Icons of Cigars: Benjamin Menendez

Late last year, Benji Menendez was coming to Dallas to promote his brand new cigar, the Partagas Master Series, as part of his “Benji Menendez Socials” when he had a medical issue that made it impossible to attend.

He said he would be back this year to meet everyone, and last week, he made good on his promise with an event at Chamberlain’s in Addison, Texas.

This was the first time I met Menendez and I was extremely impressed. He obviously had a love of not just cigars themselves, but also the history behind them. I was introduced by the ever present Frank Seltzer and I asked for about seven minutes of Menendez’s time to take a quick portrait for my Icons of Cigars Portraits project.

Benji said no problem, and away we went. And here is the portrait that resulted.