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In an industry usually reserved for those with generations of family tradition in the tobacco business, Robert Spoden has blazed his own trail to success. As president of Bucanero Cigars since 1995, Robert has been perfecting a dream: to produce premium cigars of exceptional quality and flavor. Using the finest tobaccos from 10 different nations, Bucanero Cigars has created 16 different blends that span a wide range of robust flavors.
As I have listened to, or read, his interviews and articles, I have been impressed with Robert’s genuine love of cigars. He speaks passionately and with conviction about his beliefs regarding cigars and cigar smoking.
I found Robert more than accommodating when asked for this interview. As you will see, Robert Spoden is focused on creating the perfect cigar for every taste preference. I hope you enjoy reading this interview as much as I enjoyed working with Robert to produce it.
DOC: As a boutique cigar company, what can you accomplish that is difficult or impossible for very large companies to match?
ROBERT: We believe that one of the key processes that set us apart from large manufactures is our blending of 10 different countries of origin tobaccos and our strict quality control.
Most manufactures seem to use three or four different strains of tobacco in each blend; we employ 10 different countries finest tobaccos. We also can use tobaccos from small tobacco growers that fail to attract the interest of large manufactures based upon their volume needs to make millions of cigars. The supply of tobacco from the small growers cannot meet the large manufacturers demands for volume and are passed over regardless of quality. We can take advantage of small quantities of premium leaf, and as a result, all of our 18 blends are unique and complex, but maintain a true quality of smoothness.
Over the last ten years we have searched for the finest tobaccos around the world and found many small tobacco farmers who grow consistent and outstanding quality tobacco. Since we make limited quantities of any particular Bucanero blend we are not forced to use the typical mass marketed tobaccos.
We were the first to introduce a Costa Rican Maduro wrapper (2001), which was awarded by Smoke Magazine as its highest rated cigar. I believe we were also the first to offer a “Double Maduro” in the U.S. Market place (1995), the Clasico Maduro blend, which was voted in 1999 as one of the top 5 Maduros of the 20th Century by the Cigar Industry Awards panel. Both of these blends came as a result of us as a small company having the ability to go with our gut instincts and not follow the norm.
The one thing that we do so much of is experiment with blending. To date we have over 700 different blends in our factory humidors. Because we use so many different nations’ tobaccos our blending possibilities are endless. As a small company it takes us years to bring a new blend to market. Our first full body Maduro the Full Sail, took 6 years to develop. A large company would not wait that long to round out their line. Nor can we as a small company afford to introduce a ”bomb” and then quietly remove it from the market. Each blend must be special.
The costs of aging 10 different countries of origin tobacco is cost prohibitive to most. But as a small company it is totally required for us to achieve our 18 different signature blends we manufacture. All Bucanero blends have a unique flavor and all are distinctly different. This large assortment of blends gives every cigar lover the opportunity to find a special blend in our line that meets their palate’s strength and flavor range. We blend our cigars with so many different combinations of these tobaccos to achieve robust flavor in each blend regardless of the blend being mild, medium or full body.
Another process that large manufacturers do not seem to match is draw testing each cigar prior to placing the wrapper on the cigar. [Doc note: Large manufacturers only draw test “samples” of their cigars. This may be because producing such a large volume of cigars makes testing every one cost or time prohibitive.] Our cigars are firm with no soft spots and the rolling process we employ allows us to use more aged tobacco in each cigar than most. But every Bucanero is assured of a perfect draw. We want a cigar lover to enjoy a Bucanero without any draw problems. This adds more cost but we are not in this business to cut manufacturing costs to build up our bottom line at the expense of a true smoking experience.
DOC: Cigar manufacturers often come from several generations of family history in the industry and yet you have followed a different path to success. What knowledge, skills and abilities do you bring to the table that uniquely qualifies you to lead a successful cigar company?
ROBERT: The definition of success is I feel based upon what you try to achieve. Concentrate on building a quality reputation and focus on manufacturing quality products. Determine what road you take and what expense you are willing to expend to achieve your goals. Along the way show compassion and take pride in everything you do. Build your passion around what you love in life and never lose sight of the horizon.
Surround yourself with people who are willing to give that extra effort to your customers and make damn sure everyone is made to feel welcomed. Take the time to do it right from the start and be grateful for the opportunity’s that come your way.
As a small company we work hard to build and maintain our cigar family. We may not be household name but one thing is for sure we will continue to feel grateful to all that smoke our cigars and to all the loyal retailers who sell them.
I have no visions of grandeur. My name is unimportant here. It’s the cigar that commands the ego. It takes a team to accomplish all of this. A great factory and hard working dedicated people. The one thing I am blessed with.
Success is so often attributed to having a large portion of market share. Big is not always better. Or goal is to simply grow from one cigar lover to another. Cigar smoking is a fraternity. Cigar smokers seem to have such a passion for their favorite cigars. This becomes a great business for us when we consider the enjoyment our cigars bring to so many cigar smokers. That is our feeling of success. Yes, we probably will always be a small cigar company but I absolutely have no problem with that.
DOC: On the average, how long do you age the tobaccos used in Bucanero cigars? What is the value of extra aging and how long would you recommend aging your cigars after purchase?
ROBERT: What seems to be typical today is that a lot of cigars today have that ammonia bite. It becomes more apparent when you allow a cigar to go out. Upon re-lite you experience a bitter taste and you are required to purge the cigar to continue to smoke it without that nasty taste upon re-light.
All Bucanero blends are aged 3-5 years. This process again adds costs but it allows the cigar lover to smoke a purge free cigar. There is no bitterness upon re-light. No ammonia bite will occur while smoking a Bucanero. This is only accomplished by extended aging of tobaccos. It adds a hidden value to a cigar, one that I feel is very important.
We ship all of our blends in Spanish cedar boxes not cardboard boxes. The weight difference between cardboard boxes and Spanish cedar boxes is substantial. It adds approximately 50% more shipping cost to bring in our cigars from Costa Rica and Nicaragua to our offices in Tampa, Florida. But the cigars take on no undesirable flavors that cardboard seems to release. It also enhances the cigars flavor, which is why humidors are made from Spanish cedar.
So unless you desire to further age a Bucanero, which some may do, it is not necessary to wait to fire one up. Five years ago we used to ship all of our cigars “naked” without cello wrappers. Most of these cigars when the box was opened were in bloom. The white powder that surrounded the cigars was thought to be mold by some, however to the cigar purists this plume is coveted. Not many cigars in this era of mass production ever achieve this standard. But I reluctantly had to cello our cigars because so many merchants requested such. These merchants were experiencing cigars being damaged by those who would pick them up in their humidors and squeeze the cigar breaking the wrappers. The cello demands won out. I still to this day like “naked cigars.” The cigars pick up the cedar tones so much better. If you “rest” a Bucanero you will eventually see this plume. It signifies that a cigar is perfectly aged and balanced.
DOC: Where are your cigars manufactured? How are you able to manage quality control when production takes place out of the country?
ROBERT: We manufacture our cigars in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Our quality control standards are set very high. Most manufacturers do not draw test all of their cigars. Our rollers are highly trained and each is given a precise, weighed amount of filler, wrapper and binder to achieve and meet our exact blend requirements in each batch of cigars they roll. Any discrepancies are noted immediately and corrected. That is why we have so few seconds. In 10 years of production we have totaled only 865 cigar seconds. In 10 years of distributing our cigars to retailers we have never once had a box returned due to draw problems. Not one! If you smoke a Bucanero blend today it is the same blend that we manufactured years ago. No games are played with our blends.
DOC: You have partnered with our friend Eddie DeJong of Vanderburgh Humidors to make a Bucanero Travel humidor. Can you tell us how that came about?
ROBERT: I respect anyone who has the passion and bestows honesty in manufacturing any type of product in our industry. When someone truly tries to make something special I support them. I also believe so strongly that the small company’s so often bring to market cutting edge products. I can empathize with the difficulty of marketing these products as to the costly journey they must embark on.
Through the years we never have had the marketing resources to compete with the big companies. Our resources are tied up in our aging tobaccos and our people. As a result, our cigars are known as “hard to find” cigars. It seems that the only avenue of achieving name recognition is via the placement of large ads in our industry’s targeted magazines. Each ad portrays the greatest cigar ever made. I feel that the cigar consumers have become desensitized to all of this marketing. A cigar is a moment in time that brings one pleasure. Let the cigar stand on its own merit and allow each the opportunity to rate it when it comes to their palate.
Eddie is starting out and I feel he makes a very quality humidor. I support the “little guy” because I know what lies ahead when traveling down the uneven, expensive road of advertising. I am hoping he gets the exposure he deserves and I have helped by linking to his products from our web site.
DOC: What new projects/cigars from Bucanero can the consumer look forward to in the near future?
ROBERT: Eighteen blends and 42 sizes make our Bucanero line simply way too large for any retailer to stock the complete line. All of our sizes and blends are stocked in some small degree by our retailers across the country. So to fine tune the opportunity to try one of the many cigar blends and sizes we manufacture I decided to offer all of our premium blends and our Bundelo Blends (bundled cigars) on our factory web site (www.bucanerocigars.com) in the form of Sampler Packs. I believe we may be the one of the first manufactures to do so.
It’s impossible to roll up a magazine ad and smoke it. But anyone who desires to sample the correct blend and size that meets their palate requirements can do so. Once they find that special Bucanero blend and they desire to purchase a box we then will direct them to their nearest Bucanero Retailer that stocks the size and blend they covet. These retailers will ship the box via UPS Ground at no charge for shipping and pass on a 20% discount off MSRP. This shipping process usually takes only 2 days eliminating shipping problems that can dry out or over moisturize the cigars.
So our new Sampler Pack program now allows so many to experience correctly what we have taken in pride in manufacturing for so many years.
Contact Information:
Robert Spoden
President, Bucanero Cigars
Robert Spoden: Bucanero Cigars
Saturday, May 12, 2007
