Kafie 1901 Introducing Naked Cigars

Nearly two years ago, Kafie 1901 Cigars moved production of its portfolio from Honduras to La Aurora in the Dominican Republic. Since that move occurred, the company says it has been saving the scraps of tobacco that are left as part of the cigarmaking process. Now, that tobacco is being used for a new brand, Naked Cigars by Kafie 1901.

The naked part of the name means that the cigars will come with no bands; like many mixed filler cigars, they will be sold in bundles. There are three different wrapper options—Connecticut, Natural and Maduro—all coming from Ecuador. The fillers used for the brand come from the different tobaccos Kafie uses across its other blends. This includes tobacco from Connecticut, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pennsylvania and Peru. Some of these tobacco are more exotic varietals including andullo tobacco from the Dominican Republic and pelo de oro from Peru. Because the company has been saving tobacco for the last two years, Kafie 1901 says the filler tobacco is aged 4-5 years.

All three wrapper options are offered in the same four sizes, all priced the same:

• Naked Cigars by Kafie 1901 Connecticut/Natural/Maduro Robusto (5 x 50) — $4.30 (Bundle of 20, $86)
• Naked Cigars by Kafie 1901 Connecticut/Natural/Maduro Toro (6 x 52) — $4.30 (Bundle of 20, $86)
• Naked Cigars by Kafie 1901 Connecticut/Natural/Maduro Gran Toro (6 x 58) — $4.50 (Bundle of 20, $90)
• Naked Cigars by Kafie 1901 Connecticut/Natural/Maduro Churchill (7 x 47) — $4.50 (Bundle of 20, $90)

A mixed filler cigar, also referred to as a Cuban sandwich, uses the same whole-leaf wrapper and binder found on a regular cigar, though the inside contains smaller cuts of tobacco compared to a standard premium cigar.

“Moving forward this will be the only line of bundle cigars that we offer,” said Dr. Gaby Kafie, founder of Kafie 1901, in a press release. “In Spanish we have a saying, ‘que me busquen por bueno y no por barato.’ The English translation goes as follows, ‘That they look for us because we are good, not because we are cheap.’ These cigars are meant to be good, not cheap. When you experience one, you will understand.”

In August, the Naked Cigars by Kafie 1901 were soft-launched with 10 retailers and one international distributor. The company says it is expecting to receive the first full production shipment this month and will begin shipping the Naked Cigars to stores soon. Production is limited to 90,000 total cigars across all blends and sizes for 2024.