Using symbolism when thinking up cigar company names or themes is not a new thing, but Apostate Cigars—an Apostate is “a person who renounces a religious belief”—has taken it to another level with its brand. In fact, the company gets its name from a term in Mormon culture that is a reference to the fact that choosing to smoke cigars is an open act of rebellion against the church’s teachings as tobacco is forbidden in Mormon culture.
The company was founded by Brandon Oveson and Kendrick Woolstenhulme, both of whom grew up in Utah as active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and are now the owners of Salt Lake City-based retailer Beehive Cigars.
Although the Apostate Cigars booth is compact in nature, the banner with the company logo is hard to miss, and Brandon Oveson, co-founder of Apostate, was serving drinks to anyone who asked for one.
Apostate Cigars Feathered Serpent
The company’s newest release named Feathered Serpent is made with a candela wrapper to mimic scales and is being made at the Tabacalera Palma factory in Tamboril, Dominican Republic. This new cigar takes its inspiration from Quetzalcóatl, a 13th-century Mesoamerican god commonly depicted as a mix of bird and rattlesnake who was thought to have created both the world and the humans that inhabited it.
- Wrapper: Dominican Republic (Candela)
- Binder: Mexico (San Andrés)
- Filler: Dominican Republic
- Apostate Cigars Feathered Serpent (6 1/2 x 46) — $13 (Bundle of 12, $156)
Production: Regular Production
Release Date: July 2022