“Some years you get it right and some years you don’t. Sometimes we blow the place up and some times we do real good. This was and is definitely a beautiful moment for us as a company because we’ve been through a lot,” said Jonathan Drew during his acceptance speech for Entrepreneur of the Year. “You can build the greatest company in the world over a long period of time–15 years, 20 years, 50 years–and you could make very significant mistakes or bad judgements, or changes. This last year been a tremendous time in Drew Estate’s evolution and tonight really signifies the way we’ve been able to find our soul and our spirit and be able to continue with the blessings.”
Another winner of the night, Corona Cigar Co.’s founder and president Jeff Borysiewicz, also noted that despite challenges, the tobacco industry is enduring and continuing to prosper. “It’s nice to see the transformation that’s occurring in our industry because as you know, the places where you can smoke cigars is dwindling. As this industry transforms to where it’s more of a experience-type of industry or business, that’s the future, so congratulations to everyone and keep at it.”
Here’s a look at each of this year’s winners and highlights from their acceptance speeches:
TOBACCO BUSINESS CIGAR OF THE YEAR
On Feb. 1, 2018, Tobacco Business also revealed the remainder of its top-10 cigars of 2017 list. The list was based on votes during the Tobacco Business Awards nomination period and included some of the top newsmakers and new product releases of 2017. The Tobacco Business Top 10 Cigars of 2017 are as follows:
- Undercrown Sun Grown by Drew Estate
- The Late Hour Winston Churchill by Davidoff Cigars
- H. Upmann by A.J. Fernandez by Altadis U.S.A.
- Macanudo Inspirado White by General Cigar Company
- Venganza by Cornelius & Anthony
- La Flor De Ynclan by Villiger Cigars
- Camacho Nicaraguan Barrel-Aged by Camacho Cigars
- Alma Fuerte by Plasencia Cigars
- Hit & Run by Matt Booth and Robert Caldwell
- Archetype Axis Mundi by Ventura Cigar Company
The nominees for the 2019 Tobacco Business Awards will be announced during the final quarter of the year. For more recaps from this year’s Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) 2018, click here.
