JOE'S HONDURAN TRIP TO VISIT ROCKY PATEL'S FACTORIES

For those that don't know, I just recently had the opportunity to go to the Pariso Cigar Factory in Danli, Honduras. Pariso is the factory that makes many of the very popular Rocky Patel cigars. The trip was amazing. I learned and saw more than most can imagine and would love to share my trip with everyone. I am going to show you how much time, effort and labor goes into the making of a fine cigar. Then also a few stories of how much fun we had.

A group of 12 people went including me, our wonderful sales rep Jill, and retailers from Arizona, Colorado, and Alabama. We all met in Tegucigalpa Airport then took a bus ride to Danli. Our driver Oscar was great. Driving in Honduras isn't always easy. He is obviously a pro. He took us to Danli where we met with Nimish (Rocky's cousin) who was our host. We stayed in a nice house, the people there were very nice, and we had everything we could have possibly needed. Not to mention a ton of cigars. That night we relaxed pool side, ate, drank, and of course, smoked.

The next day we toured Nestor Placencia's factory guided by a gentleman named Peter. We saw the fermentation rooms which are usually between 90 and 100 degrees. Certain tobaccos have a very pungent ammonia smell which carries throughout the barn. The 2,500 lb. bails of tobacco can reach up to 130 degrees, so they constantly need to be shaken out and rotated so the tobacco doesn't burn.

From there we saw the various sorting rooms. The different tobaccos are sorted by color as well as size. There are many different kinds of leaves. Various seeds, growing styles and regions give distinct individual flavors to a cigar. (Because the tobacco is all natural, the color varies but not the flavor. The flavor may change slightly due to season though.) It really takes a lot of labor to sort them properly. They also have a number of curing rooms to hang the leaves to dry. There are many rollers there producing thousands of cigars daily.

We also saw a lot of rooms that were used strictly for aging. Age is an essential part of making a quality cigar. There are many different brands made there. Also while we were there we ran into Nestor Placencia Jr. and Jesus Fuego. Jesus was there working on a new blend. They are both always a pleasure to talk to.

After that we went to Pariso where they make most of the Rocky Patel cigars. There we met with Maricza, Gustavo and Eduardo who each have high responsibility at Pariso. Right after we got in, we had the chance to try a variety of lancero's in the different Rocky brands. I am a fan of the lancero size and enjoyed every one of them. Gustavo and Nimish guided us through the factory where they educated us on the rolling rooms, curing areas and a lot of tobacco that is being aged. Everyone there is extremely knowledgeable. Gustavo himself has been in the business since he was 13. You never really know how much goes into making a cigar until you see it with your own eyes.

After a great lunch, we all had the opportunity to blend our own cigar. There were many different tobaccos to choose from. Your cigar could have up to 3 different fillers, binder, than wrapper. There were tobaccos from many different countries and from different portions of the plant. You had pretty much guess by smell. Different parts of the plant have different flavors, strengths and combustibility. That also helped in the decision. I ended up with a blend of Nicaraguan and Costa Rican fillers. It was about 66% ligero. Ligero is for the full body. It had a Nicaraguan binder and a beautiful, black, oily Costa Rican ligero wrapper. I originally thought of using Connecticut but once I saw the particular leaf, I had to try it. I thought I did great for my first try, Gustavo did give me a little guidance though. Who knows, maybe one day the blend will be available for every one to try. It was definitely a great full bodied smoke.

Afterwards Nimish and Gustavo showed us where the rolled cigar were banded and packaged. We also saw where they box press the cigars. In that same area there are tons of bails of tobacco and rolled cigars aging. It was very impressive.

We returned to the house for dinner, drinks and smokes. And we definitely had some great conversations. We had a great group of people there and we laughed a lot. Gustavo and Maricza entertained us with live music, both very talented. Afterwards Nimish took a few of us out to some local bars. The karaoke is just as bad in Honduras as it is in the U.S. But it still was a lot of fun.

The next day we went to the tobacco fields. They use green houses for the seedlings. After 40-45 days they transplant them to the fields. We also saw how big of a difference in size and texture there is between sun and shade grown. Shade grown tobacco is grown under cheese cloths. Because there is less sun light, the plant grows taller trying to reach
more sun. The leaves tend to be much larger than sun grown. The sun grown plants are also much shorter. The plants grow with flowers which are removed unless they are grown in a special area to produce seeds. The flowers prevent the leaves from getting more nutrients.

After the fields we saw the box factory. There are many different brands that have their boxes made there. We saw the cutting, assembly, painting and branding of the boxes.

We spent a little time in the town not too far away. Mostly for shopping, but we got to see a great game of soccer or as they call it there futbal. I was told they play for money. It was very competitive and with very talented players. It was very fun to watch.

Most of the rest of the evening was spent at the house. We had dinner followed by a live band and a lot of dancing. It was a blast. After the band was done Nimish gathered a few of us up and we went to a local discotec. It was packed that night. We all had a great time but were pretty tired and made it a fairly short night.

We left for Tegucigalpa early in the morning. I can definitely say it was an outstanding trip. I would like to thank Rocky, Nimish, Gustavo, Maricza, Eduardo, Jill, the group, and of course my boys at the King for giving me the opportunity to have such a fun and educational trip. Itwas definitely one I will never forget.

I hope you enjoyed the story. -Joe