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Philip G. Wynne got his start in the cigar industry in 1990. It wasn't till later that he became Felipe Gregorio, to provide his brand of cigars with that aura of Hispanic 'ancestry.' Wynne is an American, raised largely abroad. There is no history of tobacco growing and cigar making, for generations, in his family tree.

Nonetheless, Felipe Gregorio carved a niche for itself in the annals of cigar history and the tastes of sophisticated smokers.

Today, with a new Marketing Agreement with Nestor Miranda's Miami Cigar & Company and his Casa Felipe on South West 8th Street in Miami he begins a new era.

Wynne and I arranged to meet at Casa Felipe, and, over a couple of glasses of wine, some Serrano ham, chorizo and cheese, we discussed his background; his Company and his passion for cigars.

 

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Gary J. Arzt: Tell me about Philip, who you are, where you come from and what your life was before Felipe Gregorio.

Philip G. Wynne: Well, I am the offspring of an American diplomat and his wife. I was born in Switzerland and I went to Korea in the 50s and in Europe until I was 18. I returned to the United States to go to college, prompted by my father who said if he was going to pay for the education I at least had to attend an American university. So, my background is diverse in the sense that, like an army brat, I am an American living abroad and I realized that Americans are loved and hated at the same time. It was an interesting experience and ultimately, I found out that the American people are loved and that sometimes our government is not understood.

Gary: Tell me about your family, children, if you will.

I have three children, a son who is 14, a daughter who is 13, and a daughter who is 11. Their mother is French. They were all born in Washington DC.

Gary: You were working there at that time or living there?

Philip: I was involved in several things, living in DC after college.

Gary: Oh, but you were based in Washington?

Philip: I worked in Washington on a number of jobs. One was representing an Italian military helicopter company. I did some lobbying work for the Kingdom of Jordan. I worked in the Middle East in a Turkish Hospital, hospital operations in Saudi Arabia. I worked for a security company right out of college. So, I was where my roots were.

Gary: I believe you started Felipe Gregorio before the boom. What impelled you towards the cigar industry?

So when I started the cigar business which was in 1990, I opened up in DC and the year after, in Old Town Alexandria to benefit from Virginia's tax laws. And I stayed there until 2007. I stayed there until 2004, which was after 9/11, living in Washington and having my offices just south of the Pentagon and realizing that it took me eight hours to get home to cover four miles, I sort of decided that I wanted to have my children grow up in a safe environment.

So, I had an apartment on Key Biscayne (Miami, FL), so we moved down there. And I have been in Miami back and forth ever since. I am very happy, I miss Washington a lot. I miss all my contacts and part of my life was there, but I am happy to be here because for a cigar maker, this is the center of the world.

Gary: Yes, this is the cigar capital of the United States.

Philip: And it takes me only an hour and 40 minutes to get to the DR, about two hours to get out though. It is easier. I can be home on the weekends with my kids, so all of that laid into my decisions.

Gary: How did you become interested in cigars?

Philip: At the age of 14 or 15, my father was posted in Geneva, and at that age, I started smoking.

Gary: You stumbled into Davidoff.

Philip: I stumbled into Davidoff. I was friendly with the old man himself, Zino and with the manager of the shop. And they took me under their wing because I was interested in everything about cigars.

Gary: What were you smoking when you started to smoke?

My first cigars that I smoked were Philippine cigars, which was a sweet-tipped cigar. And then gradually, my palate changed and I smoked what I could afford. But the impressions of hanging around that shop and the smell of tobacco and the whole aura about the cigar-making stayed in my mind.

And that was ingrained in my hard drive until afterwards when I finished working in the Middle East; ironically it was at that time where there was no more money. There were no more wars and oil is at a low.

I was looking for something to do when, with some classmates from university, I went to Honduras.

And visiting there, I visited the cigar factory and I thought this was fantastic –

Gary: Which factory?

Philip: I visited La Flor de Copan.

Gary: Okay.

Philip: So then in 1990, at that point, the most expensive premium cigar on the market was the Zino line from Davidoff, made in La Flor de Copan.

Gary J. Arzt: In the Honduras, yes, a part of La Flor de Copan.

Philip G. Wynne: It was Zino Veritas and it was retailed at $6.00. The bulk of other cigars that I used to buy at Georgetown Tobacco where mainly Montessino bundles made by Fuente, which were selling at 80 cents a stick. So, I thought that a $2.00 suggested retail cigar with a European flare and a Cuban taste might have a market in the United States.

So, I asked my Honduran friends to introduce me to the people at La Flor de Copan, which they did. And I invested in the factory, and I started making my cigars. I found their cigars to be too mild, so I went out and asked them to put in some more flavourful tobaccos in the blend. And, my first Petrus cigars that came in were medium to full body. I had it wrapped in a Honduran wrapper.

Gary: That was 1990?

Philip: 1990, total disaster. No one bought the cigar. They all wanted light, light, light cigars. So I said, "Well, that is what I like to smoke" and they said, "Well, if you like to smoke that, you are not going to sell it." So then, I went back and created the Petrus with a Nicaraguan wrapper and I launched at risk.

In the meantime, due to my contacts in the Middle East, I began selling Petrus to Lebanon during the civil war. And, that is how I created the name Petrus because I grew up in Rome, "Petrus" being Peter, and I put a lot of Christian symbolism in there, just in a way to sort of ironically get back at the Arabs, I was smoking the cigars. I did not even have the wine in mind when I used the name Petrus. So, I do not know if this is good to print.

Gary: I don't think it will do any harm! (Both laughing)

Philip: But anyway, so, I started selling. That is how I started Petrus then because I have my strong European contacts. I started selling more cigars in Europe than in the United States for the first four or five years from 1990 to 1995. I sold in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.

Gary: Because of your contacts from school, business?

Philip: Because of my contacts, yes, because I was more of a European-based than American-based.

Gary: It is quite the reverse of what normally happens, people saturate the American market and then look to go abroad.

Philip: That is correct. I did it backwards.

Gary: You preferred full bodied; you started to make full bodied, in a market that preferred mild…what were you smoking?

Philip: I was smoking all what I could not sell. I preferred full-bodied cigars. And so, I was always looking for that taste profile that I had in my head which was very hard to find.

Gary: A Havana profile.

Philip: A Havana profile that I remember smoking in the Davidoff stores which where the Dom Perignon, the Château Margot, and these cigars were phenomenal. I look for that always. Sometimes I find a little bit, I know if I am a 100% of it at the beginning.

So I would smoke a cigar that I would have made for myself and then I would also enjoy my regular line, even though it was a bit too mild for my taste.

Gary: Did you have an iconic cigar in mind, flavour wise, when you created your first Felipe Gregorio?

Philip: The iconic cigar I had in mind, going back, it was the Davidoff's. The Davidoff Cuban, the Davidoff Chateau. And, maybe some other of those older lines.

So then, I realized that people wanted a face behind the cigar.

Gary: That is a new phenomenon.

Philip: Well, I think Fuente, in all respect to them were the first to the first to put that image on and since they were successful in what they did, people then wanted to see the face of the brand.

And standing behind the Petrus brand, I felt I did not have a story behind it in so much as the brand was not known. So I said, "Well, maybe I should come out behind my brand." And bear in mind that I came out with Felipe Gregorio in 1993 or 1994, so it was just before the boom.

And there again, I faced the problem because I am an American, of Italian, European heritage but I am not Cuban or -

Gary: You do not have three generations of tobacco growing behind you?

Philip: Not at all. So, even though my grandmother owned a tobacco shop in Italy. I do not know if that counts. (Laughing) So here I am, my name is Philip Gregory Wynne, and how can that be a cigar name! So, I gave my name a Latin flavour. And I said, "Let me create a new cigar and I will call it Felipe Gregorio."

Gary: Much like the Frenchman named Jean Clement.

Philip: Very true, and I have known Jean, in the DR for many, many years.

Gary: Became Juan Clemente.

Philip: Around the same time. So that is how Felipe Gregorio was born. I found that the tobacco that we had at La Flor was not what I had wanted for a taste profile for the Felipe. So, I went around looking for a different tobacco. And Julio Eiroa (Father of Christian Eirora of Camacho Cigars) had an exceptional tobacco at that time. He grew in Jamastran. It had all the characteristics of what I was looking for. So that is how the first Felipe Gregorio was created. And it later through the popularity of the Felipe Gregorio at that time, became Saint Luis Rey. So it is basically the same blend. It is the original Saint Luis Rey cigar.

Gary: Interesting.

Philip: So, that is how Felipe started. At the same time, I came upon some exceptional tobacco grown in the Copan Valley, near the Copan ruins by a couple of cooperative growers of La Flor de Copan. And I created a cigar called Don Melo Centenario, which for me had the tasteful part of what I was looking for. Unfortunately, I had only enough to make 250,000 sticks, but we sold them all rapidly ...

Gary: 10,000 boxes.

Philip: And that cigar was being retailed at $12.00 to $14.00 back in 1994, and it was a success, a hands-down success. Everyone wanted that cigar.

Gary: How many retailers did you get that cigar into, considering that you have 10,000 boxes ultimately?

Philip: Probably 50, but all the name ones; the very well known shops of the era.

Gary: All the significant ones?

Philip: All the significant ones. And it was a bonanza because it happened right when the boom occurred. So, everyone wanted that cigar and I remember that after Cincinnati RTDA, which was 1995 ...

Gary: 1996. That was a tremendously exciting RTDA ... right in the middle of the boom.

Philip: I wrote a million dollars in orders of which I must have supplied a hundred thousand dollars of it before my orders were cancelled because I have no tobacco like everyone else. And by that time, I got around to make the cigars; most of my retailers were out of business. So, I learned the hard way on that, and that is another story.

I found tobacco to make some great cigars and throughout my career, I made small batch cigars, and I almost made Felipe Fusion, which I made - which is also as a high priced cigar which is also has a limited quantity, which also be sold very low and sold out. And now, I have my third one in that series, it is the new Petrus Prestige and that will be of that series. And, I will only limit my production through 250,000 sticks a year, even though I know that every year, I will have enough tobacco to make another 250,000 sticks.

Going back to the Centenario, the reason why I could not produce is because Hurricane Mitch occurred, which destroyed all the top soil from these farms and we could never get back the quality of tobacco that I have -

Gary: That was a disaster in Nicaragua for everybody.

Philip: But actually, it was in Nicaragua and Honduras.

Gary: Oh, Nicaragua and Honduras, yes.

Philip: So now, I was running production as I said in both countries, and the cigars ... my cigar business after a couple of years of struggling started coming into its own mainly, because supply and demand was back. At that period, I believe to be correct; 300 million cigars had been made during the boom of inferior tobacco, improperly cured tobaccos; improperly fermented and inadequately aged tobaccos. All of that was slowly off the shelves, people started distributing and stocking better cigars.

Gary: But was necessarily so, we used to walk into humidors and be overcome by the smell of the ammonia.

Philip: Yes, correct. But now, in Italian, there is a corporate that says, "Out of every bad thing, something good comes." So I think the industry benefited in general because who remains was stronger and was making a better product because the competition was tough. And I think that is where we are now. I think now today, in 2008, you have overall probably the best selection of cigars across the board than I have ever seen in my 18 years of the cigar business.

Gary: There is no two ways about it; the smoker has the finest selection available to him that he has ever had.

Philip: So that is where I grew, and then I know that as boutique cigar maker, I cannot have a large national selling brand, so I am strong in creating small batches which we discussed. This is what I am going to continue to do.

In the past, I have had a lot of encouragement and assistance from people in the industry. My first mentor you could say was Davidoff, but after that, Don Jorge Bueso, the owner of La Flor de Copan who now must be in his middle 80s, his grandfather started the factory. He took me in and he was very hands-on and I have always been more into the production side of the cigar than the marketing, and I learned tremendous amount of things from them.

Then along my travels, I met Julio Eiroa who also imparted his knowledge. Orlando Padron has always been open and very nice and given me excellent advice through the years.

Gary: It is an industry where the ... I mean, they are all competitors but it is an industry where the cigar makers, the icons of the industry are always open to teaching or mentoring, or just providing information. There is no fear of competition in that sense.

Philip: I believe after the ... in all my years, I believe that there are two sets of cigar people, or cigar-tobacco people. One, that smoke and enjoy cigars, because they enjoy, and a very small percentage that have it in their blood. And when you are in that circle and you talk to somebody, and you realize that that person has that, it is like a fraternity.

Gary: Yes.

Philip: And then everything opens up, whether you are a competitor, a consumer, a friend ... you are talking about a common element. It is like talking about a beautiful woman and you are all sharing ...

Gary: Everybody is going to appreciate it.

Philip: Everyone is going to appreciate that.

Gary: I think subconsciously, if not consciously, the motivation is important, 'Well, if he is going to make a cigar ... let him make it right.' So there is no fear of sharing information and conveying knowledge to other people.

Philip: So these people - they have always been there, they have always share their love of tobacco, their love of cigars, and it is great to have that. Every time we do not see each other that often but every time they do see each other - it is refreshing.

Philip: Litto Gomez is a friend and has been very, very generous to me. And he started. In similar circumstances; no background in tobacco or cigar making.

Gary: And it is a tremendous success, but I think it is because he has an eye on detail.

Philip: He has an eye on details and he knows what he wants.

You have to be focused on what you like and what you think is the best and go through and make the best cigar that you can with, the raw materials that you have. You cannot react to the markets, because you will not ... if will always react later and do not care with how is your market.

Gary: That is a very interesting point you make there Philip, because in talking to Litto, I asked him if he began to create a cigar with cost analysis upfront which is what most businesses do if they say, "Well, we have to make a car for $12,000.00. We have to make a parachute to market for $180.00," and he has not chosen that theory. He made the cigar that he wanted to make and he cost it later, and ultimately, the market determines the validity of his thinking. So yes, the idea here is to make the best cigar in town, which was not the idea during the boom.

Philip: No. Well, some of us do.

Gary: No, I am not saying you. But the stores were crowded with cigars being made by people that just want to catch the wave.

Philip: Right. For them it was all about money. If you could make a cigar; any cigar and sell it for $5 retail, you would make money. Still there were many of us trying to build something real; something that would last.

Gary: And people like Lew Rothman and Oscar Boruchin bought all the cigars with $0.15 to $0.20.

Philip: If not less.

Gary: If not less.

Philip: So, I have had the benefit maybe because I am not a Cuban or maybe because I am not a Latino. Maybe now I am an adopted Latino but at least, I have had the benefit of the advice and help and friendship of all these people, which I consider invaluable. So that is how I progressed throughout the years.

Now, I have created Casa Felipe. I found that because of all the anti-smoking, that we have that there is no venue where people can sit down and share a cigar, share experiences and tell stories and I wanted to have a place where people can come and do that.

Also, I am making cigars for some of the major French wineries.

Gary: Private label?

Philip: Private label for them. So, I figured that this would be a good opportunity to marry both. I wanted to come to the heart of the cigar-making world in Miami, which is Calle Ocho. I make sure to establish myself here and now that since I have been here, we have become a part of that and people come here to try our cigars.

Because the more cigar makers that are here, the more of this (Little Havana) becomes a nucleus and people ... they can come down and smoke a cigar starting as far off as the Padron factory and work their way down and enjoy the different cigars and talk to different manufacturers.

Gary: I have been many places on Calle Ocho, Ernie Carillo's, and Pepin Garcia's, where people have walked in mostly from out of town. Are you finding local ... I mean, you're five minutes from Brickell Avenue are you finding that to be an audience that come at the end of the day and smoke?

Philip: Yes and no. I found that the people from Brickell are coming in more for the wines and that you can get them interested in the cigars. The locals that are enjoying the cigars are law enforcement officers, who happen to be an avid cigar smokers and they do come in a lot.

Gary J. Arzt: Is there tremendous impetus among law enforcement people to smoke cigars? I have become more aware of it in the past year. It is amazing, most policeman I know, smoke cigars.

Philip G. Wynne: I believe you know - as the composer said that a good cigar closes the vulgarity, the door of the vulgarities of life. So these poor gentleman, law enforcement people, they probably see so much -

Gary: So much vulgarity -

Philip: They figure that they need to take refuge in the cigar once in a while.

Gary: And enjoy the relaxing moment away from the pressures of their profession ...

Sebastian Coll of Casa Felipe and Hector of Felipe Gregorio	Casa Felipe cigars and autographed photos	Casa Felipe Miami Florida
Rene Castaneda, Managing Director of Miami Cigar & Company, Philip G. Wynne, CEO of Felipe Gregorio	Wine Room at Casa Felipe	Tasting Tables at Casa Felipe
	View of Casa Felipe

Philip: But that is where I would like to take Casa Felipe and I would like to take this concept, if it is successful, and open a few across the country. This way, I can produce for my own stores. I created a blend exclusively for Casa Felipe. It will only be here. I do not sell them to other retailers.

Gary: Yes, just as I walked in, I heard Chris telling a customer about the house cigar.

Philip: Right and we roll it here as well. The rollers are not here today, as I am still not entirely open yet. But by the middle of October, we will be rolling the cigars here and these are the cigars that I want to have them identify Casa Felipe with.

Gary: Is the house cigar a full body?

Philip: Yes, it is. It comes at two wrappers, a Connecticut and a natural grown Dominican wrapper. The Dominican one is a Criollo 98 and it is a bit more full body than the Connecticut and they have the same blends.

Gary: Binders and fillers?

Philip: Yes, binders and fillers. (Handing a cigar to Arzt) Try the Criollo, Gary.

Gary: So, that the flavor is there consistently, and the wrapper changes the cigar somewhat.

Philip, do you think a 'single brand' shop can succeed?

Philip: Yes, I do believe that an establishment that carries, exclusively, their own cigar can be a success. At first Davidoff did. Now they carry multiple brands. Gentlemen like Michael Herklots have introduced boutique cigar manufacturers at the Davidoff shops in NYC and he is a great ambassador for our industry. God bless him, in that fine shop to show other brands, but I do believe that you can succeed and the answer is the success over Ernie Carillo's (La Gloria Cubana and Pepin Garcia and others. I mean, they both have their shops here and they sell exclusively their own product.

People that want Felipe are going to come here, people that want something else are going to go to a full blown tobacconist – where, of course, they can find Felipe Gregorio as well. I am happy with that, but I know that if they want to have some of my taste, some of my imagery, they will come here.

Gary: So this Casa Felipe is both a place to relax, play dominos, play backgammon and chess, but it is also a showcase for your product.

Philip: Correct.

Gary: A full range of your product, plus this special cigar that is exclusively in the Casa Felipe.

Philip: That is how I see it, and how we are positioning ourselves.

Gary: You said that your real interest is in blending in manufacturing. And, I understand that you are making a significant change in your distribution. Can you say anything about that?

Philip: I have recently entered into Distribution Agreement with Miami Cigar & Company. From October first, they will distribute our cigars. I was actively looking for someone to distribute my cigars since the IPCPR formerly, the RTDA) in Las Vegas, this past July.

I prefer the production end of the business.

Gary: That you are not on a par marketing wise with your other abilities such as blending and production?

Philip: I am the world's worst salesman. I cannot sell my product, because in my opinion, the way I was raised, you do not praise and promote your own product. And so, it is ingrained in me and I cannot. I'd rather give that to someone who is more competent than I am, was more professional and who shares the same vision and enjoys my product that they can actually show it well.

Gary: Well, I was going to say that it is a one man's opinion but you seem to agree with me. I think you have wound up with the preeminent marketing man in the cigar industry.

Nestor Miranda is an old friend and I have an enormous respect for them, but he has led the way in so many areas, particularly packaging and of course, like many of them, he has built an in-house sales organization and I see their cigars, as well as La Aurora - which they distribute - all over the country.

Philip: And there is a good symbiosis because he is here in Miami, we both started our branch around the same time. I think he started a year.

Gary: He started in '89 -

Philip: In '89.

Gary: That is Marianna started it.

Philip: Yes, which is when I invested in the factory; I brought my cigar into being in 1990. So, it has gone through the same type of problems that I have. He had problems with his tobacco and then he had some problems production in the Dominican. So, he understands the production side and I believe there is no better partner for me than him. But, the reason – he does understand production - but the reason I sought to do this with him is that he has never had a factory because his real focus is merchandising and marketing.

Gary: Let me ask you, without asking you proprietary information. You are selling X-number of cigars presently. The distribution agreement will kick in as of October 1.

Philip: Correct.

Gary: What kind of expectations do you have? Is it strictly an expectation of growth in numbers or - I know you wanted the burden of marketing off your back. But, what else are your expectations in the relationship?

Philip: My primary expectation is that, he will provide the ability for more retailers, and then ultimately consumers, to be able to try my cigars. The more - since his distribution is up and running, he can get my product into the hands of more retailers than I ever could. Then, the cigar speaks for itself. If they enjoy it, they will buy it. I have no expectation in numbers. I just want the opportunity to be able for people to taste my cigar, to hear my story and to be able to get it to them.

Gary: And you feel that Miami cigar will do it more effectively than -

Philip: Than I would, yes.

Gary: Well, this agreement with Miami Cigar means in essence that Felipe Gregorio has one customer? And, you will ship and sell your cigars to them. They will market and distribute or were you still ship?

Philip: No. All the sales to the tobacconists will go through Miami Cigar. The private labels that I have been making in the past will continue. And the sales of Casa Felipe are separate, but the Casa Felipe's sales are a showcase. All the retailed tobacco in Casa Felipe will be serviced by Miami Cigar.

Philip: My factory is in Santiago. My office is here and -

Gary: Your home is on Key Biscayne, Casa Felipe is on Calle Ocho, and your office is in Miami and your factory in Santiago.

How do you manage your time or divide your time?

Philip: My home on Key Biscayne which is only 15 minutes -

Well, every morning, I go to my warehouse and I am there usually - the days, I take my son to school. I have been to school at 7:30 and I left and I am in my office until about one or two. And then in the afternoon, I attempt to come to Casa Felipe.

And then one a week a month, at least I am in Santiago.

Gary: And when Philip Wynne is not in his office in Miami, he is not in Santiago, or he is not at Casa Felipe, what do you do for fun?

Philip: My work is my fun. I enjoy it.

Gary: What are your interests - I am sure, you spend as much time as you can with your children and your family.

Philip: I enjoy traveling a lot, so if I have time, I will take my children and go and see some part of the world that we have not seen and that comes from the fact that I grew up as a gypsy.

Gary: That is the way you grew up?

Philip: Yes and I would like to give them that opportunity because I believe it broadens the mind.

This year for example, we went to Costa Rica we spent 14 days in Costa Rica just driving around the country.

I want to take them through Africa. I want to take them to Machu Picchu. I have so many places that I want them to see and that is really one of my great pleasures. The other one is also—I enjoy good food, good wine and I am an avid soccer player. But since a health problem early in the year, I have to slow down on that.

Gary: Oh, you play in pick-up games in Miami?

Philip: Every week I used to play soccer. We have regular teams, leagues.

Gary: I attended matches when I lived in Europe and Hong Kong, but, I became an avid fan with the 2006 World Cup. To me, watching football, the American football is like watching paint dry. Baseball, likewise, but soccer is -

Philip: Dynamic

Gary: It is constant - constant action.

Philip: So, I grew up in Italy.

Gary: Yes.

Philip: So, I am strongly involved with various teams there Rome is my team. Roma is the team that has my heart, but those are the passion – I wish I had more time.

I would like to learn how to pick up golf. One of the things—I recently saw a film called the Bucket List. Have you seen that?

Gary: Yes, with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.

Philip: And in my bucket list is that I would like to learn golf and I would love to learn how to sail.

Gary: You should play with Selim Hanono. He seems to be devoting himself to it.

Does your son play soccer?

Philip: My son plays a bit of soccer, but he has not really gotten into it yet. He does martial arts.

Gary: Does he have any interest in the cigar business?

Philip: Yes, all my children seems to enjoy, but my son, I think my son will have an interest in it, because I see him—he is very interested in everything that is filled in agricultural and things. So, I think that something might come out of that. I do not want to force him or put him in any direction. It is up for him to decide. But, I would love if he would. I really would and I am an only child. So it would help me enormously -

Gary J. Arzt: I suppose that Coleman's (General Cigar) are the first American dynasty in the cigar business. Another American dynasty in cigar business would be interesting.

I have enjoyed this Philip and I am sure the readers will. I appreciate your time and your courtesy and I look forward to writing it and we will see each other a lot at Casa.

Philip G. Wynne: I hope so.

Gary: I also look forward to writing about the "Sinatra" cigar and the "Iguana," as well as your relationship with Bob Franzblau of Thompson cigars. Those are important parts of your story.

But, they will have to keep for a second installment!

Philip, I enjoyed coming here. Thank you.

You're welcome.

See the Felipe Gregorio Website at: FelipeGregorio.com