Négociant

[Négociant is] a French term that details a process in the winemaking world where grapes, must, and/or wine are bought, tweaked, and sold under the purchaser’s own label.

How does this translate to cigars? This is where Pete shows off some clever creativity… Story goes, L’Atelier Imports had been working on a new blend that itself was somewhat borrowed from a certain preeminent cigar manufacturer, as they have been know to do (see: Surrogates). The blend utilized a Mexican leaf for one of the cigar’s two binders and was wrapped in Ecuadorian Connecticut. The resulting performance was allegedly so good that Don Pepín García (owner of My Father Cigars and manufacturer of Tatuaje and L’Atelier products) himself raved of its unique characteristics. This is where Pete steps in, whom is the founder (and co-founder) of both brands. Pete saw the perfect opportunity to become the négocier of his own brand, banding the golden-hued cigar in a matching, gold iteration of the prolific Tatuaje label and presto, Négociant was born.

The cigars are among the lightest ever introduced by Tatuaje (known for Nicaraguan habano puros and Broadleaf maduro blends), with a wrapper that is most comparable to the original Cabaiguan cigars. The cigars were introduced in three sizes: Négociant Monopole No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3. Monopole is French for “Monopoly,” meaning an area controlled by a single winery. Négociants are typically required in order to bottle commercial quantities of a wine from monopole vineyards. La Mission and La Tâche are known as a monopole vineyards, both names are seen on previous L’Atelier releases.

—Cigar Dojo