58 TOBACCO BUSINESS | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER | 22 Exposing the Process Enrique shares his father’s love for the cigar making process. He loves the farms and seeing how tobacco is grown. When he worked at Tabacalera de Garcia, Enrique’s primary focus was on the manufacturing side of the cigar making process. He spent time learning all he could of the manufacturing side while in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and also by traveling to Mexico, where he spent time working with and learning from the Turrent family. He was particularly intrigued by the seamless way the bunchers and rollers worked and the high quality of the cigars they made. “What they create is so intensively hard to do,” he says. “That specialization that the rollers have and the ease that they have in making a cigar consistent, cigar after cigar, bunch after bunch, is something beautiful that I really enjoy. I enjoy seeing the quality control process when it comes to that. That’s something I have in common with my father.” Being an industrial engineer, Enrique’s father enjoyed deconstructing every process, even those that were done well, just to figure out if there was anything that could be done better. This is another trait Enrique picked up on and now incorporates into his daily habits. Anytime he visits a factory, he takes notes on his tablet and documents the process: What does he see happening?What new things are on the horizon? What, if anything, can be done better? “My process is very much documented by pen and paper,” he shares. “Digitally, that’s something that I need to do more of: social media and my Instagram to document the process and actually expose the process. One of the cool things nowadays is that you can show the process—show what’s going on behind the brand, what you’re doing, when you’re blending something. It’s a very interesting side of the industry. I believe as cigar manufacturers or brand owners we should be showing a little bit more of this so people will get to know more of what goes on and understand why cigars are what they are.” Even as a brand owner, Enrique continues to challenge himself to learn more about how cigars are made, and he encourages others in the cigar industry to do the same. He’s taken a lot of cigar factory tours and has also conducted a few, especially when Matilde owned its own manufacturing facility. Most of the time, the people that go on cigar tours while visiting a place like the Dominican Republic have never been in a factory, but they’re curious about the process or are friends with a cigar smoker and have come along for the experience. Visiting the factory allows them to see the tobacco sorting process, how the tobacco is conditioned and prepped for blending, and what the bunchers do. The question Enrique has heard the most during these tours is, “Why are cigars so expensive?” It’s only by taking a tour and seeing cigars being made and the many processes involved that they get a satisfying answer to that question. “People notice that cigars are an art form,” he says. “It might be an industrialized art because we are an industry, but it’s art. Every single cigar that we make is a piece of art, and every single cigar is uniquely different. The coolest part is that for people that don’t smoke or aren’t passionate about cigars, when they see this process, they’re like, ‘Wow!’ They come out with a different opinion saying, ’Cigars are different; this is an art. It is something that we need to keep. It’s something that’s beautiful.’” Making Standout Cigars While some may visit a factory out of curiosity, for Enrique, the factory is where Matilde really comes to life and where the real work is done. When many factories were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Enrique used the time to reevaluate Matilde’s business and to work on new things. During the pandemic, Hostos Fernández Quesada opened Tabacalera La Isla, a new factory located in the Dominican Republic. Enrique has known Quesada since his university days, and both had wanted to work together. The new factory and the unexpected slowdown of business gave both the opportunity to create something new, which is how the Limited Exposure project was born. “With the Limited Exposure, it’s exposed at limited amounts of time,” says Enrique. “The concept of the project is having three blends that will be released every six months. So every year you’ll only see two of the blends, and then the next year you only see two other blends, to keep the ‘what’s new’ feel because you won’t see the blend in 18 months, and we can keep it moving and growing. It’s a long-term project that’s meant to grow organically within the stores that have it.” Launched in the summer of 2021, Limited Exposure No. 1 is a mediumbodied cigar made with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper and Dominican binder and filler tobaccos that include Piloto, Corojo and HVA. It launched in a Toro size, and during this year’s Premium Cigar Association trade show a 6 x 42 Lonsdale was released as a follow-up. At the TPE22 trade show, Matilde introduced Limited Exposure No. 2, which is made with an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper and four Dominican filler tobaccos. Enrique describes this cigar as having the perfect balance of sweetness and spice as well as aromas that will remind the smoker of a bouquet of flowers. Limited Exposure is a special project that serves as a complement to Matilde’s core lines. The Renecar was Matilde’s very first release. It’s a robust smoke with a heavy, sweet molasses flavor profile and notes of dark chocolate and black coffee. Serena is Matilde’s mild tomedium-bodied cigar. It’s a cigar blended for morning enjoyment and perfect for the beginner smoker. This cigar features a Connecticut Ecuadorian wrapper, filler from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, and a Dominican binder. For fans of strong cigars, Matilde’s Oscura delivers on strength as well as flavor. It has a combination of Dominican, Nicaraguan and Pennsylvanian filler tobaccos wrapped in an Ecuadorian Sumatran binder and finished with a San Andrés wrapper. Cigar enthusiasts can expect notes of black andwhite pepper with a subtle hint of sweetness. Rounding out the portfolio is Quadrata, a box-pressed medium to full-bodied cigar. This cigar has a When revamping Matilde’s branding, Enrique chose to use bright colors for each line to make it easier for consumers to identify the Matilde cigar they were looking for in a store.
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