Born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Miami from the age of 3 months old, 42-year-old Erik Espinosa inherited his great passion for cigars from his father. He has been smoking cigars for 24 years, and has been in the business for 12, working his way up from the local cigar shops to now being one half owner of E.O. Brands/United Tobacco. Working with Eddie Ortega, the two have produced such great cigars as the 601 and the new Cubao, along with great value lines like the Panama Red and REO.

Of course there is much more to Erik than cigars. Another passion inherited from his father is for playing cards, especially poker. As Erik likes to say, “It’s a great thing . . . as long as you’re winning.” His third great love is baseball. We get into a little of that towards the end of the interview.

He has passed along his love of cigars to his 17-year-old son who is now himself working in a cigar shop. Erik wants him to learn that being street smart and working hard will get you where you need to be in life. “Education, knowledge, and street wise can all help you succeed a lot better in business and life. Helps you from getting scammed.” What better way to teach this valuable lesson than by hustling his own son at an early age! When the boy was younger, Erik would play pool with him and let him think he was winning. Then they would play for quarters. Once money was at stake, Erik would clean the table with him. Now the boy would know what it meant to be hustled--a well learned life lesson.

I want to thank Erik: it was an honor getting to meet him20and share a smoke with him at a local event earlier this year and then sitting down with him for this interview. He is full of great stories, some a little more colorful than others, and you could spend hours just listening to him. I learned a lot from talking with him, and it was honestly one of the best times I have ever had talking cigars with anybody. He is truly a great guy, and now I get to call him “friend.” Thanks, Erik!

Frank: How did you get into the cigar business?

Erik: Hanging out in a cigar store. Starting working at the cigar store. I have done everything in this industry believe it or not. I have been an independent rep, and I have had my own store, and now I’m a manufacturer. So I have done retail, owning my own store, and now a manufacturer. So I know a lot of angles. That doesn’t mean I know everything, but I have done a lot of things in this industry.

Frank: At what age did you start working in the industry?

Erik: I was 30. I had my store in Plantation, Florida.

Frank: Did you have any relatives in the cigar business?

Erik: Well, my dad smoked cigars all his life. Back in Cuba my family gr ew tobacco, they still do. Of course they don’t own it, the government owns it. But my dad has been smoking since he was about eight (laughs).

Frank: Who has taught you the most about cigars? Maybe someone you would call a mentor?

Erik: Yeah, Saul Fontana. He works with Camacho. He is like a sales manager. Have you ever heard of La Fontana cigars? He taught me a lot of ropes.

Frank: Seeing you and Eddie Ortega together I can tell you have a good friendship. Can you tell me what it is like working with him? Is it a love and hate type of thing that brothers would have?

Erik: Well, he handles all the in-house work, advertising. I am more of the guy on the road for the company. He does pretty much everything else which is a huge task in itself. He does advertising and ordering. I work more with the blending, and I like to go more to Nicaragua and he goes too when he can break away. Eddie handles everything else as far as computer work, all the ordering and such. We get along great; I let him do his thing and he lets me do mine. In close to four years, we have never gotten into an argument. He stays out of my way, and I stay out of his, and we are fine with that.

Frank: How did you and Eddie meet?

Erik: He ran Puros Indios, was married to Rolando Reyes’ daughter. We meet when he worked for a distributor called Real Smokers. I have known him basically since I have been in the business for like 12 years. He has a good work ethnic, and we put it together.

Frank: Over the last few years there seems to be an influx of younger blood in the industry; I like to call them the “Young Guns.” Including you and Eddie, other guys like Pete Johnson, Sam Leccia, Ernesto Padilla, Dion Giolito, and others are putting out great cigars. How important do you think that is in the industry?

Erik: I think it is great for the industry because we bring something different. We are bringing tradition but are also innovative. We design different boxes. We are on par with what the older generations are doing. Pete has done incredibly with his brand. We brought back numbers not just names like our 601 brand line of cigars. Where Padilla has his numbers like Padilla 1932 and Padilla 1968, you know we came back with numbers. It just gives a little twist to it. You know these guys are getting up there in age. I try to grasp as much information as I can. I’m good friends with Pepin, with Ernesto Carillo of La Gloria, and all I do is listen to them because they know a lot more than I do. We are “Young Guns,” but they have forgotten more than what we know. Just being with Pepin, I don’t talk much ar ound him. I just try to gather as much information as I can from him.

Frank: What is your favorite size or vitola?

Erik: It depends. It depends on the day. Right now I’m into a Corona size: I think you get more flavor from it. You get a better smoke, a smaller ring gauge, a shorter smoke, and then you’re on to the next.

Frank: What qualities do you look for in a cigar?

Erik: To me it’s taste. I look at construction, and I look at wrapper. But I don’t care much [about] burning; if it burns right or not. You’re not going to get a great burn if you’re in a car. I like to be at peace when I smoke, to give a fair reading on a cigar to whether I like it or I don’t. I like to sit down and do nothing but smoke and give the cigar my 100% attention.

Frank: Of course, besides your own brand of cigars, what do you enjoy to smoke?

Erik: You know I like everything that Pepin makes: a lot of his brands he makes, not just the ones for me. I like the Edge Sumatra that Rocky makes. I like Liga Privada.

Frank: How would you compare a Nicaraguan Puro to a Cuban cigar?

Erik: Well, I think that Nicaraguans are closest: Nicaraguan land, Nicaraguan soil is the closest. It’s got that earthiness. It’s got that strength. You know, as far as Cuban cigars, I don’t smoke that many of them. I’m tired of being disappointed with the construction. It draws, or it doesn’t draw. If I pay for a cigar, I want it to draw. If you get a good one it’s great, but it’s like a crap shoot whether you get a good one or not. I think when things change and the government in Cuba [changes], I think you will have a lot better blends. You can have Nicaraguan with Cuban, Honduran with Cuban, and Dominican with Cuban.

Frank: That was my next question. If the embargo was lifted, would you look forward to maybe making a cigar with Cuban tobacco blended in?

Erik: Absolutely. I have a lot of family in Cuba. I would like to buy property in Cuba and just have a place to go whenever I want. Its only 90 miles away from me (a 30 minute flight from Miami), so absolutely I would love to make cigars with Cuban tobacco.

Frank: How often do you get to go there?

Erik: I have been there twice in 42 years. I have gone there just to visit my family.

Frank: You told me at the event here in January that you had blended the new Cubao line. Can you tell me how that came about? What you was looking for?

Erik: I wanted to do something different with Pepin. So we went out and we bought some Sumatra wrapper, and we starting blending different cigars with everything Nicaraguan besides the wrapper. Getting some Ligero from Jalapa, some Seco from Esteli, and we just started blending different cigars. We blended like 10 of them, and I smoked. I tried them all. I always like to bring chocolate from the states to clean my palate between smokes. Some people like to use coffee, but for me, it’s chocolate that works best. And we came up with the Cubao; it’s a combo of Pepin and myself. It’s the only cigar he makes with the Sumatra wrapper. I like the spiciness that the Sumatra brings. I did it for my taste as much as for what I thought would sell. Nobody talks about mild cigars. Although we sell more mild cigars than anything else, nobody talks about them. It may be because the aficionados don’t smoke mild cigars. But I wanted something that had some spiciness to it, and there wasn’t anything Pepin made with the Sumatra. And I loved it and fell in love with it!

Frank: How about the name Cubao? How did you come up with it?

Erik: Its very hard in this industry to come up with names. A lot of names are already taken, so its very, very hard to come up with a name. It’s a city in the Philippines, and I liked the sound of it.

Frank: The Boxes for the Cubao are really rustic and different. How important do you think marketing and the display of the product is?

Erik: I think marketing and packaging are very important, but the packaging will only get you to try the cigar. It will attract the customer’s attention, but if the cigar is not good they won’t go back to it. We made it rustic looking to catch something different, something not on the market right now.

Frank: Anything you and Eddie are working on that we can talk about?

Erik: We are working on some for the trade show, but its still virgin. When we get deeper into it, we will let you know.

Frank: Between going to the fields, the factories, blending cigars, or going to events and meeting the smokers, which is your favorite part of the job?

Erik: My favorite part is talking cigars. It’s sitting down and having a conversation with anybody who enjoys smoking cigars as much as I do. Most people that enjoy cigars are profession als; whether they are constructions workers, doctors, lawyers, or garbage truck drivers, it doesn’t matter. It’s a great topic of conversation, and I enjoy sitting down and talking about cigars more than anything.

Frank: So, I know you wanted to talk baseball. Did you play baseball?

Erik: I got a scholarship to play baseball, but I only played through high school. Then I started working and stopped playing.

Frank: So the hot topic of the day is steroids and A-Rod. Tell me how you feel about these topics.

Erik: Now, you know I have a passion: my passions are poker, cigars, and baseball. I just feel that the owners are at fault on what is going on in baseball. Everybody knew that McGwire and Sosa were taking steroids and did nothing about it because it was saving baseball. Now all of a sudden it’s a problem. I think they should have given every player ample opportunity to stop doing it. I just think it was banned at this time, and they should have the opportunity to stop. If not, they would be fined or ejected from the game, but they didn’t give them that ample opportunity. Steve McNair was 4 yards away from winning the Super Bowl, and he wasn’t invited to training camp for two years. You know, as you get older, you start deteriorating, but you still have to provide for your family. Now a guy who gave his heart and soul for the team is no longer welcomed. It’s the same thing with Earl Campbell. He used to run the ball 30 times a game with the Houston Oilers, and they used to juice him up with Novocain. Now Earl Campbell is in a wheelchair. Why does nobody talk about it? You know the owners injected Novocain in his knees, and it was ok at the time? They ruined this man’s life and no one talks about that, but they do talk about the baseball players now. They said there was 103 guys on the list, but they chose to pick on A-Rod. What happened to the other 100 players? You still have to hit the ball, ok? Am I for steroids? Absolutely not! Is steroids cheating? Perhaps, yes. Ok, but you still have to hit the ball. Barry Bonds was an incredible player before steroids. He saw himself getting older. You know they need to do something to stay in the game; if they don’t get better they are out of the game. But they still need to provide for their families. If nobody takes steroids, we are all in the same boat. But if you got 30 to 40% of the players taking them, then we are not on the same playing field. People have to do what they have to do to keep providing for their family. If you make $20 an hour you spend $21. If you make a million a year, then you spend a million and one. They paid their dues, they deserve to get paid. If no one paid an athlete a million dollars then no athlete would ask for a million dollars. Why don’t they go after the owners? Why don’t they go after the trainers? They don’t care, they just want to fill the seats. When McGwire and Sosa where doing it, they didn’t care because it was saving baseball. Now steroids is a problem. It’s a problem because the government got involved. If they take the players to trial, I think they should take some of the owners as well. I’m pretty sure they know what is going on. The owners knew they where doing it and would turn their faces. Now the players are the only ones getting in trouble. Now that’s not fair.

Frank: Has this turned you off from baseball?

Erik: A little, yes. I just feel like they should just let them play. I feel like they should just let them play, and I don’t think the government should get involved. With everything going on in society today, why are they only getting involved in baseball? Why don’t they try to fix the economy?

Frank: Like the government getting involved by taxing tobacco for heath care.

Erik: They go after us with all these taxes for heath care. Why aren’t the Burger Kings and the Mc Donald’s of the world that are getting our kids sick, why aren’t they going after that? Why aren't they going after Coke and Pepsi? Why don’t we all help out? Why just tobacco? I don’t mind giving something to heath care, you know, but why does it all have to be us? It should be a joint thing; everybody should be involved. I just feel like we are an easy target; we are an minority and that is why they are going after us. I have yet to see anybody killing anybody under the influence of a cigar. So why just going after tobacco? Why not go after alcohol?

Frank: I agree with you, as I’m sure 100% of all cigar smokers do. It’s crazy the way they are treating the industry.

Erik: I’m not a doctor, but they say that stress is a main cause of cancer. A cigar, to me, is my number one stress reliever. We don’t bother nobody. All we want is a little place to enjoy our cigars and have a conversation on everything in life, what is going on. And they want to prevent us from doing that also.

Comments (2)

Mi Barrio, 601 and Cubao are, for me, amoung the best cigars out there.
written by Ana and Miguel, April 27, 2009

Love the whole interview plus the cigars from United tobacco and Erick and Eddie. Keep going guys putting a Yough Flavor to the industry. I also love your poster....
https://www.cuencacigars.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=275

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Well said!
written by Tobacco Rogue, September 13, 2009

Great interview and you touched on something I've been saying throughout the SCHIP pursecution, to fellow cigar smokers AND politicians.

I wasn't against SCHIP, at least not the cause which would supposedly benefit from the tax. But, with such an important cause, why should cigar smokers carry the brunt of the burden. With such a worthy cause, why shouldn't much more funds be raised and shared among some of the industries that actually contribute to the problem?

A smaller tax spread out among the fast food and high fructose beverage industries would have made much more sense. These are industries that are not only contributing to the health problems in children, but they are also allowed to specifically target a child audience with packaging and advertising. When's the last time you saw fine, hand-rolled cigars target a child audience?

Yet another stupendous act against our freedoms that we have allowed are government to infringe upon.

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