Thursday, August 07 2008
This month, we speak to another one of the "young guns" in the boutique premium cigar sector, Mike Chiusano, president & CEO of Cusano Cigars. Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts by way of Brooklyn, NY, thirteen years ago Mike Chiusano was a Wall Street tycoon who traded his day job for a career in the often volatile cigar business and he's never looked back. - G.K.
What was the first premium cigar you ever smoked, and what do your remember about that experience?
Mike Chiusano: A Macanudo Hampton Court. Love at first sight!
What motivated you to dive into the cigar business and start your own company?
M.C.: It was never planned, I followed my love of cigars and before I realized it we had a highly rated brand during the middle of a cigar shortage.
How do you define what makes “a good cigar?”
M.C.: Draw and taste would have to be it. If the draw is not perfect then you taste tobacco smolder not burn. Without the correct draw there is no taste to discuss. Taste is such a subjective question, I can only answer with the one YOU like the best! It’s like standing in Baskin and Robins and arguing if chocolate is better than vanilla. The person smoking makes their own decision and therefore can never be wrong (for them). It’s a very personal decision and deserves respect.
When you first started in the business, Hendrik Kelner was making many of your cigars. Who is supervising production in your new factory in Santiago?
M.C.: Actually, our first “big break” came in the 1st anniversary issue of Smoke magazine in 1996. Cusano Hermanos, our first brand, was “Highly Recommended” by Smoke [magazine] and we were rated “Excellent” by Cigar Aficionado. It wasn't until after that success that Mr. Kelner came in and reproduced our first successful blend and made them better.
Now, in the new DR Global factory, we have a management team of 13 people overseeing all aspects of production, from leaf sorting to final quality control and packaging.
How involved are you in the blending process?
M.C.: Blending is how the company started. Access to great filler tobacco had me searching for wrapper (and some binder) to complete the cigars we wanted to make. During the early days of the cigar boom we were all trading tobacco.
Blending is the creative part and what I enjoy the most. Luckily I must have a fairly common palate since so many consumers and magazines like us and give us unusually high scores.
How and why did you come up with the concept for the Cuvée cigars selection?
M.C.: I often hear comparisons made between fine wines and cigars and there are many similarities: Both start as natural products, heavily influenced by soil and climate. The key differences are the fermentation and blending process. Champagne is created much more like cigars than wine is. The components are fermented separately and then “blended” to reach a certain consistent taste profile. Wine is what it is. Consistency from harvest to harvest is much less important to wine connoisseurs than champagne lovers. Cigars smokers want their favorite brand to always taste exactly the same.
When you decide to develop a new blend, like the 59 Rare Cameroon and Habano LXI, for example, do you think in terms of what you want or what the market is looking for?
M.C.: I am always looking for and tasting new and different tobaccos - wrapper especially. I fall in love easily when it comes to wrapper and when I tasted the Habano the blending started. Envisioning the product or end result is the easy part – I can just see it while I’m tasting the cigar. The same thing happened with the [59 Rare] Cameroon. The very first cigar we ever made was Cusano Hermanos Cameroon, but we never could get enough East African Cameroon to make it, so we used Connecticut Shade and Dominican Maduro. In 1995, when nobody in their right mind used Dominican tobacco as a wrapper. I was laughed at by everyone in the tobacco business except Smoke magazine and the U.S. consumers.
How do you maintain the consistency and quality of your cigars?
M.C.: Control, control, control: This is the essence of our business and one of the secrets to our success. Tracking a seed in the earth at a particular farm and watching it grow. Harvesting the leaf in specific order and fermenting each separately; knowing exactly which leaf, from which plant and what farm will go into each cigar year after year. This is why we can label our box lids with exact tobaccos, with harvest dates, and locations. Every box comes with a unique ID tag that tells us every step that the tobacco went through.
You market such a wide variety of cigars; from the Royal Agio café line, to mixed-filler blends like the M1 and P1, to premium cigars like Cuvée Rouge and the new Rare 59 Cameroon. What is your management philosophy in terms of how you've been able to diversify so successfully?
M.C.: It’s partially art, a lot of science, and a little help from my friends. I have a lot of really smart customers who are always asking me to make something special for them. We also are always in the market for new tobaccos, and over time we have developed a reputation for being honest, reliable and reasonably priced. Its rare that you see a company get 90+ ratings as well as “best buy” designations. We have become known for exceptional cigars at reasonable prices.
Cusano Cigars are one of the founding sponsors of CRA (Cigar Rights of America). What's your take on how anti-smoking laws may affect the future of the premium cigar business?
M.C.: Speak up LOUD or forever hold your peace. It’s ridiculous! We have become a “nanny state.” Our politicians somehow believe they have a mandate to stop everyone from smoking. They should really be spending their time trying to stop crack from ravishing our country since it is already illegal. They are misguided and my rights as an adult hang in the balance. I say BS!
What new challenges lie ahead for Cusano cigars?
M.C.: No challenges, only opportunities! £
