Claudio Sgroi and Julian Sued collaborate on cigars
Claudio Sgroi and Julian Sued collaborate on cigars. Accomplished tobacco veteran Claudio Sgroi and Edgar Julián Sued are announcing a collaboration to create a trilogy of limited edition cigars. Sued is the owner of Julián Sued & Compañía (Cigar Factory) while Sgroi is a cigar consultant and former master blender & general manager of Mombacho Cigars. “This is a magnificent collaboration that came from my friendship with Edgar,” says Claudio Sgroi. “My goal is to find and help the new generation of tobacco talents around the world,” Sgroi adds. “For me, it is a great honor and privilege to create collaborations in the Dominican Republic hand in hand with Claudio Sgroi. Undoubtedly his experience in the tobacco industry will take us closer to our main goal which is a never-ending improvement,” says Edgar Sued.
Claudio Sgroi and Edgar Julián Sued blended three limited edition cigars that will be released during 2021 starting with “Cinque Terre,” set to be available in the USA and selected international markets in August. The cigars were conceived out of a desire to truly elevate and perpetuate the beauty of our craft by showcasing the creative work of the new generation of Master Blenders. In doing so, something very special, different and innovative came to fruition; a limited edition blend that utilizes rare tobacco leaves from five different countries embodying the international unity of our industry. This is Cinque Terre.
The cigars were handcrafted under the master supervision of Claudio Sgroi and Edgar Julián Sued. The superior quality of the selected tobacco leaves and the cigar aging for 150 days under controlled temperature and humidity in our aging room to achieve a masterpiece, enhanced taste, aroma, stimulation, strength, balance, and construction of the cigars. The selected vitola for the blend is a 5×54 Gran Robusto with the name Stateless. The wrapper comes from Ecuador with a binder from the USA. The fillers are from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Haiti. The cigars come in boxes of 10 with an MRSP of $14.95 per cigar.
ABOUT CLAUDIO SGROI
Claudio Sgroi is a renowned Master Blender with twenty years of experience in the tobacco sector and cigar manufacturing. He began his career in 2001 in the Dominican Republic, alongside Hendrik Kelner, Davidoff’s Master Blender. He had increasingly important assignments in the Dominican Republic, Switzerland, Italy, Nicaragua, and the United States, where he acquired a comprehensive knowledge of the industry and processes, including agronomic processes, blending, production of cigars, marketing, and international sales. In 2011 he joined Mombacho Cigars as a Consultant where he designed and implemented new vitolas, successful blends, an effective quality assurance system, as well as complete re-dimensioning of the warehousing and logistics operations. He created a distribution and sales network that covered more than twelve countries and developed productive bonds with the best tobacco growers in Nicaragua. He led the renovation of Casa Favilli, a historical monument in Granada that today serves as the Mombacho cigar factory. In April 2021 he founded CST Consulting, a tobacco industry consulting company, and since January 2020 he is President of the Nicaragua Tobacco Chamber (CNT).
ABOUT EDGAR JULIAN SUED
Edgar Julián Sued started in the cigar industry at Manufactura Rivas in late 2012. Committed to quality and innovation, he developed Campesino Series Cigars, a boutique brand marketed for DR, USA, and Switzerland. Through the years Edgar developed a friendship with the esteemed master blender Hendrik Kelner Jr., who in 2015 created an exclusive blend called “Campesino Aniversario.” At this point, Julián Sued & Compañía, SRL was created, developing blends, small batches, and limited edition cigars crafted as “Edgar Julian Friends & Family,” and “Edgar Julian Añejo de Oro.” In 2018, Edgar continued working exclusively with Kelner Jr., until 2020, when Julián Sued & Compañía opened the doors to its first and very own factory in Tamboril, Dominican Republic, where Edgar supervises every process from head to tail while empowering and allowing every member of the factory to bring forth their expertise and play a major role in crafting their exquisite cigars.
