone. You don’t make it very long in this industry if you lack that passion.
When you talk to Gene, the passion comes through. Hearing him talk about his cigars, his tobacco, and his employees is something special. Gene always says it’s time to get out of the game when the passion is gone. Gene will be in the game for a long time.
That being said, the Arganese CL3 is one of my top 5 favorite cigars of all time, hands down. It’s a triple corojo cigar, meaning the binder, wrapper, and filler are all certified first generation Cuban seen corojo leaf. It’s a powerful cigar, with very robust pepper and wood flavors, and the natural oils that come of of the corojo wrapper just seal the deal.
In 2009, Arganese released the FDW, or First Draw Wrapper cigar. It featured an “uncircumcised” end, meaning the wrapper leaf wraps around the end of the cigar. This is done so the first puff you get, you taste the wrapper. The cigars come in a Santiago Sweet, which has a sweetened tip, a Connecticut Ruby Red, and a Milan Marble Maduro. The maduro is my favorite, but the Santiago sweet goes deliciously with a nice glass of good rum.
In late 2010, Arganese released their newest creation, the Cafe Dominicana. These cigars are naturally fermented with Grade A Dominican coffee. There are two blends, the breakfast blend and the espresso blend. They come artfully packed in boxes of 12, with each box containing a pound of Dominican coffee. This is done so the fermentation process never ends, and once you open the box, grind of the beans and enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee with your cigar.
There have been some things written on various message boards and blogs which don’t portray Arganese in the best of light. Gene’s response to them is to keep turning out high quality cigars at an affordable price. Arganese as a company is at a disadvantage when compared to the big guys in terms of budgets and name recognition. Gene and his staff are always looking for new and innovative ways to market cigars. Some work, and some don’t. At the end of the day, Arganese Cigars is thriving, and as more and more people try their cigars, the realize that it’s not always the name that matters, it’s the passion.
For more information on Arganese Cigars, visit http://www.arganesecigars.com Ask your local brick & mortar about Arganese. If they carry them, make sure you try one. If they don’t, suggest that they do.
Category: Company Profiles |
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Tags: Arganese Cigars, Gene Arganese
