34
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
MAY/JUNE 2015
So what does Kommer like about
boutique brands? “There’s a lot of
passion in boutiques and I want to
support those guys—that’s what it’s all
about to me.And more importantly,they
have very good cigars. And I don’t steer
people wrong. I tell them exactly what
I like and why I like it. It takes a little
bit to get the more obscure boutiques in
people’s hands, especially the older guys
who are used to Punch, Cohiba and the
like—they get glazed over at times, but
then they try it and come back and tell
me they’re so glad they tried it and what
else can I recommend.”
When James and Sons Tobacconists
first started out, Perdomo wasn’t very
big but it was a boutique line the store
carried. “Now it’s the No. 1 selling cigar
in our store,” Kommer relays. “Now it’s