100th Box Press episode! Cigar revolutionaries! Arturo Fuente CEO, Carlito Fuente Jr. & Boveda founders Sean Knutsen & Tim Swail talk premium cigar care and why humidity has everything to do with it.

OpusX creator, Carlito is one of the most respected figures in the industry. This third generation cigar maker was an early adopter of Boveda and its 2-way humidity control that protects premium cigars. His company supports the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which gives children in the Dominican Republic education, health care, and other necessities.

Boveda CEO, Sean Knutsen; SVP, Tim Swail; and Strategic Relations Manager, Drew Emmer interviewed Carlito at PCA 2023.

What is Boveda? Cigar makers like Carlito Fuente protect the flavor and character of their hand-rolled cigars with Boveda, that brown 2-way humidity pack that you find in a cigar box. At home, continue to use Boveda in your humidor to keep cigars well-humidified or they can be hard to light, burn to too fast or get moldy. With Boveda in your humidor, you'll enjoy full flavor from every cigar. Boveda has been keeping cigars tasting great for more than 25 years. Age and store premium cigars with Boveda in your humidor.

Learn more about the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation here: https://cf-cf.org/

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00:00 Cold open

00:42 Introducing Carlito Fuente Jr.

02:03 Humidity fluctuation has an enormous effect on the enjoyment of a cigar

03:06 Different cigars age differently

04:06 There was no uniform humidity control for cigars before Boveda

05:55 Fuente has been boxing cigars with Boveda since the early 2000s

06:28 Boveda is the greatest product to ever enter the world of cigars

07:32 Fuente revolutionizes cigar molds

11:15 If you do what you say you do, this is going to revolutionize the industry.

12:41 Properly age cigars with Boveda to preserve essential oils that give you aromas and flavors

13:25 Cigar Family Charitable Foundation betters D.R. cigar community

14:59 No running water, no electricity, no schools

(upbeat blues music)

(upbeat blues music fades)

(soft guitar music)

- There's a story inside every smoke shop

with every cigar and with every person.

Come be a part of the cigar lifestyle at Boveda.

This is Box Press.

- It's a real privilege to talk to you.

And my question to get the ball rolling

in this sort of a celebration of a friendship

that's lasted many years, my question is

what did you think of Sean and Tim when you met them?

- I thought they were good looking.

(gents laughing)

No, no.

Obviously, they're still very, very good looking

but, you know, they just come across very easy

to get to know and eventually get to love.

You know, it's something that grows, that, you know

getting to the first day came to me they had an idea

and I don't recall exactly where it was.

Could have been a Cigar Aficionado event.

I don't recall where, but come up with me

with this event, because I think they have heard that

or they had read somewhere, probably back then

was a tobacconist publication for the smoke shops.

Because back then, I don't even know

if there was Cigar Aficionado was even speaking

about humidity or things like that.

- Probably not.

- But they saw that I was working with it.

I had an interest in it, I believed in it.

And they brought this subject up

and we just got into a conversation of humidity.

Humidity in every step

from the planting of the seed,

and I'm not exaggerating, all the way

to when the cigar is removed from the box, fluctuation

of humidity has, it's incredible the effect it has

on the overall experience of enjoying a cigar.

And I recognized that.

I didn't know how to control it.

We were the very, very first in the entire cigar industry

to really create an aging room.

And we were the very first in the entire cigar industry

to humidify that aging room and keep it

at a constant temperature, you know

365 days a year, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

But it wasn't perfect.

And I knew, and I'm always looking for perfection.

I knew it wasn't perfect because first of all, I realized

that some cigars were aging differently than others

because we have different blends.

And I didn't really know the reason why.

But as the company grew

I started building different aging rooms

and with different temperatures and different humidities

because I compare cigar makings a lot

to a cooking or a chef, a great chef.

You know, you don't cook a four-inch bone-in ribeye

at the same temperature and the same length of time

that you do maybe a two-inch Chilean Sea Bass

or a one-inch Chilean Sea Bass.

You adjust it because you know

the results you want to achieve.

And they started speaking about, you know

they started speaking about humidity

and two-way humidity, which is very important.

Because normally what's done or was done

in the industry, things are dry.

You throw water everywhere

and hopefully something's absorbed.

Or you get burlap sacks or you put bags

I mean, buckets of water, and you put burlap sacks

or something for it to give off humidity.

But you have no control of uniformity of that humidity.

And I remember, if I remember correctly, I go,

"My god, does this work."

Obviously, even though after they proved to me

over years, years coming to visit me

back and forth, they proved that it worked.

I ate the solution.

And you know, I stepped on it and bounced on it

to see if it was gonna break.

Because from the moment I met Tim and Sean

to the moment that we actually sealed the negotiations

the deal to use the product, it might've been two years.

And during those two years, my father's phone did

not stop ringing by critics. Some of them, the most powerful

and most influential people in the cigar industry

that their son was crazy,

that their son is gonna destroy the brand

because this pack was obviously gonna break

and it's gonna ruin the cigars.

And we're gonna have lawsuits and everything against us.

My father said, "Son, are you sure

"you know what you're doing?"

I said, "Dad, I believe in this.

"This is a solution."

And I remember that I said,

"Dad, the cigar industry has a bunch of carts."

They build all these wagons and carts,

but nobody's ever decided or found

out you need a horse to pull it.

And my father always believed in me.

He always supported me.

Never, never, never discouraged me

for anything I believed in.

And today, many, many years, many years have gone.

Almost two decades?

- Yeah.

It's been 20 years.

- 20 years.

Amazing, huh?

20 years.

Basically in the beginning-

- 22 since you started putting it in the boxes.

- 22 years since we started putting it.

Basically, at the launch of Fuente OpusX

it was a time of my life

where so many exciting things happened.

Today,

a lot of people wish they could use it.

Because no one could deny it works.

And no one could deny or diminish the contribution

that Boveda has done for the world of cigars

and people who love cigars so much.

It's unquestionable, it's unchallenged.

It's definitely the greatest product ever developed.

It's the greatest product ever introduced,

the greatest product to ever enter the world of cigars.

- That's very nice.

Thank you, that's a compliment.

- You're welcome, you're welcome.

- Well, you were very instrumental in helping us establish

that leadership in the marketplace.

And, you know, Sean and I talk about all the time

just your vision and your leadership and your courage

to do things that are different and outside the box

to change it, to get things better.

Just even, you know, taking molds.

I mean, you could tell that story,

but how you said there's a better way

to do molds versus wooden.

- Yes, that's right.

But you said were, I still am.

- Yeah. - Yes.

- I still am.

I've never felt more optimistic, more energized.

My vision is just, you know, and I'm just ready to continue

to drop napalm continuously and create new things.

But yeah, the molds, the molds.

It was impossible to increase productions.

It was wooden modes.

But, you know, at one time they used to sail

across the ocean in wooden ships.

Today there're no longer those wooden ships put together

with the old boards and everything

even though they're beautiful and they're collectible

and I would like to own one.

I remember we couldn't make production

couldn't make shaped cigars

because no one was making shaped molds.

That was a thing of the past.

And it was something that I only saw

in old black and white photographs of my grandfather.

And studying the history of cigars

going back to the heyday, so to speak

which I think we're living in today.

But when you go back to the '40s and '50s

70% of cigars were Figurados.

But then for decades, it was just not even available.

No one made them.

No one was making molds.

We went to the mold maker, there was only one mold maker,

Fulgueira, out of Tampa.

He used to supply the industry.

First of all, you had to wait a year

a year and a half to get a mold.

It was difficult.

His equipment was so obsolete and old

that the bushings, he didn't have time to stop it,

you know, change the bushings and all the things.

So, you know, the ring gauges were, you know

they were off and there were variations.

And, you know, that has fins and they chip.

You have to be putting it together.

Plus wood, wood expands and contracts with moisture

and you need moisture in tobacco.

But something used to occur

in the cigar industry that is amazing.

When we talk about humidity, again,

everything's around humidity.

When you press the cigar, you press it

from the top to bottom.

Then you rotate a corner turn.

So you press it again, that other side,

so you try to get it round.

And you take any edge off because no matter what

the pressure's from the top to the bottom.

And no one realizes that wood absorbs.

And tobacco has natural essential oils.

Those oils get in the wood.

So the binder, before you apply the wrapper

when you go turn that cigar

you may have a little sticking and everything.

And when you turn it, you could get a micro fracture

or maybe a fracture in the binder.

So what happens is when you light your cigar

the heat from the tobacco burning expands.

But there's a micro fracture in your binder.

People, something that no one ever thought

about, with the wood, it would fracture.

So if you have a delicate wrapper, like a Sumatra

from Ecuador, or you know, some lower primings

that are the sweetest part of the plant, or African Cameroon

or something, there's a chance

with that expansion, that wrapper will crack.

We always used to blame the wrapper

and the tobacco growers and there's a reputation,

"Oh, the tobacco's very brittle, very brittle."

It's humidity, but it's also the binder expanding.

- It's expanding, yes.

- Since we went from wood to the polymer

the new type molds, never had that problem again.

- Amazing. - It's incredible.

And all you have to do is believe.

- Yeah. - Believe

- That's right. - Believe.

- And you pioneered that.

When we first started, we would talk

to anybody who would listen to us.

And so we met with and literally every major manufacturer

at that time, but nobody had any reaction

to it other than no thank you.

But here we met with the one manufacturer

that didn't need to do anything differently at the time.

And I remember when we first met, it was actually in Vegas

at the RTDA show at that time.

The first miracle that happened was the fact

that we were able to get you

away from the booth at that time.

To a couple of these young hunks.

- Same miracle today.

- In their 20s.

- Well, I haven't been to my booth, that's why.

And I intentionally did not go to my booth

because for the last four days you guys have been been.

Exactly. - Yeah, that's right.

That's what we had to do today, too.

It was a miracle that we got you away.

But there's one thing that you said

that was so impactful to both of us.

You said, "If what you do is just provide humidity,

"I want nothing to do with you."

- Yes.

- But if you do what you say you do

this is gonna revolutionize the industry.

- That's correct.

- And all the other people that we've met

with in the industry, they don't see that.

They don't look to benefit and really showcase the passion

that you and your family do so much

to say, we can get better.

And everything that you do in your pursuit is to say

how do we get even, you know, this much better, and so on.

That was a big risk for Fuente to step out.

- Yes, it was. - It was huge.

And it was like, we have so much gratitude

for you and your visionary aspect of that

to bring it on the forefront,

to really give us credibility at that time.

And it means the world to us.

And we were able to stick around

and be here 26 years later.

- You know what, I'm very proud.

I'm very honored of our friendship above everything.

And if you two wouldn't have been as impressive

and good looking, and I didn't mistake you

for a movie star, I would never have spoken

more than three words with you.

(gents laughing)

But no, it's grown beyond that.

It's a family relationship, it's a friendship.

And it's something that's been beneficial not only

for our mutual companies, but for the world.

And that's what we do.

I mean, that's what we want to do.

That's what we strive for, is share the love.

And how better way could you share that love

than protecting the products?

Just like you protect your children.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- And the cigars are like my children.

And to have the opportunity of something

that protects them and hands them, allows them

to properly age,

- Yes, that's right.

- Without losing the essential oils

that give you the aromas and flavors,

it is a win-win for everybody.

- Amen to that.

- Amen, amen, absolutely.

- Amen. - Well, in part,

you know, in the great part we talked

about the friendship, but over these past 22 years is

that you are just, you are a real person

that has a heart for other people, as well.

And you do that in so many other areas.

But we've recognized that just in our relationship to you.

- Well, I wanna also thank you for all the years

that not only physically, but you have

financially supported Cigar Family Charitable Foundation

of this, you know, as you know, a 501(c)(3) foundation

that 100% of the raised goes directly to help the children,

everything from health through education

through just life skills and so forth.

And you've been very much involved in supporting that.

I want to thank you and the entire Boveda team

and everybody you reach and everything

because without being able to achieve a great product

and reach the people, you're not able to give back.

But I believe in life that you, I've been blessed

with this opportunity, this privilege.

I have the obligation to share that

with the rest of the world and those in need especially.

So, you know, thank you for being a big part of it

both of you and, of course, your entire team and everything.

- Well, it's an honor to do, you know, what little part

that we do and can, compared to everything else,

but it's just an honor.

We remember the transition of the foundation

you know, when that whole thing started.

And the idea was already hatched,

but now everything was in motion.

And when you were buying land and negotiating all

of that, remembering back to that time

and seeing where it has today and the level of work

and effort that has been put in it is run so professionally.

It's just absolutely amazing.

- No question.

- And then to meet the little children there

when they're older, seeing them when they're younger

but then older and they've become doctors, dentists

and professionals, and they're so educated.

And if people had the opportunity that we had

to see what it was like in that region, in Bonao

before that development of that,

it is absolutely life-changing and so impactful.

And it's just so neat to see.

- There was no running water, no electricity, no schools.

It was the most violent community

in the entire Dominican Republic

where criminals used to hide

because there was no law enforcement.

We did not know it's surrounded by gold and nickel mines.

We just knew they were the richest

and most fertile soils in the Dominican Republic,

and, I believe, the Caribbean.

We went there, but once we were in

and committed, you know, we had a reputation.

And everybody said we're gonna fail.

It was impossible to achieve what we wanted

to grow a wrapper, not only establish one

of the most sought after trademarks in the world,

you know, definitely for premium cigars,

but we didn't know what we were walking

to this social conflict and just disaster.

And within the six months, you know, children were coming

up to us, barefoot in a hand-me-down clothes,

looking for work, six and seven years old.

And I said, "Why aren't you in school?"

They said, "There are no schools."

And their parents putting pressure on us and say,

"If my children don't,

"if you don't give them work, they don't eat."

They have to find something in chores to do

so they could eat that day.

And it was incredible.

We started with the idea of small little classroom.

It turned into a 26-acre project.

And as Sean was saying, and Tim

these children that were looking for chores or jobs

to be able to eat are now doctors, teachers, engineers

entrepreneurs, have their own companies.

But they don't go to New York

or Chicago or leaving to a major city

like a lot of people want to do to escape this misery,

they come back to their community

because one thing we teach them

the philosophy of giving back.

You've been given a gift by big hearted people.

You have a responsibility to give it back.

And it multiplies.

And that community was the most violent community.

Today you see people with gardens that didn't exist, lawns.

People are building. Students who are professional now

going back and building homes for their parents

with double-pane windows for hurricanes with electric gates.

You know, teachers.

The teachers and the some of the teachers

in school graduated from that school.

Some of the doc, the doctor that goes there,

he's a medical graduate.

It's incredible.

It's the greatest gift of life is to have the opportunity

and to be able to give and to see the results

that you could achieve.

It's a miracle, that's really what it's all about.

- That's right. - Yes.

Absolutely.

- For people that can't see it, it is truly, it's amazing.

- Well, I'm just gonna say one thing.

You know, you're speaking about this.

God speaks to us in many different ways.

Too many times I've been called by my cleaners

because they're very honorable people.

I just realized, I had just realized, and thank God

because today's the last day of the show

I would've gone home with a $20,000 check.

I just realized I haven't given it

to the CFO of Cigar Family yet,

a $20,000 check for Cigar Family Charitable Foundation.

Before you know it, who knows, man,

it might have been ruined.

I would've forgotten about it.

So thanks for reminding me.

(gents laughing)

Dallas!

Here, pass this to Dallas because I'll forget again.

- Make sure that gets there.

- Thank you.

- Oh my God, thank you all.

Listen, I could speak to you for hours and hours.

There's just so many stories we could all to share together.

Yeah, it's really, it's not about the cigars

it's about the people.

And I, again, I'm very privileged and honored

to have been blessed with this relationship,

which is really is something spectacular.

So I want to thank each and every one of you

and just everyone who supported Boveda

who believed in Boveda, and, you know.

- Thank you.

- Carlito, thank you so much.

- And, you know, keep doing what you're doing, man.

Just keep humidifying the world, man,

and keep us young and fresh.

(soft music)