Cigar Interview: Sean Williams of El Primer Mundo
Today we are joined by Sean Williams of El Primer Mundo, a relatively new boutique brand – you can learn more about their cigars online, and if your on Twitter, I highly recommend you follow Sean here. Now, let’s take some time to get to know Sean – we find a little bit about how he got into the industry, his recent changes with distribution, his new line the Liga Miami, and his plans for the future. Thanks for joining us today folks, I hope you enjoy getting to new Sean!
Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?
I grew up in New Orleans. I now live in Atlanta.
When, and how, did you first get introduced to the joy of smoking cigars?
I was on a cruise a few years back with some friends that I’ve known since the 9th grade. We all took the wives and girlfriends to the Bahamas. On the ship one night a buddy suggested we go to the piano bar and have a cigar. I didn’t smoke at the time but figured it would be pretty cool. An hour into smoking the cigar and enjoying great conversation and reminiscing with my boys I was hooked. The process and the relaxation of smoking a cigar just hooked me immediately.
What is it you most enjoy about a great cigar?
I get into flavor and complexity more than anything. My palate leans towards sweeter notes and when that’s accented by a slight spice it’s a winner. I don’t necessarily go into it looking for a strong cigar, but if the taste profile is where I want to be and it so happens to be a strong cigar then that’s all good.
What are some of your favorite smokes (of your brand line, and others)?
Wow. There are a lot of great smokes on the market right now. The consumer is so much more educated that cigar makers are all upping their games. I think for me as it relates to my line it all depends on the time of day, what I’m eating, what I’m drinking, or any number of things. In particular, I think pound for pound my Black Label is my favorite from my Select Line. The perfecto is a terrific smoke. It gives you so many different nuances in one smoke. Cocoa, light spice, nutty, good body. Real good stick. In staying with my brand, I’m loving the Liga Miami, my newest cigar. Definitely the heaviest cigar I’ve done in terms of body and spice, but I still get the notes that I like out of Nicaraguan tobacco, which is prevalent in all of my blends.
Aside from my line, I always have and still love the stuff that Pete’s doing; the Cojonu 2006 torpedo and the El Triunfador toro in particular, which are totally different animals but very flavorful and complex. I love the stuff that my guy Willy (Herrerra of El Titan de Bronze) is doing. His Redemption line is serious! The Redemption Maduro is my favorite maduro on the market period. What he does with that San Andres wrapper is amazing! I also like the Cain F. A nice, tasty full bodied smoke. The Tempus and the Prensado from Alec Bradley are sticks that I like as well. On the lesser known end, I’m really feeling 13th floor. I’m not normally big on Sumatras, but that baby has some really nice flavor and more body than you typically get out of a Sumatra. Nice cigar out the Titan de Bronze factory as well!
How many cigars do you smoke in a normal day, if you’re not testing blends?
I typically smoke 5-6 a day
What did you do professionally before getting into the cigar industry?
Just before and during the first two years or so I was in Real Estate. Now Cigars is all I do.
What has your experience been with the Atlanta Cigar Society, which you created? And can you tell us a bit about this Society?
Wow, that’s going back. LOL, yeah, when I returned from the cruise where I first started smoking cigars I didn’t really have any friends here that smoked cigars so I decided I’d start a group and would put on little events at cigar friendly venues in the Atlanta area. This is what led to me wanting to own my own cigar line.
Questions About the Industry
What have you enjoyed most about the cigar industry?
The people. I’ve had the great fortune of meeting great people all across the country at different shops, from all types of backgrounds, and we all share a love for the leaf that connects us. There’s nothing like sharing a cigar that you created with someone. That keeps me going when things are tough.Who has inspired you within the industry?
Well, when you think about the patriarchs in the game that fled Cuba with nothing and landed in countries all over the world to build the industry to what we have now, that’s pretty inspiring! As far as guys I can look at, relate to, and speak to and always have good insight and encouragement…I love Alan Rubin (of Alec Bradley). He’s been through the ups and downs like everybody that makes it in this business, but he’s been able to reinvent his brand time and again and is making some great sticks. He always has positive stuff to give me. Jonathon Drew is another one. That’s my dude! Again, went through the ups and downs and kept pushing through and keeps innovating. I love talking to him. Real good dude. Pete (Johnson of Tatuaje) is right in there as well. What he’s been able to do is incredible. Really changed the game and always gives me some really good insight.Describe for us your perfect day.
Any day that I get to smoke some cigars, sell some cigars and spend time with the family is a good day bro!
Questions About the Cigars
Can you give us the timeline of El Primer Mundo?
I first started thinking about it in November or so of 2005. I started lobbing some calls out to different manufacturers to see what it took to do a cigar and if they would do one for me. Most people were just offering the basic private label concept where they put a band on a cigar for you that they’re already making which I wasn’t interested in at all. I happened upon Dave Blanco at the Big Smoke in New York in late 2005 at his booth. In our conversation I told him that I was interested in doing a cigar and he explained his family ties to Nestor Plasencia and was planning a trip to the factory in a few weeks. So in January of 2006 I was on a plane heading down to Nicaragua to blend my first cigar.
Working with master blender Evelio Oviedo, who has since passed, it took about 3 days before I landed on my first blend. That’s my maduro, which use a Habano Criollo Maduro leaf. We then took the same filler and binder and wrapped it in a Nicaraguan grown Connecticut Shade leaf. It was a few months after my trip down that I actually got product into the states and got my cigars on the shelves with my first retailer in October or so of 2006.
Did you consider other manufacturers or were you convinced at first sight?
As we touched on earlier, I spoke with a few guys but once I visited the Segovia Factory with Nestor Plasencia it was a wrap! Simply one of the most beautiful facilities I’ve ever seen.
What have you enjoyed most about working with the Plasencia family?
They treat me like family. Obviously, I’m a little guy in the game but you’d never know it when I’m at the factory. Everyone’s important to them and they make me feel that my business really matters to them. The people at the factory are terrific.
Can you explain the trial and error of the blending process with the Plasencia’s? Did you have other blends that you were happy with, but just didn’t make the cut? Will those ever show up in the future?
Well you have to understand that I knew nothing about blending a cigar before I headed to Nicaragua 5 and half years ago. Most of the hiccups so to speak were based on me getting comfortable with my palate. It’s a pretty overwhelming process initially. It’s still pretty daunting. As I do more and more cigars I don’t want everything to taste the same, but if your palate is geared in a certain direction it can be tricky. I just constantly try to incorporate different tobacco while keeping the blends balanced.
I have one blend in particular on deck at Segovia in Nicaragua that I’ll bring out at some point, but I think it was important that I got the Liga Miami our of the gate. I actually have a few things that I worked on there with Willy as well that I’m kicking around, but I’m not going to bring a cigar out just for the sake of having something new out. When I feel the time is right then the time is right.
Your first two blends were the Connecticut and the Maduro, and later the Oscuro – can you talk briefly about each of these blends?
My first blends were the Red Label (Criollo Maduro) and the Blue Label (Connecticut Shade). They both have the same blend of Nicaraguan tobacco from the Jalapa Valley, Honduran from the Jamstran Valley, and a little Peruvian. Those lines did well for me
right out of the gate. They were good places to start. The Connecticut received a 90 rating in Cigar Snob and the maduro was listed as a top 5 Criollo in the Leafstalker, which was a piece that Cigar Snob used to do in their earlier publications.
About a year after being in the business I wanted to do something a little more complex and nuanced so I went back to Nicaragua to work on another cigar. Initially I was hoping to work with some Ometepe tobacco, but at the time there were some contractual issues as it related to the tobacco that was harvested from Ometepe so I couldn’t do it. We then began working on some other interesting stuff and I landed on the Habano Rosado Oscuro wrapper that I loved! We worked it with a blend of Nicaraguan tobacco from Condega and Esteli and added a little Panamanian and the Black Label or (Rosado Oscuro) was born. That cigar has done very well for me. The perfecto vitola was a departure for me. In the Red and Blue Labels my figurado was a torpedo, but I wanted to something a little different in the Black so I went with the perfecto. I also introduced 60×6 ½ sizes across all lines about this same time. I’m not big on 60 ring gauges personally but the market loves them! The Red, Blue, and Black make up my Select Line and they’ve carried me for the last four plus years. The response has been great and I really appreciate people supporting the brand.
Questions About Distribution and the New Liga Miami
You recently announced that your expiring contract with Los Blancos for the distribution of Primer Mundo was not renewed. What are your distribution plans for the future – will you be handling that yourself?
Yeah, my contract with Los Blancos expired in June. My warehousing and distribution is now in Miami and I’m handling it myself. I have a few independent reps in different parts of the country and it’s going well. It’s a lot of work, but it’s all part of the business.What was the motivation behind taking over the distribution of your own product?
Aside from the financial motivation, I just wanted to have control over my brand. I’ve put a lot into this and made a lot of sacrifices. I’m working to be in it for the long haul so it was just critical that I took the time and built my brand on my own. I’ll make mistakes. There will be setbacks, but when it’s all said and done it’s all on me.
You’ve just released the Liga Miami, which is a new line for you. Can you tell us a little bit about this blend and the idea behind it?
The Liga Miami has been a fun project. Willy Herrera and I have been friends for a few years now and have always kicked around doing something together. The timing was right to make it happen. I’ve wanted to do something in Miami for some time and Willy’s one of the last guys still rolling there. I love his work so I knew that if we got together we could put something out that would be great. I wanted to put something out that could be classic. From the flavor profile, to the body, to the construction, to the package, I wanted it to be something that people would appreciate. I stayed with what I like as far as Nicaraguan tobacco as the main component, but it works well with the Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper and a little Dominican filler, which is the first time that I’ve worked with tobacco from those countries. The reception has been terrific so far.You chose to work with Willy at El Titan de Bronze for this blend. How was that decision made?
Like I said, we’re very good friends and I love the stuff that he’s doing so I wanted to see what we could work on together.Did you consider the Plasencia family for this blend, or were you looking for a fresh approach for the Liga Miami?
No, for this project it had to be Miami and it had to be Willy. I’ll have more stuff coming out of Segovia as well though.
How was your experience with Willy different from working with the Plasencia family?
It was a more hands on process. At Segovia I typically sit down with a blender and a roller and we start with a lot of different tobaccos and work through a lot of different profiles keeping some tobaccos constant. The process can char your palate if you don’t back off from time to time. With Willy I went into it knowing what tobacco I wanted to work with and incorporated some stuff he liked to use. We took our time over a couple of trips to Miami and landed on what is now the Liga Miami. It’s just different because we talk almost everyday, sometimes a few times a day anyway. We’re always kicking around different ideas and talking about tobaccos we’d like to work with.
Concluding Questions
What are some of the remarks you’ve heard about your cigars?
Overall I’ve received very good feedback on my cigars. The reality is there are 300 million people in America with varying likes and dislikes, so nothing you do is going to be a slam dunk with everybody, but I’ve been very happy with the remarks and responses that I’ve received on my brand. The emails, facebook posts, twitter posts, and phone calls are what keep me motivated when the business of the business gets tough. I’m constantly picking up more consumers and consequently more retailers. I’m just trying to keep making good cigars and price them so that the true cigar enthusiast can enjoy them.
Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
I plan to be doing what I do now but doing it bigger and better. Hopefully, when they put me in the dirt it’ll be as a cigar maker. God willing!
Thanks so much for joining us Sean!
(Liga Miami image by Brian Hewitt of Stogie Review)
