Tell us a little about what made you guys want to launch a cigar brand?
The brand's development has been an organic progression. My wife is Nicaraguan and through spending a lot of time over the years with her family in Nicaragua, we met Juan Ignacio Martinez (owner of Joya) and developed a friendship. Eventually we started producing cigar parties at clubs and hotels in NYC with Juan and Joya. We titled these events "Civil Pleasures".
After a lot of cool, successful events, Civil Pleasures progressed into an agency that released a limited-edition Joya de Nicaragua x Soho House collaboration cigar called "Civil Pleasures" that was released in 2019. After witnessing our enthusiasm on that project, Juan encouraged us to keep going and to develop our own brand around our culture. He has been an integral and supportive ally since the inception of Civil Pleasures.
With four friends starting a company, how do you split the responsibilities?
Civil Pleasures naturally leverages our unique talents into a collaborative production.
How did you decide on the name Civil Pleasures?
The continuum from our events to our agency and now to the brand has always been Civil Pleasures. Civil Pleasures cigars are an ode to Civil Pleasures, an idea we came up with, but we always thought Civil Pleasures was much bigger than any of us and that the story behind it would resonate in an intellectual and emotional way.
Community is my favorite thing about the cigar experience. How do you purposely cultivate community with Civil Pleasures?
Something I have always loved and appreciated about NYC is the global cross section of communities with various interests that come together through its dynamic nightlife. Any given night we connect with skaters, models, artists, actors, directors, writers, athletes, chefs, financiers, lawyers, etc. Civil Pleasures events have always been a symbiotic community that is not only cultivated at the cigar events we do at restaurants, hotels and clubs, but also is shaped naturally and socially through shared culture that the cigar delineates to art, hospitality, music, sport and design. I think a really good cigar becomes a center of a community.
If you were to describe CP1 to someone that’s never experienced it before, how would you describe it?
CP1 has that rich Maduro flavor that we love, it is medium to full bodied with some subtle dark cocoa notes, but it is smoother and lighter than it appears.
What has it been like working with Joya de Nicaragua?
There’s a connection. We've always loved storytelling. I think our greatest contribution to the cigar is providing the story, then Joya de Nicaragua becomes a collaborator in it or the writer of it. Juan has been a dear friend and thoughtful mentor from the beginning. We are honored to work with him and his Joya family.
By the way, I am also a massive Joya enthusiast so it's all real personal. At my wedding in Nicaragua everyone smoked Antaño Churchills for three days straight. The Numero Uno is my go-to, I used to re-up on them at our parties we did with Joya so I was ecstatic when it transitioned from an event only release.
CP1 has been featured at several high-end events around the nation. What’s been your favorite highlight?
There have been many highlights that we are thankful for. In New York, we sponsored the annual Pétanque tournament at Sunset Beach on Shelter Island. Throughout the tournament, Chef Eric Ripert smoked two CP1's (his Le Bernadin team won as usual). Before he lit his second cigar, he made some thoughtful comments and told us that it was very good. That resonated with us as Le Bernardin has been our favorite restaurant for years.
In Miami, we partnered with the Andrew skate shop for their new store opening in the Miami Design District, it was cool to see their whole skate team and Harmony Korine smoking them at their block party.
In Las Vegas, we partnered with Roc Nation for Jay-z's Superbowl party at the new Fontainebleau club the Poodle Room. It was a heavy smoking crowd, we were psyched that Travis Scott, E-40, and Memphis Bleek were in the room smoking CP1's. We also love Yung Lean and his affinity for CP1's and are excited to see this next generation adopt cigar smoking.
Can you share with us your greatest success so far, as well as the hardest part of starting a new brand?
The greatest success is the excitement of creating something from nothing and putting it out into the world. The hardest part is waiting to share what's next.
If our audience could only take away one thing from you or your brand, what would you want them to know?
We want to spread the pleasures of cigar smoking to as many people as possible.
With us shipping CP1 all over the nation now, what can your fans expect in the next 12-18 months?
We are thrilled about the art show we are curating in NYC on May 29th at Europa gallery in the Lower East Side titled "The Artist and the Cigar Box". The show will feature some of the most original and influential artists of our time.
Each painting has been done on our CP1 box, with 100% of proceeds going to two charities we are passionate about that support the arts. "Henry Street Settlement" which provides opportunity through social services, arts, and health care, and "Artistic Noise" which empowers system-impacted youth through the arts. The show is celebrating the pause that the cigar creates, allowing the creative process to unfold after luxuriating in thought.
We are also elated with the development of our second cigar, CP2, which we will release later this year.
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