34 TOBACCO BUSINESS | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER | 22 also has to take the hit on any product that’s sent out for salespeople to give away or for special promotions. This is part of the reality of the cigar business that isn’t often discussed but that Espinosa understands very well and has no problem discussing. One of Espinosa’s most well-known collaborations and projects has been with celebrity chef Guy Fieri, who was referred to Espinosa when he decided he wanted to create his own cigar. When Fieri was in Miami, the two met to discuss the cigar project. Espinosa offered Fieri a cutter and a cigar during their meeting and was surprised when Fieri accepted the cigar but declined the cutter. Fieri grabbed the cigar, bit off the tip and lit up the cigar just as Espinosa himself would. This impressed him because so few people that work in the cigar industry use a cutter, Espinosa explains. This let him know that his partnership with Fieri could be something really different and ultimately produce something really special. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fieri was unable to travel to the La Zona factory in Nicaragua, so they had to tweak the cigar-making process. Although Fieri is a cigar smoker, there was a lot he still needed to learn in order to make a great cigar, and this was Espinosa’s task early on in the process: to teach and to be a mentor. “He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know,” says Espinosa. “He really loves the business, and he’s starting to learn a lot, and I’ve taught him a lot. From one to 10, when he started, he was a one, but he’s getting close to a five and six right now. I want to get him to 10, and he’s willing to get to a 10, but in order to get there, he has to go down to Nicaragua and really see everything.” While a 2023 trip to Nicaragua is in the works, there was no real time towait in terms of creating a blend that Fieri would be willing to attach his name to and then promote. After asking all of the questions that were necessary to figure out what Fieri wanted out of a cigar, the Espinosa Cigars team went to work to create different blends that could fit the outline. Blends were given to Fieri to try, but with the understanding that just because he liked a blend, it didn’t mean the work was done. In fact, liking a blend meant the real work was just beginning. Around 30 different blends were made, and each blend was numbered. Espinosa then gave Fieri a homework assignment: He was to take all Here’s the thing that a lot of people don’t understand: I make more money making cigars for other people than I do for myself. I want those companies to succeed, OK? People will say, ‘Wow, this cigar you make for so-and-so was great. Why didn’t you make it for yourself?’ And I’ll say, ‘Because that’s what they wanted.’ –Erik Espinosa
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