Drew Estate Cigars
Drew Estate introduced the tagline, “The Rebirth of Cigars,” to characterize its philosophy and the unconventional cigars the company has developed over the past thirty years. Drew Estate’s extensive portfolio includes several popular infused cigars from the Acid and Deadwood brands, as well as traditional premium blends in its Liga Privada and Undercrown lines—just to name a few. Brand founder Jonathan Drew introduced Acid cigars in 1999 and quickly developed a following for their exotic taste and aroma. Building on the brand’s initial reception, he expanded Drew Estate into a sizable manufacturer of top-selling national releases, such as Acid Kuba Kuba, alongside the sought-after Liga Privada No. 9 and T52 blends. Explore a diverse collection of popular Nicaraguan cigars from Drew Estate today.
CIGARS
Acid 20 by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$9.47 - $11.754 options availableStrength: VariesCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: San Andres5 Reviewsread more
Acid Cigars
Price Per Cigar:$1.74 - $14.7026 options availableStrength: FlavoredCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Varies35 Reviewsread more
Deadwood by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$6.40 - $12.7514 options availableStrength: FlavoredCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf26 Reviewsread more
Deadwood Dominicana by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$9.63 - $13.506 options availableStrength: MediumCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Ecuador Connecticut5 Reviewsread more
Deadwood Girl With No Name by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$9.26 - $11.252 options availableStrength: Mild-MediumCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: San Andres1 Reviewread more
Herrera Esteli Habano by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$8.82 - $11.704 options availableStrength: Medium-FullCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Ecuador Habano12 Reviewsread more
Herrera Esteli Maduro by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$8.82 - $11.704 options availableStrength: Medium-FullCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Brazilian4 Reviewsread more
Isla del Sol by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$4.55 - $6.758 options availableStrength: FlavoredCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Sumatra22 Reviewsread more
Java by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$9.58 - $13.308 options availableStrength: FlavoredCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Brazilian11 Reviewsread more
Java Latte by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$9.58 - $13.308 options availableStrength: FlavoredCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Ecuador Connecticut9 Reviewsread more
Java Mint by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$9.58 - $12.406 options availableStrength: FlavoredCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Brazilian8 Reviewsread more
Java Red by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$10.49 - $13.306 options availableStrength: FlavoredCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf11 Reviewsread more
Liga Privada #9 by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$2.09 - $20.2521 options availableStrength: FullCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf15 Reviewsread more
Liga Privada Aniversario by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$19.75 - $20.754 options availableStrength: FullCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Criolloread more
Liga Privada H99 by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$7.13 - $22.2512 options availableStrength: Medium-FullCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Corojoread more
Liga Privada T52 by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$2.09 - $20.2519 options availableStrength: FullCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Sun Grown11 Reviewsread more
Liga Privada Unico by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$6.90 - $22.7520 options availableStrength: FullCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Varies5 Reviewsread more
Liga Undercrown 10 by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$10.91 - $15.006 options availableStrength: Medium-FullCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: San Andres8 Reviewsread more
Liga Undercrown by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$7.99 - $15.9511 options availableStrength: Medium-FullCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: San Andres28 Reviewsread more
Liga Undercrown Shade by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$7.99 - $15.9511 options availableStrength: MediumCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Ecuador Connecticut8 Reviewsread more
Tabak Especial by Drew Estate
Price Per Cigar:$1.74 - $12.2018 options availableStrength: FlavoredCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Ecuador Connecticut, Connecticut Broadleaf31 Reviewsread more
SAMPLERS
ACCESSORIES
DREW ESTATE BRAND HISTORY
Fellow New Yorkers and fraternity brothers Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel founded Drew Estate in the mid-1990s. The pair originally sold cigars out of a tiny kiosk in the Twin Towers in Manhattan. Drew initially pursued the cigar business to finance his law degree, but political science soon took a backseat to his obsession with cigars. The first brand Drew and Samel created, La Vieja Habana, was rolled in a small local factory in Manhattan. The two found inspiration from a rapid surge in demand for their product, although they were unable to sustain their initial success. The experience prompted Drew to relocate to Nicaragua in late 1998 to pursue his passion for cigar-making on a grander scale.
Early on, Jonathan Drew worked out of Nick Perdomo’s factory in Nicaragua before taking out loans to start his own brand. The first Drew Estate cigars to gain a cult following were unconventional. Drew created the Acid brand by infusing the tobaccos with a proprietary blend of oils, herbs, and botanicals in special “aroma rooms” at the factory. Unlike most cigars with sweet flavor profiles, which are often either made from short-filler tobaccos or made by machine, Acid cigars are made entirely by hand from premium long-filler tobaccos that go through the company’s unorthodox infusion process. In a 2010 interview with Cigar Aficionado, Marvin Samel claimed only four people in the world know the exact formula for Drew Estate’s infusion method. The company has long sought to distinguish its Acid brand from conventionally flavored cigars, insisting the Acid line is made differently.
Acid cigars proved to be ideal for beginners who are timid about smoking a traditional premium blend. The infusion process masks the natural taste and aroma of the tobacco, making it more palatable for novices. Drew and Samel enlisted their buddy, New York-based artist Scott “Acid” Chester, to create the designs for the boxes and bands on Acid cigars, drawing heavily on urban street culture. Acid Kuba Kuba, a chunky 5-by-54 Robusto, and Acid Blondie, a 4-by-38 Petit Corona, became massively popular sizes.
The company launched a coffee-flavored brand, Java, for Rocky Patel in 2004. Patel and Drew achieved a large audience for the sweet, coffee-infused blend. They created multiple editions, with Java Latte, Java Mint, and Java Red. Java cigars are handcrafted in a series of sharply box-pressed sizes. Since 2002, Drew Estate had also been making its own coffee-infused cigars, Tabak Especial, which are handmade in three round formats.
As demand for Acid cigars increased, Drew had spread his production among nine different facilities in Estelí, Nicaragua, throughout the early 2000s. The company consolidated its manufacturing into a sprawling new factory, dubbed La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, in 2007. The 100,000-square-foot facility features Spanish and Grenadian architecture, as well as large, colorful graffiti murals designed by the company’s team of in-house artists.
With significantly more production capacity available in the new factory, Drew indulged his creative ambitions, branching out into traditional non-infused cigars. The company had released a mild brand, Chateau Real, in 2006, which didn’t gain the traction necessary for long-term sustainability. However, Liga Privada No. 9 debuted in 2008 and became a hit with consumers. The strong cigars were available in small batches. Exclusive sizes, such as the Dirty Rat and Flying Pig, sold out quickly. Drew and his team capitalized on the demand for Liga Privada cigars, expanding the line with the T52 and Undercrown blends.
Despite the company’s rapid growth, Drew Estate was financially overleveraged. Creditors sought to reclaim their investment, forcing the company to lay off over 100 workers in 2008. Drew Estate’s executive team included company President Steve Saka, Vice President of Sales Michael Cellucci, and Director of Production Nicholas Melillo, each of whom owned a portion of the company. Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel remained the chief partners as the group sought to sustain the operation. They may have taken on too many projects at once, producing over 40 unique blends and making roughly 25 million handmade cigars annually at the time. Speculation of a sale or acquisition began to emerge in the industry.
In 2011, the company launched My Uzi Weighs a Ton (MUWAT), adding the Kentucky Fire Cured blend in 2013. Kentucky Fire Cured cigars are blended from fire-cured tobacco as opposed to air-cured tobacco. Also in 2011, the company brought in Willy Herrera, a master cigarmaker whose family owned El Titan de Bronze, a factory located in Miami’s famous Little Havana district. Herrera created the Herrera Estelí brand for Drew Estate and lent his blending acumen to the MUWAT, Liga Privada, and Undercrown lines. Willy Herrera has been a pivotal contributor and personality alongside Jonathan Drew for over a decade.
In 2014, Swisher International, the world’s largest producer of machine-made cigars, acquired Drew Estate. Best known for its Swisher Sweets brand of mass-market cigars, Swisher International acquired Drew Estate’s entire portfolio of brands, the Gran Fabrica factory, and a tobacco inventory worth $20 million. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Owned by the Ziegler family, Swisher International is a privately held company based in Jacksonville, Florida.
Swisher retained Jonathan Drew and several company executives during the initial acquisition. Drew transitioned into a brand ambassador role while he focused on launching a line of spirits. In July of 2016, Glenn Wolfson was hired as CEO of Drew Estate, replacing Michael Cellucci. In January of 2017, Jonathan Drew was promoted to company president in a multiyear deal to revive the brand’s creative ethos and its connection to consumers. Drew remains the face of the brand, hosting Drew Estate’s Barn Smoker and Freestyle Live events around the country.
In 2016, Drew Estate introduced the infused Deadwood brand nationally, which had previously been an exclusive line for the Deadwood Tobacco Company in South Dakota. This popular collection includes several succulent smokes with lively names, like Sweet Jane, Fat Bottom Betty, Crazy Alice, and The Girl With No Name. The Deadwood brand celebrates the historic mining culture of the Wild West in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where the world-famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally takes place today.
In 2022, Drew Estate released Blackened Cigars, a brand developed in collaboration with Metallica’s James Hetfield and Rob Dietrich, the master distiller behind the band’s Blackened Whiskey brand. Jonathan Drew continues to set the pace for the company and explore innovative new projects with greater liberty thanks to the resources of Swisher International.
DREW ESTATE BRAND OVERVIEW
Drew Estate built its reputation on Acid cigars, which debuted in 1999. Brand founders Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel developed a proprietary process to infuse tobacco with exotic recipes of oils, herbs, spices, and botanicals in special “aroma rooms” at the factory. The Acid brand is handcrafted from 100% long-filler tobaccos in Estelí, Nicaragua. Distinct flavors of clove, cocoa, lilac, and spices characterize this extensive collection of aromatic cigars.
Due to the popularity of Acid, Drew and Samel introduced Isla del Sol as an affordable alternative for retailers to carry. Isla del Sol cigars feature an oily, brown Sumatra wrapper leaf with a sweet coating and Cuban-sandwich tobaccos grown in Nicaragua. The tobaccos are infused with Sumatran Mandheling coffee beans.
Drew Estate also produces the coffee-infused Tabak Especial brand, which debuted in 2002. Tabak Especial cigars combine the complex and savory notes of coffee with sweet, aromatic flavors. Tabak Especial Dulce is mild and creamy, offering flavors of caramel, cocoa, and vanilla. The Negra blend reveals deeper notes of dark chocolate and espresso.
In 2004, Drew Estate began making the coffee-flavored Java brand for Rocky Patel. This popular box-pressed series includes the original Java, finished in a Brazilian Maduro wrapper, as well as the sweet and creamy Java Latte. The Java Mint resonates with flavors of mint chocolate and coffee, while Java Red features hints of cherry, coffee, and cocoa. Java cigars have been a top seller in Rocky’s portfolio and a significant component of Drew Estate’s production since their premiere.
The most significant turning point for Drew Estate was the introduction of Liga Privada. This traditional, non-flavored, non-infused premium cigar proved the company could produce a powerful and complex Nicaraguan smoke that consumers would love. Liga Privada No. 9 originally boasted tobaccos from nine different regions, including a dark and toothy Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Due to the intricate recipe, the factory produced only small quantities of Liga Privada No. 9 cigars, and retailers sold out as soon as inventory arrived. In 2015, the critics at Cigar Aficionado ranked Liga Privada No. 9 in their ‘Top 10 Cigars of the Year’ with a 94-point rating.
Realizing they had a hit on their hands, Drew and his team began blending multiple Liga Privada line extensions that they could consistently produce in larger quantities. Liga Privada T52 followed, with strong notes of cedar, oak, and coffee bean, complemented by a robust undercurrent of spices.
Liga Undercrown was blended from lower primings of Nicaraguan and Brazilian long-filler tobaccos finished in an oily San Andrés wrapper. The 91-rated Undercrown line was better equipped to meet demand because the factory could make more Undercrown cigars than the Liga Privada No. 9 and T52 blends. Today, the series includes the milder Liga Undercrown Shade, with a blond Ecuador Connecticut wrapper. Liga Privada H99 boasts a Corojo wrapper cultivated in the Connecticut River Valley, a San Andrés binder, and long-fillers from Nicaragua, Pennsylvania, and Honduras.
The Liga Privada brand also features multiple anniversary editions, including Liga Privada Aniversario and Liga Undercrown 10. The top rollers at the Gran Fabrica factory craft the most sought-after sizes throughout the Liga portfolio, such as the Flying Pig, Dirty Rat, L40, and UF-13 formats. Consumers hoard boxes of Flying Pigs as soon as they become available.
In 2008, the team at Drew Estate collaborated with Vaughn Boyd, the original proprietor of the Deadwood Tobacco Company in Deadwood, South Dakota, to create an exclusive infused blend for the store. They introduced Deadwood Sweet Jane, followed by Crazy Alice and Fat Bottom Betty. Boyd and Drew Estate licensed the cigars for national distribution in 2016. The Deadwood brand has grown into a popular new line of infused blends, including the recent Deadwood Dominicana and Girl With No Name editions. Fans of Acid cigars have gravitated seamlessly to the Deadwood portfolio.
In 2019, the company debuted Acid 20 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Acid cigars. The dark and sweet smoke consists of an oily San Andrés wrapper leaf and Nicaraguan long-fillers tucked in an Indonesian binder. The cigars come in flashy silver boxes and bands.
The Drew Estate portfolio is loaded with dozens of infused cigars that appeal to novices, as well as more full-bodied blends for traditional purists. The company also produces a collection of cigar accessories that reflect the distinctive identity of each brand that the company makes, inspiring loyalty among its fans. Explore Drew Estate for a broad mix of creative and unconventional cigars.
Related Articles
Jump To:
