Estelí, Nicaragua – On Friday, January 17th, Drew Estate Tobacco Company held a ribbon cutting ceremony at their new leaf processing facility, dubbed “DE2”. Built across the street from their La Gran Fabrica in Estelí, Nicaragua, the new facility is one of the largest, most state-of-the-art leaf processing operations in the world, specializing in dark air-cured tobaccos.

The opening of “DE2” is a massive step deeper into vertical integration for the sixteen-year-old company, who currently resides as the third largest premium cigar company in the United States by sales. Drew Estate has a daily production of approximately 95,000 long filler cigars, made entirely by hand, using natural leaf and absolutely no machines or homogenized tobaccos. “DE2” provides Drew Estate with the ability to drastically increase their scale for pilone curing and bail storage, as well as provide all of the necessary professional support services in leaf sorting, classification and analysis.

Ultimately, “DE2” will make the enormous Nicaraguan operation more efficient and more profitable, but not without certain sacrifice, as the “all in cost” was over $4,000,000 USD. When reached for comment, Drew Estate President, Michael Cellucci shared that “the cost was significant for a privately held company, but the benefits to cigar quality, leaf curing control, tobacco aging, and overall administrative organization will make it all worth it as we have a long term commitment to our premium cigar business.”

In addition to the leaf processing facility, Drew Estate constructed a cafeteria and medical center within the same compound, again supporting the long-term paternalistic approach that the company considers a pillar of its success.

Drew Estate was honored by the presence of Gordon Mott, Executive Editor of Cigar Aficionado, as well as Mayor of Estelí Francisco “Pancho” Valenzuela Blandon, who both participated in the cutting of the blue and white ribbon at the ceremony. Co-Founder Marvin Samel noted that “it is the wonderful people of Estelí, Nicaragua who provide the backbone to our art, and we wanted them to have the best, most modern facility in the world. I feel that we have accomplished this goal.”

About Drew Estate LLC

Established in 1996, Drew Estate LLC is a privately held manufacturer and distributor of innovative and traditional premium cigars for today’s cigar smoker. In just over ten years, Drew Estate has become one of the top three cigar companies in the nation. Regarded as the pioneer and leader in the infused cigar market, Drew Estate’s Nicaraguan factory handcrafts ACID® by Drew Estate, Natural, Tabak Especial®, Java by Drew Estate®, and other unique cigars along with its traditional Liga Privada®, La Vieja Habana, Nica Rustica, Herrera EsteliTM and Undercrown® marks. For more information, please visit: www.drewestate.com.

ACID, Natural, Java by Drew Estate, Undercrown, La Vieja Habana, MUWAT, Nica Rustica, Herrera Esteli and Liga Privada are trademarks of Drew Estate and/or affiliated companies.

Cigar News: Drew Estate Unveils “DE2”, New 60,000 sq ft Leaf Processing Facility