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Written by Kevin Godbee |
| Wednesday,
01 February 2006 |
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Meet John Vogel, the Cigar Industry’s Best Kept Secret…Until Now
February 2006 |
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For 40 years, John Vogel
has been instrumental in bringing some of the best cigars to
market, but like “The Wizard of Oz,” he has been the “man behind
the curtain.” It’s time for cigar buffs to get to know one of
the most instrumental men in the business, and to learn about
his "100% genetically pure Tobacco" that is legal in
the USA. |
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| Although he has 40
years in genetic research, Vogel is unknown in the
marketplace, and deserves to be known. He's articulate and
provides insights into tobacco you won't hear from other
industry leaders. Vogel’s
credentials include being an R & D project leader for 20
years with the world's largest cigar
manufacturer. Management-level assignments took him into
virtually every company activity, reporting to a company
director. He followed that with 20 years of genetic and
agricultural consulting to the tobacco industry. His
accomplishments garnered him recognition by
the US Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, and the
Windsor County Agricultural Station (in Connecticut’s
tobacco-farming capital). |
John with an experimental leaf |
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Since 2002, Vogel has been
director of all operations at the farm and factory of Tabacos de
la Cordillera™ (Highland Cigars). Vogel's German and Spanish
parents raised him in Nicaragua, where he graduated with a
university degree in agronomical engineering. His most relevant
work focused on all aspects of agricultural research in cigar
tobacco. He gained expertise in plant breeding, soils testing,
fertilizer selection, curing and fermenting studies, plant
disease and insect identification and control. |
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In his time at
Tabacos de la Cordillera, he has been growing “100% genetically
pure tobacco naturally”, from his proprietary bank of 47
rare, pre-Cuban Embargo “Ancestral” Cuban seeds. |
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Cigar
Review: Your credentials are certainly impressive. How
did you get started in the cigar industry? |
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Vogel:
Upon receiving my degree in Agriculture, I began work in
Nicaragua and Honduras with another agronomical engineer Jacinto
Argudin. He was a leading researcher for Cuban Land, a leading
tobacco research institute in pre-Castro Cuba. I also affiliated
with Elio Junco, a Cuban raw material (tobacco) supplier, who
introduced me to a senior vice president at
my former employer. This gentleman, to whom I had the privilege of
reporting directly, had great insight into tobacco and cigars
... he knew them from seed to ash. I knew I had found my life’s
calling in tobacco. |
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CR:
During your 20 years of experience as an R & D project leader
there, what did you leave there with as far as
knowledge or contacts that you didn’t have in the beginning of
your career? What are the significant highlights of those 20
years? |
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Vogel:
I was fortunate enough to associate with industry-respected
researchers and tobacco producers, who became the foundation of
the company of those days. Those valuable colleagues
formed a cadre of my peers in the study of genetic research and
agricultural improvement. |
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CR:
After leaving your employer, you spent the next 20 years
providing genetic and agricultural consulting to the tobacco
industry. What were the significant highlights of those 20
years? |
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Vogel:
The development of many diverse varieties of tobacco for
wrapper, binder and filler that were highly prized at that time.
The R & D on these strains contributed to the creation of
exciting and sought-after new cigars. I led tobacco research
projects in Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Nicaragua,
Honduras, and Puerto Rico. I also managed a special project to
develop a commercially viable shade tobacco in the Philippines,
while I worked as a consultant there for Compañia General de
Tobacos de Filipinas. Several of these assignments were
sufficiently long-term that my wife and I lived in these foreign
countries, an enriching and broadening experience. |
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CR: How
did Tabacos de la Cordillera get started? What was the
impetus for starting the company?
Vogel: I was
commissioned as a consultant to evaluate some tobacco in
Puriscal, Costa Rica, and in so doing, found an ideal soil
and microclimate there. My initial impression of the
appearance of the soil was that it had the same iron-rich
red color as that in Cuba’s legendary Vuelta Abajo. Further
laboratory testing confirmed it was an ideal environment for
the cultivation of top-quality tobacco. I used this soil to
test and adapt some of the most important pre-Castro seed
from my proprietary bank of decades-old seed, from Cuba’s
Golden Age of tobacco and cigars. |
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The test
produced tobacco I have never seen, unmatched anywhere, then and
today. I watched it grow into hardy, mold- and disease-resistant
plants ... the leaves were a strikingly deep emerald-color, with
a sticky resin, large enough for wrappers for double corona
cigars. This serene and spectacular volcanic valley, now the
home of our 65-acre farm and factory, has become my Shangri-la. |
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CR:
Some manufacturers promote cigars claiming to have a certain
amount of pre-embargo Cuban tobacco. Many leading experts out
there claim there is no such thing as pre-embargo Cuban tobacco
at this point. Given the number of years since the start of the
embargo, it is highly unlikely any of the tobacco was able to
survive without having been rolled into cigars. |
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In contrast,
but still similar, Tabacos de la Cordillera promotes “Cigars
with tobacco from pre-Embargo Cuban seeds” and equates your
cigars with Cubans from the 1950’s. As you can imagine, when I
brought this up to my cigar smoking compadres, the idea was met
with some skepticism. What do you say to the skeptics? |
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Vogel:
I do not claim to have pre Castro tobacco. I have the
reproduction units ... seeds ... of several dozen pre-Castro
varieties I acquired over the years, through my associations
with other genetic researchers and tobacco producers. These
seeds, which I have maintained and improved with the proper
plant selection, genetic breeding, plant pathology and agronomy
practices, demonstrate the success of our production theory.
Each one of our ancestral Cuban seed strains is genetically
mapped for its properties and characteristics, and we have the
genetical finger print of it. |
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About 12,000 precious ancestral
seeds...the foundation for all current crops |
Leaves are genetically tailored for
size and rectangular shape, to yield rare usable wrapper |
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CR:
Aside from Cuba, the countries most associated with cigar
production are the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras.
How did Tabacos de la Cordillera come to be located in Costa
Rica? Is all the tobacco grown there? |
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Vogel:
I have conducted research in all of them and many others, and
have chosen the Puriscal area in Costa Rica to reproduce our
seed. I believe Costa Rica is emerging as a major source of
quality tobacco, and am proud to say our tobacco and cigars are
Costa Rican. |
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CR:
What are your three favorite Tabacos de la Cordillera smokes? |
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Vogel:
Though I like all of our cigar lines for their unique flavor and
aroma profiles, I must say the Cumbres de Puriscal Gold, Silver
and Emerald are my personal favorites. Likewise, each shape yields
a unique smoking experience, but I personally favor our coronas. |
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CR:
What is your perspective on the current status of the cigar
industry? |
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Vogel:
I believe we are on the verge of making a major change in the
status quo. With the unique product obtained from genetically
maped pure pre- Castro seed, we produce a cigar second to none,
at any price. More importantly, our command of the genetic and
agricultural aspects enables us to repeat it consistently. |
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CR:
What can we look forward to in the future from Tabacos de la
Cordillera? Can you tell us of any new cigars coming out in the
next few months or year? |
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Vogel:
Our extensive collection of proprietary seeds means cigar
smokers will have many diverse cigars to choose from in the near
and distant future. We will soon be offering several new cigar
blends and wrappers ... your readers and others will have the
opportunity to participate in a pre-release sampling and
selection program, to help us determine which new products to
offer to the general smoking public. Presently, we are a small
company, in no hurry to grow. Like the essence of perfumes, our
goal is to offer unique flavor and aroma profiles to
knowledgeable smokers who truly appreciate the finest. We offer
an invitation to you and your readers come visit us in our
Shangri-la, so you will be aware and appreciative of Tabacos de
la Cordillera. We know there is much skepticism about our claims
by those who have not experienced our cigars, and I thank you
for this opportunity to tell what is unique about us, as well as
reviewing the cigars for your readers. |
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John Vogel of Tabacos de la
Cordillera |
Transplanted seedlings take hold in
fertile, red soil |
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You can
learn more about Tabacos de la Cordillera and purchase their
cigars on their web site:
Tabacordillera.com |
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The Cigar
Review staff will be reviewing several of these cigars in the
near future. This article will be updated with links to the
reviews. We eagerly await receipt of our samples. |
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Kevin
Godbee
Editor & Publisher
Cigar-Review.com |
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News
releases for
Tabacos de la
Cordillera:
Cigars With Tobacco from Pre-Embargo Cuban Seeds
Tabacos de
la Cordillera Offers New 5-Pack Samplers for Popular Toro Shape |
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"Ancestral
Cuban seeds grow the world's finest cigars™" |
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