Speaker: 00:00:01

(upbeat music)

00:00:10,380 --> 00:00:13,797

(upbeat music continues)

00:00:21,328 --> 00:00:24,745

(upbeat music continues)

00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:33,660

- There's a story inside every smoke shop

00:00:33,660 --> 00:00:36,213

with every cigar and with every person.

00:00:37,380 --> 00:00:40,770

Come be a part of the

cigar lifestyle at Boveda.

00:00:40,770 --> 00:00:43,017

This is "Box Press."

00:00:45,102 --> 00:00:47,340

- We're at Martinez Cigar

Factory in Manhattan, New York,

00:00:47,340 --> 00:00:49,740

and I am with Jesus, the owner,

00:00:49,740 --> 00:00:52,050

and your father was the original person

00:00:52,050 --> 00:00:52,980

that opened this up, correct?

00:00:52,980 --> 00:00:55,770

- Yes, he opened it up in 1974.

00:00:55,770 --> 00:00:59,220

He was a roller in Tamboril,

Dominican Republic,

00:00:59,220 --> 00:01:00,930

when he came to the States,

00:01:00,930 --> 00:01:04,560

and he was working in another cigar shop

00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:06,000

for a couple of years,

00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,580

then he just decided to open up his own.

00:01:08,580 --> 00:01:09,600

Right after high school,

00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:11,640

I'd come in, help him out with packaging

00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,010

and so, you know, I stayed here.

00:01:14,010 --> 00:01:16,173

We roll all our cigars here.

00:01:17,375 --> 00:01:19,350

Of our own, we have five different lines

00:01:19,350 --> 00:01:21,300

and then we make other brands.

00:01:21,300 --> 00:01:23,490

- I've had like the, the

Hangry from Luxury Cigar

00:01:23,490 --> 00:01:24,927

- Oh yeah, that's right we did-

00:01:24,927 --> 00:01:25,975

- That as a great cigar.

00:01:25,975 --> 00:01:27,715

- That was, yeah, we did

really well with that one.

00:01:27,715 --> 00:01:29,430

- Yeah

- Yeah, with the Hangry

00:01:29,430 --> 00:01:31,320

- And now we're here

with Jeff from Amendola.

00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:33,600

- With Jeff, yeah, Jeff and I-

- West Side Story.

00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:35,843

- Yeah, Jeff and I, we've been friends,

00:01:35,843 --> 00:01:37,703

for I don't even remember how long.

00:01:37,703 --> 00:01:39,870

Every time he was in New

York, he would pop in

00:01:39,870 --> 00:01:41,190

and we would just smoke cigars.

00:01:41,190 --> 00:01:45,051

He told me rolling his own brand

00:01:45,051 --> 00:01:48,630

and you know, we used to exchange cigars-

00:01:48,630 --> 00:01:49,463

- Yeah

00:01:49,463 --> 00:01:51,480

- Straight up and we became friends

00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:53,643

and then one day he's like,

00:01:54,941 --> 00:01:57,300

why don't we do a cigar together?

00:01:57,300 --> 00:01:59,580

- My first love or passion for cigars

00:01:59,580 --> 00:02:01,860

started here in New York,

00:02:01,860 --> 00:02:03,660

in the Bronx first on Arthur Avenue,

00:02:03,660 --> 00:02:04,890

there's a little factory there.

00:02:04,890 --> 00:02:06,720

I started hearing about

Martinez in Manhattan.

00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:08,970

So I was just, I was

younger, I was 18, 19,

00:02:08,970 --> 00:02:10,890

but when I came down to visit,

00:02:10,890 --> 00:02:11,723

see family and stuff,

00:02:11,723 --> 00:02:12,840

I would try to pop in.

00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,150

I learned how to roll cigars in 2012.

00:02:15,150 --> 00:02:16,500

Self-taught, I was watching,

00:02:16,500 --> 00:02:18,060

I would hang out here a little bit,

00:02:18,060 --> 00:02:19,200

hang out in the Bronx.

00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:21,780

I learned how to roll cigars in Ybor City.

00:02:21,780 --> 00:02:23,400

But when I learned the craft,

00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,100

I needed tools like the molds.

- Sure.

00:02:26,100 --> 00:02:30,420

- These guys wanted me to

buy 50 at a time or pallets

00:02:30,420 --> 00:02:31,680

and I'm like, look bro, I need five.

00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:32,640

There's nowhere to get them.

00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:33,750

I was trying to find, you know,

00:02:33,750 --> 00:02:36,660

like a couple Robusto

sizes, couple Coronas,

00:02:36,660 --> 00:02:39,600

couple Laguito, just so I

could start making them,

00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:41,010

start selling them,

whatever I was gonna do.

00:02:41,010 --> 00:02:43,140

- Where were you getting your tobacco?

00:02:43,140 --> 00:02:44,277

- Nicaragua.

00:02:44,277 --> 00:02:46,063

(indistinct)

00:02:46,063 --> 00:02:46,980

- Yeah, I had to import her.

00:02:46,980 --> 00:02:48,120

- You're spoiling the interview.

00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,790

- But yeah, we'll do it

without the camera (laughs).

00:02:50,790 --> 00:02:53,250

I think I called Jesus out of the blue.

00:02:53,250 --> 00:02:55,830

I was trying to buy some

of his hand-me-downs.

00:02:55,830 --> 00:02:59,370

Jesus started giving me

his old hand-me-down stuff.

00:02:59,370 --> 00:03:01,350

Molds, Chavetas,

00:03:01,350 --> 00:03:05,100

He really was influential in

helping me start my own factory

00:03:05,100 --> 00:03:08,130

and becoming a cigar roller

where I was living at the time.

00:03:08,130 --> 00:03:09,450

That's where our relationship started,

00:03:09,450 --> 00:03:12,510

and then since then we were

just became really good friends.

00:03:12,510 --> 00:03:14,370

Every time I was up in the area,

00:03:14,370 --> 00:03:17,730

come by, we hang out, we

talk business, talk family,

00:03:17,730 --> 00:03:18,627

smoke good cigars.

00:03:18,627 --> 00:03:19,650

And here we are today,

00:03:19,650 --> 00:03:21,600

now we're actually making a cigar

00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,390

for Amendola Family

Cigars in this factory,

00:03:24,390 --> 00:03:25,860

called the West Side Story.

00:03:25,860 --> 00:03:27,300

There's a lot of challenges

00:03:27,300 --> 00:03:28,950

when you're creating a new cigar.

00:03:29,850 --> 00:03:31,440

I think a lot of people don't realize

00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:33,870

what really goes into

the behind the scenes.

00:03:33,870 --> 00:03:36,240

Behind the scenes is

acquiring the tobacco.

00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:37,620

We're a smaller brand,

00:03:37,620 --> 00:03:40,530

some farmers, dealers,

maybe don't feel like

00:03:40,530 --> 00:03:43,050

we're good enough

business for them, right?

00:03:43,050 --> 00:03:45,180

So we have to go find it first.

00:03:45,180 --> 00:03:46,590

Then we know what we have to work with.

00:03:46,590 --> 00:03:48,949

When I first wanted to

get into this business,

00:03:48,949 --> 00:03:52,740

I really wanted to focus on

00:03:52,740 --> 00:03:54,450

learning how to put tobacco together

00:03:54,450 --> 00:03:56,370

and be a blender and a roller.

00:03:56,370 --> 00:03:58,260

Because I don't care

if I do anything else.

100

00:03:58,260 --> 00:03:59,400

I want to know how to do this.

101

00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,980

I wanna do it as well as I can,

102

00:04:01,980 --> 00:04:03,240

however long it takes.

103

00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:04,860

That's the fun part, create.

104

00:04:04,860 --> 00:04:05,970

Chris was the same way.

105

00:04:05,970 --> 00:04:10,061

He spent hours on the

designs and the marketing.

106

00:04:10,061 --> 00:04:14,460

His forte is fine tuning

all the little details,

107

00:04:14,460 --> 00:04:16,213

which I don't have a mind for.

108

00:04:16,213 --> 00:04:19,170

(upbeat music)

109

00:04:19,170 --> 00:04:20,777

- West Side Story is

something special to us.

110

00:04:20,777 --> 00:04:25,260

It had to be born and

raised in New York like us.

111

00:04:25,260 --> 00:04:28,710

We call it the West Side

Story because Martinez Cigars

112

00:04:28,710 --> 00:04:31,680

is off of 29th Street on

the West Side Highway.

113

00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:35,280

So that's where the name

came from in the beginning.

114

00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:36,810

You know, we were gonna

kind of go with one blend,

115

00:04:36,810 --> 00:04:38,400

which we had already previously released

116

00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:39,690

for another one of our retailers

117

00:04:39,690 --> 00:04:41,265

on a really small run.

118

00:04:41,265 --> 00:04:43,410

We got a lot of really

good feedback on it.

119

00:04:43,410 --> 00:04:45,330

- We went out to 500 people.

120

00:04:45,330 --> 00:04:46,290

- Yeah, that was it.

121

00:04:46,290 --> 00:04:48,240

We blended an original

122

00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:49,710

and then we started tweaking the blend,

123

00:04:49,710 --> 00:04:50,580

then we liked that,

124

00:04:50,580 --> 00:04:52,440

and you know, one thing led to another

125

00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:54,420

where at first we were like,

126

00:04:54,420 --> 00:04:56,400

listen, it's gonna be too much of a hassle

127

00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:57,680

to put that on Jesus,

128

00:04:57,680 --> 00:04:59,160

on Dave [Rivera] and the guys at Martinez

129

00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,190

to try to get that done

two weeks before showtime.

130

00:05:02,190 --> 00:05:03,510

On my end, you know,

131

00:05:03,510 --> 00:05:05,190

I was like, man, I don't

know how we're gonna,

132

00:05:05,190 --> 00:05:06,270

you know, differentiate the two,

133

00:05:06,270 --> 00:05:08,453

come up with names now, secondary bands,

134

00:05:08,453 --> 00:05:11,100

you know, as far as the marketing side

135

00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:13,740

of having two different cigars in the box.

136

00:05:13,740 --> 00:05:15,360

So we kind of let it go.

137

00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:17,610

Then we ended up having

a conversation with Dave

138

00:05:17,610 --> 00:05:18,443

and he was like,

139

00:05:18,443 --> 00:05:19,276

"Man, which one do you guys want?

140

00:05:19,276 --> 00:05:20,109

"You want your original brand?

141

00:05:20,109 --> 00:05:21,810

"You want your Arapiraca brand?"

142

00:05:21,810 --> 00:05:24,000

And we were like, "Man, we like both."

143

00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:25,327

And then he was like,

144

00:05:25,327 --> 00:05:27,180

"Well, what if we could do two?"

145

00:05:27,180 --> 00:05:28,470

And my ears perked up.

146

00:05:28,470 --> 00:05:30,780

I'm like, "Man, tell me you could do two."

147

00:05:30,780 --> 00:05:32,820

And then Jeff was like, "Oh, shit."

148

00:05:32,820 --> 00:05:33,990

- Like if they're willing to do it-

149

00:05:33,990 --> 00:05:35,820

- If they're willing to

do it, then let's do it.

150

00:05:35,820 --> 00:05:37,080

And they said that they could do it,

151

00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:38,070

they made it happen.

152

00:05:38,070 --> 00:05:39,210

The juices started flowing,

153

00:05:39,210 --> 00:05:41,550

it kind of grew legs and we

wanted to go off of that,

154

00:05:41,550 --> 00:05:43,200

like "Gangs of New York" theme.

155

00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,600

That's why it's, you know, pick your side,

156

00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:46,560

like, bats or knives,

157

00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:47,880

kinda old school street fight.

158

00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:49,770

- We thought it'd be best suited

159

00:05:49,770 --> 00:05:52,200

to do our release parties

back home in New York.

160

00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:53,280

So this whole weekend,

161

00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:54,780

we have four events scheduled,

162

00:05:54,780 --> 00:05:56,850

but we're kicking it off here tonight

163

00:05:56,850 --> 00:05:58,350

at Merchant's Cigar Bar.

164

00:05:58,350 --> 00:06:00,630

The West Side Story is gonna

be the feature of the night.

165

00:06:00,630 --> 00:06:02,910

We got a DJ, old school DJ, Nino Brown,

166

00:06:02,910 --> 00:06:04,260

everyone's gonna get two cigars.

167

00:06:04,260 --> 00:06:05,460

If you got a ticket,

168

00:06:05,460 --> 00:06:06,690

you got a bourbon tasting.

169

00:06:06,690 --> 00:06:08,910

- We're doing it in our

city with our people,

170

00:06:08,910 --> 00:06:11,310

people who've been

supporting us since day one.

171

00:06:11,310 --> 00:06:12,840

It's all about authenticity, man.

172

00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:14,130

You know, we don't want sit here

173

00:06:14,130 --> 00:06:15,630

and say we're making a New York City cigar

174

00:06:15,630 --> 00:06:16,710

that's being made in Nicaragua

175

00:06:16,710 --> 00:06:19,410

by a bunch of people that

aren't from New York,

176

00:06:19,410 --> 00:06:21,300

don't have that vibe.

177

00:06:21,300 --> 00:06:22,590

Shout out to everybody who's got,

178

00:06:22,590 --> 00:06:23,790

is coming out this weekend,

179

00:06:23,790 --> 00:06:25,020

you know, South Shore.

180

00:06:25,020 --> 00:06:27,570

Shout out to Merchant's, Harry's

181

00:06:27,570 --> 00:06:30,240

and obviously Barclay, Rex,

the whole family over there.

182

00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:31,080

We love you guys.

183

00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:33,420

We're really appreciative of

Boveda the coming out here

184

00:06:33,420 --> 00:06:35,820

and putting a spotlight

on what we're doing.

185

00:06:35,820 --> 00:06:37,860

And I hope everybody in the industry

186

00:06:37,860 --> 00:06:39,810

really appreciates it and enjoys it.

187

00:06:39,810 --> 00:06:43,410

- We love what we do

and this just shows it.

188

00:06:43,410 --> 00:06:45,060

And I love being able to come back here

189

00:06:45,060 --> 00:06:48,393

and actually release the

cigar in our home city.

190

00:06:49,260 --> 00:06:50,793

It just represents who we are, you know.

191

00:06:50,793 --> 00:06:52,230

It's great.

192

00:06:52,230 --> 00:06:53,520

- New York, stand up,

193

00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:54,470

this one's for you.

194

00:06:55,677 --> 00:06:58,344

(upbeat music)