Flor de Gonzalez Cigars was established in 1993. The founder, Arnaldo Gonzalez, grew up in the tobacco fields of Las Villas in Santa Clara, Cuba where his father and grandfather were both tobacco growers. Arnaldo’s father passed away when he was a young boy, but his grandfather taught him everything he knew and before he passed away Arnaldo had already developed a passion for tobacco and everything that evolved around that business.
In 1980 he had to leave his native land through a third country to escape from the unmanageable communist regime, but his passion, knowledge and background for tobacco left with him and after a few years of hard work the dream of owning his own cigar factory came true.
They started manufacturing a couple of hundred cigars per week in Hialeah, Florida, which were sold at the storefront of the factory. Pretty soon they were manufacturing thousands among thousands of cigars and selling to distributors and retailers all over the United States.
The brand has been consistently rated by Cigar Aficionado amongs some of the best cigars in the world.
In 1997 when the industry boom came to a halt the factory in Hialeah was “Up in Smoke” (figuratively speaking). Struggling to survive, while many factories closed their doors, they decided to move 95% of the manufacturing to Nicaragua and there they started making a quality cigar that is affordable to the everyday smoker. Thus making a small margin, the objective was to maintain a quality cigar in a post industry boom market. The theory worked out because here they are today, still serving their clients.
Arnaldo really went back to his roots when five years ago he started growing tobacco in Ecuador. The family grows exceptional quality Connecticut, Habano and Sumatra wrappers. The debut of their first crop went on their own line of cigars for their 15th year Anniversary. A limited edition line called “15 Aniversario” was beautifully wrapped with an elegant Connecticut Desflorado wrapper.
During the past seven years Arnaldo has been teaching his youngest daughter, Yadi Gonzalez-Vargas the ins and outs of the industry. She is in charge of their factory in Miami which specializes in boutique lines such as their original blend the Gold Series, the Reserva Selecta and their newest edition the 15 Aniversario. Yadi also oversees their manufacturing in Nicaragua, distribution of the cigars and handles the private label clients. She is literally hands on with the blending and full operation of the business.
“My personal guarantee stands behind every cigar we manufacture. I am our most demanding client. I smoke my brand, and those we manufacture and will not settle for anything but the best.”
Arnaldo Gonzalez
Founder of Flor de Gonzalez Cigars
