Traveling to warmer climates is always a treat for the cold blooded.  That would be me.  Hailing from the Land of Lincoln, Florida is paradise on earth. Beside the warm climate, there is Walt Disney, Universal, Busch Gardens, and especially...Miami.  Why Miami?  Two words...Little Havana.  Home to many cigar heroes of this age, Little Havana is the place to be if you are a cigar lover.

     Recently married and vacationing in the Disney area, my wife and I get up extra early, coffee in hand and cigars in tow.  We head out, leaving behind the vacationing Disney goers to visit the oasis of cigar culture in Miami.  Following my google map, step by step, I work my way toward SW 8th St., also known to the locals as Calle Ocho, home of cigar factories and manufacturers like Jose "Don Pepin" Garcia's El Rey de los Habanos and El Credito Cigar Factory.  Facing the corner of SW 8th St and SW 11th Ave, El Credito cigar factory is the Miami home of General Cigar's La Gloria Cubana.  Click picture below for larger image.

     My wife and I walked around taking pictures of the building and looking in the windows, when I spot the man himself entering the factory through a second door...Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, the man behind La Gloria Cubana.  He paused as he spotted us before entering, and excitement takes a hold of me as I recognize him.  We walked into the storefront that shares the building with the factory.  The humidity change is apparent on my face, and my focus shifts to the wall of cigars before me.

     We are welcomed with smiles and "hello"s.  I look around at the shop's merchandise, including humidors, lighters, cutters, and anything else you would need to enjoy the cigars sold here.

Click on thumbnails.

    

  Ernesto Perez-Carrillo:  "La Gloria Cubana Artisanos de Miami, which means the Miami Artisans.  That's going to be a new line extension of La Gloria Cubana made exclusively here in Miami.  A limited production, probably 200 to 250 thousand made here this year."
  CigarStudent.com:  "How many cigars do you produce here in a single day?"
  EPC:  "Well, right now we are producing about 1600 cigars a day of this new brand."
  CS:  "Do you roll only one line per day?"
  EPC:  "Right now they are rolling everything, they are rolling the 5 different sizes of the new Artisanos. We are going to have a 54x6", a 52x5.25", a short piramide, a 46x5", and a 49x6-7/8".  We are looking forward to see what kind of response our fans going to have for this cigar."
  CS:  "If you have a few minutes, I'd like to ask you some other questions"
  EPC:  "Sure, yeah."
  CS:  "The smoking laws that are going into effect nationwide; have you found they are effecting cigar sales?"
  EPC:  "I don't find it is really affecting (sales) that much, I'm sure it is affecting it some, because, let's face it, you can't smoke in restaurants, in some areas, you can't smoke in bars.  Up in your area (he must have seen our license plate), there are cities that have gone non-smoking..."
  CS:  "..The entire state of IL has gone non-smoking.."
  EPC:  "Exactly, exactly...that is going to affect (sales) some, but General Cigars finds that business has been pretty stable over the past year or two years.  I think cigar smokers are going to find a place to smoke whether it be in their backyard, or in their home, or wherever.  So the effect hasn't been that negative, really."

     At this point, I can't take it any longer...I must know what Ernesto is smoking.  I don't know why this pops in my head at this very moment, maybe all this talk about smoking cigars.

  CS:  "What are you smoking?"
  EPC:  "I'm smoking one of the new ones we are making here".  Ernesto smiles, and I continue.
  CS:  "Obviously it's easier for cigar smokers in warmer weather to step outside and enjoy a cigar.  Do you find that sales tend to be more in the southern states than they are up north or in Canada?"
  EPC:  "During the winter.  In the summer I find that Chicago is a big market for us."
  CS:  "Oh, it is?"
  EPC:  "Very big.  Illinois...Michigan...you know?  But during the winter of course it's been the trend in the business since I've been in it, and I've been in it now for about...over...38 years.  So during the winter, you have the "slowness" in the northern and northeast parts, and in the summer it just picks up...tremendously."
  CS:  "As you know, Cigar Aficionado's Chicago Big Smoke was canceled this year.  I know there are a lot of manufactures that show up to these Big Smokes...it's an opportunity to pass out cigars and have people taste different products. I'm just curious if having that canceled might put a "hurt" on some of those smokers that might have gotten into your brands this year."
  EPC:  "I don't think so.  We find that our "fans" are very loyal, and that is really not going to affect things that much.  It's a shame for the cigar smoker because it's a big event, and it's a shame we are not going to have it in Chicago.  I feel bad for the cigar smokers because they don't have an opportunity to be a part of that.  They have Las Vegas, and they have New York, so hopefully some of you will come down there and check it out."

     I switch gears again, revisiting production.

  CS:  "How many cigars a year is produced here in this factory?"
  EPC:  "We have another factory in the Dominican Republic where we produce the bulk of our cigars, and between this factory that one we can roll over 7 million cigars a year."
  CS:  "What can an average roller roll in a single day?"
  EPC:  "About 150 cigars is the normal at La Gloria Cubana, maybe on the smaller cigars 175, or on the larger ones or limitadas 125."
  CS:  "Do you own any tobacco farms here in the states, or do you solely purchase your tobacco from growers?"
  EPC:  "I purchase mostly from growers in Dominican and Nicaragua.  General Cigars owns farms in Dominican."
  CS:  "So you involve yourself in all the blending of La Gloria Cubanas?"
  EPC:  "Defenitiley...Yah, you know...that's what they pay me for."  We laugh.
  CS:  "Does Daniel Nunez (President of General Cigar) involve himself in the blending at all?"
  EPC:  "Yes, you know, he has the Macanudo, Cohiba, Bolivars, etc., and it's all part of the same division, and I'm part of that division, but I'm kinda independent, so he does his thing, I do my thing, and sometimes we work together."

     Being a master of transition (not), I switch gears...

  CS:  "How did you get involved in the cigar industry?"
  EPC:  "My father.  He started here in 1968, and I kinda just grew into it."
  CS:  "What is your fondest memory of you and your father and your love for cigars, do you have one?"
  EPC:  "There were so many...when I left Cuba, I was 7 so I was kinda young, and when my father started he had only one roller.  We have a lot of fun memories, so it's hard to pick one."

     We continued to talk about politics and the current presidential race.  We spoke about Fidel Castro stepping down.  We ended with a discussion about the Cuban embargo, and I thank him for his time.  We walked into the factory for pictures together and to take pictures of his rollers.

   
It was quite an experience to meet the man behind La Gloria Cubana, one I won't forget.  Maybe one day I will get back to Little Havana and visit Ernesto again.  Until then...I'll just have to smoke his cigars...