The Swiss Connection

Photos: Bob McDuffee

At cigar festivals, sometimes the small events are the most interesting.

During the ProCigar festival, manufacturers roll out the red carpet for visitors. One special group found that spending a little more time with Davidoff allowed them deeper access than they would otherwise get. Their secret?
Sam Reuter, Global Marketing Manager for Davidoff Cigars and Accessories, brought this specially invited group of Swiss enthusiasts into every layer of Davidoff’s legendary cigar making process.

During the first days of the festival, the group toured the iconic Tabadom factories, where the legendary Davidoff, AVO, Griffins and Zino brands are made. They were able to speak with Avo Uvezian about his inspiration for the different blends of AVO cigars. Visiting the fields with Henke Kelner was sensorial overwhelming and educational. Henke is an open book and loves to talk about tobacco. He explained each seed variety and why each is grown in a particular area. This information would become very useful when the group was allowed to play with the different types of tobacco.

On their final day at the festival, the group took advantage of some extraordinary opportunities. The day began by meeting CEO Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, Henke Kelner and Vincent Krembel at the factory. Cigar creation was next on the agenda. Each person had the chance to apply their tobacco knowledge by blending their own cigars. As reward and finale, each person was given a box of the cigars that they had blended. They also received the distinct privilege of smoking two cigars before they were released onto the market: Avo’s La and Davidoff’s exclusive White Label limited edition for 2012.