“Some seed lines and primings just don’t work well with others,” he says. “I personally like to use a lot of Corojo and Criollo fillers. I generally start off by smoking prototypes just with different filler and binder combinations, no wrapper applied. I like to get an understanding of the anatomy of the blend right off the bat in terms of balance between strength and the complexity of the flavor profile we are pursuing.”
Difabio really gets excited when it’s time to try different wrappers on the prototypes. This is where retrohaling—the act of blowing smoke through the nose—is a must, according to Difabio, as it unlocks more of the cigar’s taste. At this point in the blending process, Difabio starts favoring one prototype over another or starts the process over again.
“If we don’t like the balance between strength and complexity, we will simply go back to the drawing board and make various prototypes that could be the one we are after,” he says. “Along the way, when you find ‘the one,’ sometimes you will know it’s the one as soon as it’s lit! It’s indescribable. My immediate reaction when this happens is to smoke another one right after, and for like a week or two that’s all I will smoke because I want to make sure over time that the cigar will grow on me before we choose to take the next step.”
Even after all of these steps, the cigarmaking process is far from over for Difabio. While a blend may be settled on, understanding how aging the cigar will affect its taste is key for making sure retailers and consumers have the optimal smoking experience. This extended process also gives the company the opportunity to ensure this release will be readily available for retailers and consumers for some time, heading off an issue that many smaller manufacturers grapple with regularly.
“Before releasing a blend to the market, we like to let it sit for a few months and sometimes up to a year to make sure that this is the one and to ensure that our raw material is well stocked to maintain the blend’s consistency for a very long period of time after it’s released,” says Difabio. “During this time, we periodically smoke the blend as the weeks and months go by. By doing this, we gather info on how the cigar develops through time.”
After the blend has gone through this rigorous development, Difabio and others at Rodriguez Cigars are comfortable and confident in releasing the blend and having it smoked by consumers. Difabio and his company have taken the described approach with all of their releases, which have resonated with a wide range of smokers over the years. Rodriguez Cigars’ use of traditional Cuban blending techniques, its attention to details like cigar construction and its pursuit of refined characteristics in the flavor profile of its products are all reasons Difabio attributes to his company’s success so far.
Rodriguez Cigars has several cigar collections in its portfolio currently: the Reserva Privada, Series 84, Series 84 Maduro, Primera Clase and the Vintage 1925 series. All of these blends use different tobaccos from regions in Nicaragua, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Each collection has its own unique characteristics and flavor profile, Difabio explains. The Reserva Privada and Series 84 are mild to medium-bodied cigars that can be enjoyed on different occasions: by the pool, while fishing or while enjoying any outdoor setting. Both of these blends are what Difabio classifies as being “comfortable blends” that are full of flavor and are both very smooth.
The Series 84 Maduro and the Primera Clase collections are medium to full-bodied blends that are good evening smokes or best enjoyed after having a great meal. Both of these blends use exclusive raw material that has undergone a longer aging process that in Spanish is called “fortaleza fina,” which translates to “fine strength.”
“They carry this characteristic which I absolutely chase after: the balance of strength and the complexity of rich dessert-like textures that include cocoa coffees, baking spices and nuttiness,” Difabio shares.
The Vintage 1925 Series is especially significant to Difabio as it’s the blend that his grandparents started making in 1984 when Rodriguez Cigars was first launched. To this day, Rodriguez Cigars continues to manufacture the Vintage 1925 Series blend in Key West. This cigar is only made in two sizes: a Panetela and a cigarillo. Both are made with a combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers and are available with either an Ecuadorian Habano or Connecticut wrapper. Difabio recommends this cigar be enjoyed at the start of the day, smoked alongside a morning cup of coffee.
Firsthand Experience
Rodriguez Cigars is more than just a product; it’s an experience. Barring COVID-19 restrictions, Rodriguez Cigars offers visitors the chance to come and witness the cigarmaking process firsthand through factory tours in Key West. These special and intimate tours are guided by the company’s master cigar rollers and offer cigar enthusiasts the chance to not only learn but to see the company’s Cuban cigar manufacturing techniques up close and personal. Being able to bring visitors into Key West’s rich history of cigars and showing them a behind-the-scenes look at the production process is an important piece of the business, Difabio states. There’s real value in consumers being able to not only see the process but to be able to ask questions and have them answered on the spot rather than over the internet. By the time visitors leave the factory tour, Difabio hopes they walk away with a memorable experience and more respect for not just Rodriguez Cigars but the role cigars have played in Key West’s past.
Because Rodriguez Cigars and its production are located in Key West, the company operates differently than a larger brand. As described earlier, Difabio and his team take a bit more time in the blend development, never rushing anything to market to ensure when something does come out, it’s not only quality but it’s something that will be available consistently for some time. Difabio also doesn’t mind if Rodriguez Cigars’ products aren’t everywhere. Rather than focusing on sales numbers, he focuses the company’s attention to its infrastructure and ensuring its products and overall business will be thriving years to come. Difabio feels time is on Rodriguez Cigars’ side and good things will come from not rushing time or production and focusing entirely on production quantities.
“When Rodriguez Cigars was founded and launched in 1984, my grandparents’ motivation was to use their knowledge to grow a company they had experience with to support a family. The one thing that I want consumers to understand about our products is that they are manufactured with this sole principle and are built on love, family and respect.”
For Difabio, getting into the tobacco business wasn’t in his original plans, but once he understood his family’s story and their motivations for launching their own cigar brand and tobacco business, it was the only job that made sense to him. While Rodriguez Cigars is Key West’s lone cigarmaker, its work and purpose go far beyond the picturesque vistas of the island. The company gets to carry on the traditions and work of those in Cuba and from Key West’s earliest days to manufacture quality cigars that can be enjoyed by cigar enthusiasts during some of the most special moments life has to offer.
This story first appeared in the November/December 2021 issue of Tobacco Business magazine. Members of the tobacco industry are eligible for a complimentary subscription to our magazine. Click here for details.
– Story by Antoine Reid, senior editor and digital director for Tobacco Business Magazine. You can follow him on Instagram @editor.reid.
