Villazon

American embargo of Cuba shut off access to the island. Today, after reaping millions of dollars from the sale of his company to General in 1996, Llaneza still goes to work every day and still sits in the office that he shares with his partner, Tino Gonzalez, just as he has for decades. 96, Llaneza earned his credentials by starting in his father's factory in Ybor City, Florida, sweeping the floors and learning the business from the ground up.
The Villazon factory has long been associated with formidable and dominant brands, from the original non-Cuban Punch, to Hoyo de Monterrey, to the uber-popular Excalibur. In short, you might not know the name, but you’ve absolutely had the cigars. Now, the Villazon factory has produced a bundle bearing its own name. Villazon Natural features a choice Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper aged for years to reach the ideal conditions. Underneath, a Broadleaf Maduro binder encompasses Honduran, Dominican, and Colombian filler tobaccos to create a complex medium-bodied blend. 

Frank Llaneza's love affair with cigars began more than 60 years ago. The president of Villazon & Co., a subsidiary of General Cigar Holdings Inc. since 19 He continues to travel to Central America to check on the company's factories firsthand, factories that he helped build in the 1960s after the