PCA Magazine Winter 2020

26 PCA The Magazine | WINTER 2020 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG IS NAME IS Arturo Garcia Chevreuil, but the 39-year-old native Californian is known in the cigar and the music business as Art Garcia. As CEO of Antigua Estelí Tobacco Co., Garcia has got a lot going on. But even while producing records and making a place for himself in the cigar world—not to mention taking on life as newlywed to a beautiful bride—he still found time to bring into creation a newNicaraguan cigar that is gaining favorable notice: the Segovias. Named in homage to the fertile tobacco-growing lands of Nicaragua called Las Segovias, in fact the cigar draws on leaf harvested from all four principle Nicaraguan growing regions. Made in Estelí, the Segovias will find a receptive fan base among devotees with a taste for Nicaraguan leaf. “We keep the blend a pretty tight secret,” Garcia says, “but all of the leaf inside the cigar comes from the four Nicaraguan regions, and it is all aged three to four years. We are now offering two blends, one featuring an Ecuadorean Habano wrapper and the other wrapped in Maduro San Andres.” Garcia formed his company four years ago with a vision of capturing the essence of Nicaraguan cigar flavors and traditions, and things appear to be moving in a positive direction for the company. He debuted the Segovias at the 2019 PCA trade show, and his display won Best In Show for a Small Exhibitor. Just this past August Garcia announced on Instagram the delivery, from the Diamond Cigars factory (now known as Barreda Cigars) in Estelí, of 5,000 boxes of Segovias; and in 2020 three additional lines are being planned. Now he is preparing to bolster his supply line in partnership with Don Oscar Barreda at a new Barreda factory. Garcia says the Segovias is today on the shelves of “30 to 40” retail shops stateside, and in shops in Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Congo and Japan. He is clearly encouraged. “Sales are growing rapidly, and we are getting lots of repeats in the U.S. and Germany,” he says. Everything in Garcia’s life and business dealings BY WI LL I AM C . NELSON The Antigua Estelí Segovias The Blend H —Nicaragua, distilled to an essence