See Also:

• Tuesday, May 21, 2013
  EXCLUSIVE—Nat Sherman To Debut 1930 Collection
• Monday, May 20, 2013
  El Centurion Hitting Store Shelves
• Thursday, May 16, 2013
  La Gloria Launching First Nicaraguan Lines
• Wednesday, May 15, 2013
  North Carolina Bill Would Allow Outdoor Smoking
• Tuesday, May 14, 2013
  Altadis Releasing Next Generation Saint Luis Rey
• More from News & Features

Di Fazio Brand from Raices Cubanas

David Savona
Posted: May 15, 2009

Carmelo Di Fazio, a 41-year-old Miami television executive with a lifelong love of fine cigars, has entered the cigar business. Born in Venezuela of Italian descent, Di Fazio is a self-described dreamer who loves to smoke cigars. He created his company, Di Fazio Cigars Corp., last year.

Di Fazio cigars are rolled at the up-and-coming Fabrica de Tabacos Raices Cubanas S. de R.L. factory in Honduras, the boutique operation that also makes Illusione and Alec Bradley Tempus cigars, among others. They come in three varieties—Connecticut, Maduro and the intriguingly named Picoso.

The Connecticut blend has a Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador, with Indonesian binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan filler. The maduro has a Nicaraguan wrapper, Honduran binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan filler. The Picoso, which takes its name from the Spanish for "spicy," is the boldest blend, and is a Honduran puro.

For more on this story, see the current issue of Cigar Insider.