Episode 75 Hirochi Robaina from La Familia Robaina
Episode Summary
Episode 75 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast welcomes Hirochi Robaina of La Familia Robaina Cigars, joined by the brand's Vice President of Sales, Todd Vance. Hirochi, who lives in San Luis in Cuba's Pinar del Río province, explains that his family has been growing tobacco since 1845 — roughly 175 years and five generations — and talks about learning the craft from his legendary grandfather, Alejandro Robaina, who was at once his teacher, friend, and boss. He shares the single best piece of advice his grandfather gave him: be patient, and when you lose patience, find more.
The conversation turns to the HR cigars themselves, which are produced in Nicaragua at Omar González's La Corona factory. Hirochi describes the years-long blending process that began as an idea in 2008: Omar would ship numbered bundles of fifteen cigars to the farm, Hirochi would smoke them and call back with feedback until they arrived at the taste he wanted. The blend uses an Ecuadorian wrapper with Nicaraguan filler from Estelí and Jalapa. He runs through the current portfolio — HR Classic, HR Signature, HR Claro, and HR Blue — and says his ambition is to eventually reach four to five million cigars a year.
Todd Vance previews the brand's big IPCPR (soon to be PCA) launch: Illegal, offered in three blends — San Andrés, Habano, and Connecticut — in three sizes each, for nine new SKUs, essentially doubling the company's production. Todd also tells his own story: nine years in the industry starting at Esteban Carreras the same day his friend Spencer Drake started at AJ Fernandez, a stint at Cornelius & Anthony, and the pull of the Robaina story that finally brought the two friends together at La Familia Robaina.
The episode closes with the show's standard five questions. Hirochi names his own HR cigars first and Padrón second (his grandfather's close friend), and says he'd share a cigar with his grandfather; Todd picks a three-way tie between RoMa Craft Wanderlust, Rosé Matafina, and Southern Draw Kudzu. There's also talk of judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Hirochi's championship judo background in Cuba, smoking cigars with Jimmy Buffett, FDA over-regulation, and the state of the second cigar boom.
In This Episode
- 01Five Generations of Robaina TobaccoHirochi traces his family's tobacco growing in Pinar del Río back to 1845 and what he learned from his grandfather Alejandro Robaina.
- 02Todd Vance Joins La Familia RobainaThe new VP of Sales explains his path from Esteban Carreras to Cornelius & Anthony to teaming up with longtime friend Spencer Drake.
- 03Blending HR at the La Corona FactoryHow Hirochi and Omar González developed the first HR cigar starting in 2008 using numbered sample bundles shipped to Cuba.
- 04The HR Portfolio and Production GoalsA rundown of HR Classic, Signature, Claro and Blue, plus Hirochi's dream of producing four to five million cigars a year.
- 05Illegal: The New IPCPR ReleaseTodd details the three-blend Illegal line — San Andrés, Habano and Connecticut — in three sizes each, nine new SKUs.
- 06Judo, Jiu-Jitsu and Cuban SportHirochi's championship judo career in Cuba and a tangent about training Brazilian jiu-jitsu with American Top Team.
- 07Industry State of PlayFDA regulation, competition, and Todd's argument that the second cigar boom means more manufacturers and better cigars than ever.
- 08The Five QuestionsFavorite cigars, who they'd smoke with living or dead, best advice received, and the fictional character round.
Brands & Cigars Discussed
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Transcript
Welcome to Episode 75 of Cigar Hustlers Podcast. This week we have the rare opportunity to sit down and speak to Mr. Hirochi Rabbania and Mr. Todd Vance from La Familia Rabbania Cigars.
Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike Squared, Mike Squared, Mike Squared, Mike Squared, So, you two gentlemen want to introduce yourselves? Well, I'm Hiroshi Robaina. Yes. I'm from Cuba.
Yeah. I'm from Cuba. I live in Pinar del Rio City, in Havana, the province, Pinar del Rio. Right.
But specifically, I live in San Luis Town. Okay. So, you're kind of like cigar royalty, right? Your family name has been in the cigar industry for...
Since 1845. Over, yeah, 150 years. Lean into that mic, Todd, when you talk. During more than 150 years, around 174, 75 years, we started in the tobacco business.
The grandfather of my grandfather, he started in 1845. No kidding. Now I'm the fifth generation and I continue with this tradition of the tobacco tradition. Right.
So your grandfather, he probably loved you the most since he taught you everything? My grandfather was the king of tobacco in all the world. Right. He was a great man, and he teached me a lot.
So, my grandfather was my teacher, my friend, my grandfather, but also my boss. Right. So, I tried to learn with him during many, many years. Right.
So, is this your first ever, like, podcast that you've done? Other than, you know, obviously you did The Prince of Smoke, your documentary on Amazon, On Amazon, but have you done anything else like this yet in the US? Uh... No.
No. Alright. He has to look over to his guy. And you're speaking English very well, too, so you're doing a great job.
I try to speak English. Right. I learned a little bit with my translator in the farm. Right.
And he teach me. Right. He teach me. So you have a number two that kind of helps you with everything.
Now I'm better than in the fourteen. Right, because we met before and you've always kind of been a little quiet, but I knew you understood, you know. You can always tell when you're speaking to someone or having a conversation that, you know, people are picking up on what you're saying, so. A lot of people understand more than they speak.
That's true. In both sides. That's not true in my case. Well, I mean, you know.
I understand a lot less. Yeah. You actually give me credit for it. Fair enough.
And did Todd introduce himself? No, he did not. Did he introduce himself? No, no he did not.
Todd? Go ahead, tell us. So I'm Todd Vance, and I'm Vice President of Sales for La Familia Rubina. Right.
And happy to be here. Happy to be. As you said, we're in the epicenter of cigars in Deltona Flora. Yes.
Of course we are. So how did you make the transition over? You were originally at Cornelius and Anthony, right? Yeah.
And we all have a mutual friend, Spencer Drake, right? Yep. Spencer lost a bet, and he had to take me. That was how that worked?
Yeah. So he actually owns up to his bets. He has to, yes. Well, that's good.
I mean, he's not here, so I'm going to bash the shit out of him. Feel free. I'll help. I mean, I love him to death.
He's a great guy, but, you know, too bad that he's not here. So how did you originally hook up with Spencer Drake? Well, I met Spencer in 2014 in the IPCPR in Vegas. Oh, Todd's got a soundtrack.
The soundtrack. So you met him 2014, IPCPI? In 2014. Is that Spencer?
Is Spencer Coney? It is. So we start to work together. Right.
Since that time. And I feel great with him. Yeah. I think he's a good man.
He is a good guy. He's a, you know, he's a hard worker, but he's also a slap dick. Very hard worker. Yeah.
Very hard worker. So, so, so far so good. Four years, no complaints. No problems.
You're happy with him? I'm happy with him. And I hope in the future I'll be more happy with him. Right.
So if he shaved, you'd like it better if he shaved? Yes. Sometimes. I tell him, you don't have a knife.
So you make your cigars in Nicaragua, right? Yes, Nicaragua. The factory is the La Corona factory, correct? La Corona factory in Italy.
Right. So then we produce the HR there. Right. And we used the material from 100% to Nicaragua, the wrapper from Ecuador, the filler from Esteli and from Jalapa, and then we made the blending.
Right, so your first line was the 2008, this Habano 2000, right? When it came to the blend, were you involved in the entire process? Because, like, you know, you've been in the industry for so long that you can look at a Pilon and be like, this is shit, this is good, right? So, I'm just kind of, I mean, when Spencer gave me this cigar, probably in 2014, I was like, wow, this is a fucking amazing cigar.
So were you involved in the entire blend? Did you oversee everything? Yes, yes. The true, I started the idea in 2008.
No kidding. Yeah. I started to talk with Omar Gonzalez, the owner of the factory. Then we started the idea.
Right. Then we started to make the first HR. Right. Then I tried in my farm.
He sent me the bundles with the numbers. Sometimes with 123 or ABC, bundle with 15 cigars, then I try. Then I call Omar, and I say, this one is good or not. Or maybe if you change a little bit this one, we can arrive to the taste, I like it.
So, and we arrive. Right. And this is the first one. But it took a while, right?
Many years. Many, many years, and now, step by step, slowly, I hope the future of the company and the future of the brand grow and grow and not stop more. So, do you know a lot about your overall numbers of production every year, how many cigars you produce on average? On average?
Well, the true, I don't know exactly the quantity, but my dreams is arrive between 4-5 million cigars a year. So that's what you want? That's what I want. Okay.
And I was told there'd be no math. There's no math on the show, right. So, how many other lines do you have in Hiroshi? We have the HR, the Classic, the Signature, we have the HR Claro, the Blue, and now it's coming a new one.
Okay. Ilegal. My friend Todd can't tell you better. Yeah.
Illegal. Okay, go ahead. So, the Illegal that we've got coming out at the IPCPR. This is your free plug.
This is it. After that, it's fucking over. Just shut it down. Yeah.
So, it's got three blends of it, San Andreas, Habano, and is it a Connecticut? Connecticut. Okay. And it's basically an homage.
It's an homage to the things that we've learned from Hirochi, the things that we've learned from Omar, and it's a blend so good it ought to be illegal. Right. So that's where we're going with it. Okay.
And you're going to see a lot of it. I know why Spence likes you. Okay. Cool.
I pay him to. Very nice. Okay, so how many sizes is it going to be in? Three sizes each.
Okay. Nine new SKUs. And it's three different blends? Correct.
Okay, so, I mean, you're practically doubling your production. Yep. Overall. Very nice.
Riding on it. And we're going to grow a lot this year. You're going to see us in a lot of new places. Yeah.
Okay. I mean, because you definitely have more of the, you're more qualified than Spencer is when it comes to sales, I would say, right? Don't ever tell him that. You know, I'm telling him that right now.
He's all we're friends, remember. Yeah, exactly. All bets are off. So, but you know, I know that he's always talked about you.
Was it good? Yeah. He's, you know, even when he was drunk, he has never said anything bad. It was that one time.
Thank God. That cost me money, too, when he says good things. So, like, how long was he trying to acquire you? You know, we started day one, nine years ago, on the same day, for two different companies.
I originally started for Esteban Carreras, and he started for AJ Fernandez. Okay. And we have been, I mean, literally, we met first day. And since then, we've always wanted to work together.
Right. Like, hey, you want to go practice karate in the garage type of friendship? Correct, pretty much, you know. Okay.
That was exactly his stepbrothers. " And after knowing the story of Hirochi, there was one person that I wanted to work with, and that was Spencer and Hirochi. Right. That makes sense.
The story of this, you know, this is the oldest story in tobacco, in cigars, so just ride this horse. Yeah, absolutely. So, Hiroshi, could you kick Spencer's ass? Yes.
Is that possible? If you got into a fight with Spencer, could you beat him up? Well, I'm a sportsman. I practiced judo during a long time.
I'd be a champion during many years in Cuba. So, I think Spencer maybe is a little bit heavier than me. And younger. I can do something.
Oh yeah. So you know what's funny is I used to train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with the American Top Team and- Is there a challenge coming? No. Is that the Gracie's and all that group?
No, but you know there was a Cuban there that would train with us every once in a while. We have a phone in here. We have a phone in here. It's not mine either.
His name was Hector Lombard. So he was Cuban. Yeah. And then I guess he went to, I think he went to Australia to, I guess to train in tournaments and stuff like that.
But he was big into Judo as well. There's a lot of sports men in Cuba. Yeah. And people love Judo in Cuba.
Right. I mean, it's a fascinating sport. Oh, man. So you could just toss everybody on your entire team and they wouldn't even know what hit them.
Don't go too far, you're going to be out of the shot. You're out of the shot. We have a good combination, Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, cigars, a good combination. Very good combination.
That's it. Very nice. So, do you know your booth number at the show by any chance? Let's see if you guys know that.
I don't know mine either. The research team is looking it up as we speak. We have people efforting. What is it?
I forgot. Me too. Yeah, so are we. I think we're like 3667 or something.
I thought we were close together too. Are you? We're right beside the food court in the bathrooms. Okay, so now last year, I think we've talked about this before.
Yeah, the ping pong? Yeah, Spencer Drake has brought the ping pong table. No ping pong this year. No ping pong?
We've gone full on respectable this year. We actually have a booth. I think he's trimming the beard. Wow.
It's going to be good. Because, you know, I watched his wife kick his ass on some ping pong. She kicked my ass. And he got angry.
I played tennis in college, and she kicked my ass. She's a professional. She is great. But, you know, she's like sports lineage.
She was, by the way, she was national champion in Canada in tennis. No kidding. Yeah, she's good. Okay.
She played at the University of Houston, and she's still very good. Yeah. Damn it. So that kind of sucks.
I mean, it's cool that we'll be close together, but I would like to see Spencer lose his ass on some stuff. on some stuff. I love being fun. Maybe they can wrestle or fight or something.
Some pounds in three days in Vegas. So we have a couple questions that we like to ask. I know that you've watched maybe a couple of the podcasts, but if you want to go ahead. Or you jump into the questions.
Yeah, I think so. All right. We ask everybody who comes in the same five questions. Yeah, talk slow.
No, I do talk fast. Because he knows I'm a hillbilly. That's why. Talk fast.
Talk fast. What's your favorite cigar? Go ahead. My favorite cigar?
Yeah. Your favorite cigar, yes. Talking about size? Just a particular blend that you love the most, a particular one cigar.
My own cigars. Yeah. Okay. Well, if you couldn't pick your cigar, is there anything outside of your line that you would smoke?
Outside my cigars? Yeah. Yes. I'm talking about outside my cigar from my house in Cuba.
Yes. R. Cigar for a good hour. Two cigars.
After that, Padrón cigars. Padrón. He was a very close friend of my grandfather during many, many years, also a friend with me, and after my cigar, Padrón cigars. Yeah.
Todd? I can't name one, but I can name three that are tied for me. Okay. The Romacraft Wanderlust.
Okay. That's a great cigar. Rosé Matafino. Love it.
We had one at Cornelius & Anthony called The Senior of Sugars, which was weird. And we had another friend of mine, Southern Draw, has one called The Kudzu. Okay. So those are three really good cigars.
Yeah, but you said Wanderlust first, so that one's number one. Just go with that one? That one's number one. That one's number one.
Okay. Okay. One person, living or dead, would you like to share a cigar with? My dad.
Your dad? He passed away last October. Yeah. That's always a tough one, man.
Yeah. Ah, well, Viva Muerta, always with my grandfather. Yeah. Yes, always.
I've had a feeling you were going to say that. But, life, with all peoples, all friends love cigars, for me it's a pleasure to smoke cigars, smoke cigar with them. You know, I gotta give you credit, because I think you've been here maybe once or twice before, but, you know, you remembered everything that was going on with my brother and his dog that was dying. Oh, wow.
I love his dog. Beautiful dog. And, you know, you came right in, you know, you were very welcoming. It's not like you were standoffish.
You knew the area, you knew us. I feel in my house. Yeah. I feel in my house.
Which is awesome, you know. And now, we are more near. Yeah. You sportsman.
Yeah, man. We are in the same business. That's it. Absolutely.
Absolutely. Living right now, I would say Donald Trump. Yeah. I need that man to do some good for the cigar business.
Yeah. No shit. Does he smoke? No.
No. We need him to help us. Yeah, no doubt. Didn't he used to?
No. No? I think his son does. Yeah.
Don Jr. does. Yeah. And Eric.
So speaking of which, Adrian worked 16 years at Trump Tower. Okay. So who's Adrian now that you mentioned him? Adrian is our God's gift.
We only have two mics. Yes, and he handles Florida and New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and half the country. So you have a big territory, but that's a conversation for another day. But he personally knows Mr.
Trump, President Trump, and has had many interactions with him and says good things about him. All right, so there you go. So he's our wild card. We'll throw him in there.
So you need to start talking about the PCA, you know, which was IPCPR, but will be PCA. Best piece of advice anyone ever gave you? Patient. Be patient?
Be patient, yeah. Be patient. My grandfather. Yeah.
Be patient. When you lost the patient, get more patient. Then your life better. Hard work, work your ass off, and advertise, right?
It pays. That's Ted Turner. Sometimes it's hard. Oh, yeah.
Because the blonde, sometimes it's hot. Yeah. Of course. It's good.
I mean, this industry can be tough, you know. It is. And getting harder. Yeah, yeah.
You got over-regulations breathing down our neck. Competition everywhere. Yeah. Yeah, competition is still in full effect, you know.
So, they're not going anywhere. Nope. Not yet, at least. You know what?
That's a great thing, though, is there have never been more cigar manufacturers. Mm-hmm. Meaning there's never been better cigars. That's true.
We're in the second cigar boom, you know, and I defy anybody. Everybody, every manufacturer makes at least one good cigar. Yeah. Everybody.
I beg to differ. There's a couple. You want to name some names? I can fucking pick one.
All right, let's pick one. That's really appropriate for me to do at this current juncture, but, you know, I definitely think that there's a lot of people in the industry that do not belong in the industry. Whether it be lower quality products, overall production, overall sales management and relationships, I think that a lot of those people exist. And, you know, the scary part is, if FDA did drop, some of those people would go away, but that isn't how I want them to go out of the game.
For their own ineptitude, right? I prefer that they would be impatient and just give up, so... Mr. Michael?
Oh, sorry, I was... Next question. What one fictitious person would you like to share a cigar with? Is there, like, a cartoon character or...
Someone from a movie? Someone from a book? Many. Yeah?
Many people. So, I like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jimmy Buffett. Actually, I smoke with Jimmy Buffett in my house. You smoke cigars with Jimmy Buffett, right?
So, that's pretty cool. So, is there a character that Arnold played in a movie that you'd say, "Terminator, I'd want to smoke with him," or something like that? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I only smoke cigars.
Yeah, he's a big cigar guy. He just protected the Havana Room in Beverly Hills. That's right. You know, which I got my opinions on that, too.
But... Foghorn Leghorn. Really? Yeah.
Very nice. Can you think of a better one? You know what? I think that's a perfect fit for you.
You know what I mean? Yeah, I like that. Boy, I say, boy, I'd like to have a cigar. All right, that's a great question.
Those are all the questions? That's all the questions. Okay, so, do you want to talk about how people can get in touch with you at all? Please.
Here's my cell phone number: 214-773-7367. That's awesome. I've done that before too, and that's the real deal. Yeah, call me.
If I can help, we're here to help. That's awesome. So if I ever lose his number, I can just go back to the video. We've got episode 75 and we'll just look it up.
It doesn't mean I have to answer those calls, but you can ring my phone. Right. And what's your Instagram handle? LaFamiliaRobanaTodd.
Okay, with some underscores in there. There are some underscores in there. Okay. And are you on Facebook or anything like that?
I'm on Facebook. Yeah, just Hiroshi Robana? Hiroshi Robana. Okay.
I'm sure you have a lot of friends though, already. Many. So that pretty much covers it for me. Yep, that's it.
That's it. Well, guys, thank you so much for coming on the show. Appreciate the time. Thank you very much.
We enjoyed it. We'll see you guys. Thanks to you. Thanks to your brother.
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks to the house. Yeah, thanks again for stopping in. We really appreciate it.
And fuck Spencer Drake for not coming. You know, I'll see him at Applebee's. Thanks, you guys. I appreciate it.
Thank you. Bye-bye. Hello. This is a prepaid collect call from the Correctional Institution.
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Show Notes
This week in our Podcast Exclusive we get to sit a chat with Mr. Hirochi Robaina! His family is a legend in the world of Cigars and Tobacco Farming.
He tells us about growing up with his Grandfather and family in Cuba, how this self proclaimed "farmer" learned the old ways of making cigars.
Truly a once in a lifetime experience getting to share time and a cigar with a living legend.
We always welcome your thoughts, ideas and show suggestions on our FB page "A Cigar Hustlers Podcast". You can follow the show on IG @cigarhustlerspodcast, Mikey @cigarhustler and "Mike Too" @fcc_mike. Please remember to always rate, review and subscribe to which ever of our podcast providers you use.
Thank you for listening!