Cigar Companero Cigar News Page Sept 6, 2008 Illusione Cigars

      In walking around the IPCPRA show; sometimes it is harder to find the newer lines
and the smaller lines of cigars. In the very back we walked by a small booth with
Sold Out sign's hanging on the wall. There stood a very tall man that appeared
ready to sell more; but was relieved his product was well taken and his work was over
except for to greet those who could only possibly place orders for next year. The
giant of a man named Dion Giolito talked to us and we enjoyed listening to him
talk about his passion and knowledge of the cigar industry and his favorite cigar.
The Illusione Cigar.

     We got introduced to some of the past, present and future of Illusione Cigars and Dion's experience. We have discovered, at just forty years old Dion has been a veteran of the cigar biz for over seventeen years. About five years in, he decided to open up his own shop, Fumare, in Reno. Reno was where he originally got into the cigar retail business. When we inquired further about his shops success in Reno, Dion told us "My competitor was missing a specific market. They weren't hitting a specific demographic like the higher end clientele. I know there is people out there that want a lot of different types of cigars, you know like Davidoff and higher end stuff. So, I thought, there is probably enough of that market that can beat me for what I wanted to do. So I decided not to go after it and it all worked out pretty well." In 2004, while on one of his retail trips he hooked up with Heinrich "Henke" Kelner of Davidoff cigars. It was then he made the decision to go into cigar making. There Henke and his son taught Dion about blending and about palette. About how certain tobaccos react differently on your palette, sweet, salty, sour, bitter and how you want to attack all of those points at once. Dion dedicated himself to studying cigars. He was intrigued with Henke's approach, the blending, the science of it, the subconscious and the olfactory senses that cigars stimulate. Soon after, he went to Nicaragua and started immersing himself in tobacco, different types, strains and varieties. Learning about what each type of leaf does. "It's kind of like putting together a recipe" he says. "In a kitchen you have all of the ingredients there to make a fine world class dish; you just have to know how to put it together."

     Very humble about his arrival to the cigar industry, Dion attributes his instant success to just the tobacco. He states "It's just the really clean, no bullshit taste profile of Nicaraguan tobacco" His passion for the leaf is very apparent as he talks about the tobacco he uses in his cigars. Dion tells us "Nicaragua is growing the best tobacco in the world right now. There is such a different dynamic and profile between all the different types of tobaccos and regions that they come out of. Its really exciting, you can make thousands of different types of blends and still be pretty unique within Nicaragua; if you really want to take the time, effort and passion to sit down and focus and what the tobacco is trying to tell you."

     Dion's factory, located in Honduras, is called Raices Cubanas. Although the cigars are made in Honduras, they are all rolled from strictly Nicaraguan tobaccos. The Raicas Cubanas factory is a part of Aganorsa. Dion explains" Aganorsa is the largest producer of leaf in Nicaragua. Their parent company in the United States is Tabacalera Tropical." They do produce a lot of cigars, but there are specific rollers that focus on just his product. They roll for just him in what he considers "a factory within a factory." This is where Dion blends the Illusione and soon to be released in late august, Cruzado lines."The Cruzado is a different blend, it's a collaboration of one of the biggest minds in tobacco. His name is Arseno Ramos." He talks with great respect of Ramos and explains that Arseno's wealth of knowledge is on par with Heinrich Kelner, Carlito Fuente and with Robina. "He has only been outside of Cuba over six years and he has completely turned around the entire production along with a few other guys. They are all Cuban farmers that know how to grow great tobacco; they know what great tobacco tastes like." When we ask Dion about Illusion, he tell us that Illusione is 100% his blend. He has his say in production at all times and no blend leaves the factory unless he is totally satisfied. He knows how he wants his cigars and he will accept nothing less than just that.

     Also, we have had the pleasure to sample some of the cigars that he had at the show. Dion handed us an Illusione MK just before we started talking. There was something different that I noticed right away. The lettering on this cigar was gold instead of black. I also noticed this on his 15th anniversary cigar, the ECCJ. When we asked Dion about the difference between the two (Black and Gold), he told us "It is a little more of an artisan blend". He explained that the gold bands were not only a special cigar; they are also a different blend. "They are tailored to be a specific style" he explains." If you smoke my lancero, which is probably one of the more mild cigars in my line up, it has great aroma, it has real nice olfactory. So when you blow the smoke out of your nose, it just has so many flavors." To Dion, the aroma of the cigar is key, "Fifty percent of what you taste is from your nose. Just try and take a puff off of your cigar while holding your nose, you can't taste it. Your nose has a lot to do with the flavor of a cigar. It has to be aromatic; it's something that you can't ignore when blending a cigar."

    We thank Dion for the insight to Illusione cigars and wish him well in his prosperous future as a cigar manufacturer. It shows already in his blends, being top rated and easily sold out at the IPCPRA show this year. It is always a pleasure to smoke an Illusione. Knowing that it comes with honor and pride, and a name like Dion behind it all that gives it that personal touch that is a must in every cigar you smoke.

By Ronald Hayes