- [Drew Emmer] I know you've been a long time friend of Boveda. How long has it been happening? Where did this begin? Can you give me a frame of reference? I don't know your story. - [Abe Flores] I mean, I started, there was a company called Tinder Box. You've probably heard of the Tinder Box. So, Tinder Box at one point had about 400 locations. They're a big franchise company. Way, way before that, my grandfather grew tobacco. He lived in the D.R. Everybody in my family smoked cigars.
Andullo, grow your own stuff. And tobacco has always been in my family's heritage all my life. So, I came to United States when I was 13 years old. I went to Salem, Massachusetts. I don't know if you know where that is. - [Emmer] I do. - [Flores] They, you know, hang some witches, I think, you know? (Interviewer laughs) - [Emmer] Best known for having a hard time with some witches back in the day. - [Flores] Yeah, very, very hard time.
(Interviewer chuckles) - [Emmer] It just didn't quite fit in. - [Flores] Eh, could have been, you know. Could have been the LSD in the wine or something. - [Emmer] It could've been. - [Flores] They were freaking. There's so many stories about that time that you know, probably was like the wine or the water had some sort of, you know, bacteria that made people hallucinate or whatever. But, that town, I grew up there, went to high school there, middle school and high school.
Most of my friends are from, I still am friends with who are from Salem, to be honest with you. And then I went to school at, I wanted to become a musician, full-time musician. I did a lot of music programs at Berklee and the conservatory. I played cello and I had played bass in a lot of bands and stuff. So, to feed some of the...
To buy instruments, I was selling cigars on the side to friends of mine and to, you know, because I was doing like the beginning of the boom, you know, Arnold Schwarzenegger. - [Emmer] And you got a connection. - [Flores] Yeah. And everybody's like, oh, you're Dominican? Can you gimme cigars? Like, yeah. So, I'll call my cousin, he will send me boxes. And I made extra money that way. So, I went to school, I went to a small school in Andover, Massachusetts called Merrimack College.
I first wanted to study like, medicine. And then, that was the beginning of like the dot-com boom. So, I switched from medicine to MIS, computer science and marketing for programming. And that was what got me going. When I got out of there, I was working for one software company and I just got tired of the whole, like, the high tech industry just fluctuates, goes up and down. Like, one day is really good, - [Emmer] Right. - [Flores] One's bad, and then you're outta work.
But always, like, tobacco is a steady, alcohol is always steady, and I wanted to get into tobacco business. I applied for a job, and I was trying to get to the D.R. to work to learn everything about cigars. And I couldn't, you know, I called La Aurora, they didn't pay enough. It was like 200 bucks a month. I was like, what are you talking about? I make like way more building websites. It's like, no, no, no, no. So, these guys put an ad, I moved down.
I came in as they were launching an online site. And they needed somebody to organize their warehouse and the distribution. And I got the job. And that's really what founded PDR in the beginning because they taught me, you know, I already knew high tech, I already knew marketing, but I got all the foundation from them. Because I started designing bands, designing boxes, doing my own private label for the company. And eventually, I realized like, I could do this for myself.
And that was kind of like the building, stepping stone for me to get into cigar industry, for building my own brand. I already did brands for them, worked for them for many years. And I eventually, I met these guys. They had a little factory in New Orleans, and a little factory in the D.R. They were Dominicans, they wanted somebody to help them. And they offered me a partnership. And that's how PDR started, like in 2006, 2007. - [Emmer] So, that was the beginning of PDR.
- [Flores] It used to be called Pinar del Rio. So, Pinar del Rio. So, it's very, when Pinar del Rio is original Cuba where all the tobacco seeds from making cigars come from in Cuba. - [Emmer] Sure. - [Flores] So, everybody talks about Pinar. Pinar del Rio is the west side of the island where most of the best tobaccos grown out of Cuba. So, it was like an homage to that. And that's how we launched Pinar del Rio. Eventually, I think it was New Orleans 2014, or 2000, yeah, 2000 something.
I changed. I didn't change, I launched PDR 1878. In 1878 was the year where Pinar del Rio was founded in Cuba. And if you actually see their seal, it'll say 1878. So, I wanted something more quicker, easier for people to pronounce. And that's where PDR came from. - [Emmer] Yeah, that makes sense. - [Flores] Yeah. - [Emmer] And then, since then it's grown to be, - [Flores] Now it's grown to be, I don't even talk about Pinar del Rio.
I say, if you notice the logo has like a P, and the DR is like, kind of combine. So, now I tell them it's Puro Dominican Republic now. So, it's now PDR stands for just now for me it's, I try to push the Dominican Republic more now than ever. - [Interviewer] Yeah. - [Flores] When we started, we had one concept. Now, it's about more of a global appeal. I mean, that's the reason you see me, you know, like you guys, we're all over the world. Boveda's all over the world.
And, I don't just sell in United States. I sell in a lot of countries in Europe and in Asia. So, now I look at PDR as more of a global brand, a global presence. And we can't say Pinar del Rio. So, now I tell people it's just, - [Emmer] PDR. - [Flores] PDR. - [Emmer] PDR. - [Flores] PDR. - [Interviewer] And if anybody gets specific about it, it's Puro Dominican Republic. It's beautiful. And how many different, can you tell us, do you make?
How many different, how many generations of this creative journey have you been on over the, - [Flores] We started with the PDR 1878. We've revamped it many times. Now, it's called PDR Santiago. Then we got the [PDR 1878 Roast] Cafe. We have a line called El Criollito, that is pretty much our number one SKU that we sell globally. It was a line that really to go after the Cuban market. Tastes very close to a Bolivar.
That was developed by me and 10 of the best retailers in Spain to go after that market with a good price point, a good flavor. Then, you know, 10th Anniversary, that's very well. And then we launched the 18th Anniversary. So we have a lot of, I try to reduce as much as possible. We do half Coronas, Puritos in tins, that sells a lot. So, we're not, we don't, we're not producing as much as I used to produce back in 2014, because I don't do as many private labels now. - [Emmer] Right.
- [Flores] I do less, less, less for other people and more and more for me. And that's what I've been focusing on the last year. - [Emmer] So you've been a part of the, For My Humidor promotion with Boveda for years. Your face is typically on the wall. - [Flores] Oh, when I get the right picture. (Flores laughs) - [Emmer] Yeah. No, well, you had, you went through some changes and that's great.
So, the relationship has been one of preserving quality, one of getting your finished product to the consumer at the level of quality that you expect. - [Flores] The right percentage of humidity to the cigar. So, the thing is, when you're selling to, all over the world, you know, you're selling to Asia, you're selling to Europe, you're selling to Spain, you're sending to United States. You know, like we are in Las Vegas, the humidity is like none. Like I'm all dry and stuff like that.
So, imagine if you're doing that and you're shipping cigars from the D.R., where the Dominican Republic has a very high humidity. - [Emmer] Yep. - [Flores] Then you send it to Las Vegas where it has no humidity. The cigar is gonna get a shock. So, the great thing about Boveda is it just maintains in that box at least, until it gets open, the perfect humidity level for that cigar at all times. Anywhere you ship it, it's gonna maintain until you take it out.
Once you take it out, then you leave it out, something else happens. But, at least when it leaves my factory, it meets all the right conditions of burn, flavor, everything. The cigar is not gonna be too wet, and it's not gonna be too dry. It's gonna burn perfectly. If a cigars too wet, it's not gonna burn well.
If a cigars too dry, the wrapper's gonna crack, it's gonna taste bitter, it's not gonna have the right condition of the blend that I, the way I made that cigar and what I-- - [Emmer] Even the cigars sitting in the ashtray at the show, for an hour or two, if you pick it up and relight it, it's a different cigar. - [Flores] Changed, completely. - [Emmer] It's a different cigar.
- [Flores] So the great thing about Boveda, it maintains at least the essence of what the cigar needs to be when it leaves the factory. And the consumer, once they open up the box and smoke it, and light it, they're like, oh, okay. They're gonna understand what I'm trying to, what flavor I'm trying to bring across to them in that cigar. After that, I can't control, you know?
If they put it in a bad humidor with no Boveda inside and the thing dries out, then I can't control anything after that, you know? So... But that's a good thing about Boveda. You know, I wish more people used it. (Flores chuckles) - [Emmer] Well, thank you for that. So, I gotta ask you, what's your favorite cigar? - [Flores] That I make? - [Emmer] Yeah. Favorite cigar that you make and favorite, who else in the room are you crazy about? - [Flores] Hm... - [Emmer] Start with yours.
Of your releases, what's your favorite cigar? - [Flores] For me, the 10th Anniversary Millefleurs is a cigar I've been smoking a lot lately. It's a Corona 5x42. I usually don't smoke big cigars. I don't like 6x60s or anything like that. - [Emmer] Right. - [Flores] You would never see me with that. You'll see me with Robustos and Toros and that's what I like. I think it is the right combination of wrapper, binder, filler for me. But the Millefleurs for me is perfect. I can smoke that all day.
I have no issues with it. For somebody else... You know, it varies. I like, well, my all-time favorite cigar that, it was like a Pepin Black Lancero that we're talking about. If I had that cigar now, that one and a 601 Green, back in the day, that was like chocolate for me. And a Fuente Añejo Shark, that was, - [Emmer] Hm. - [Flores] Yeah. I had a box of those like still from like 10 years ago. I think I got two left. I just smoke very, (laughter) The right occasion. You know? You know.
- [Emmer] Well, and we're pretty sentimental about anything Fuente because of the role he played with helping Sean [Knutsen] and Tim [Swail] get on the map. I mean, he was the first real believer, so. - [Flores] Yeah. We owe him one. - [Interviewer] We owe a lot to Carlito [Fuente]. - [Flores] He was the first one putting the pouches in the boxes. - [Emmer] And he wasn't bashful about telling other people why he was doing it. And a lot of people listened to him.
- [Flores] Now, it blew up everywhere. Everybody now, - [Emmer] It blew up everywhere, yeah. - [Flores] Now everybody believes in it. - [Emmer] And it helps for us to have you on our team. - [Flores] Oh, thank you. - [Emmer] To be a part of our family. - [Flores] I appreciate it. - [Emmer] We really appreciate you. - [Flores] Thank you. - [Interviewer] Yeah. - [Flores] Thank you for having me. - [Interviewer] It's great to see you. - [Flores] Yeah, great to see you too.
- [Interviewer] Thanks for sitting down with us. Appreciate it, man.