We follow Cuban traditions, so the most important tools at our rolling tables are not mechanical, but human. Our cigars are made completely by hand (totalmente a mano), using only a few basic tools to cut, seal and shape the tobacco. From there, quality testing happens in rounds, using only a single hand-operated machine to test the draw — air’s ability to move through each cigar.
The late, great Arsenio was humble, despite renowned industry status as one of the greats. He shared stories of walking tobacco fields, a young boy alongside his Father, doing simple jobs, earning more responsibility over time. He taste-tested cigars since age ten, and was a third-generation tobacco expert who witnessed firsthand the Cuban cigar industry’s evolution surrounding the 1960’s embargo. He knew tobacco science like no other, field to flavor, a hotspring of insights about balanced soil, leaf characteristics, blending formulas and ratios — priceless know-how, all colored by his Cuban cigar-making ancestry. We were honored to call Arsenio Ramos a friend and Master Blender for Atsiniki. Without him, our story would be incomplete.
From leaf selection to fermentation and aging, every step of making an Atsiniki cigar is guided by generations-old tobacco farmers and our Master Blenders. Every step is hand-done, each cigar hand-tested and measured for quality. By the time each cigar is finished, up to 350 careful hands have influenced the final product.