Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Bespoke Unit's Paul Anthony interviews Hamlet Espinal, Davidoff VP of Global Production and Factory Manager. He talks about his personal history with tobacco, and the company's operations in the past & present.
CONTINUE WATCHING:
Take a look at the other videos of our #davidoffcigars Dominican experience!
Watch the full Davidoff documentary: youtu.be/_mGFeOwjfbs
Davidoff Discovery Pillar Overview: youtu.be/pYQ_t4B6P8k
Davidoff Yamasá Pirámides Review: youtu.be/1ItYL6QFFBc
Davidoff Churchill The Late Hour: youtu.be/q4mvuljRHgE
Davidoff Cigars Playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfsWHCy_hDdq-Cir85QVpMqilLi9mMCH8
READ ABOUT CIGARS:
Read all of our Davidoff cigar articles:
bespokeunit.com/theme/davidoff
Bespoke Unit Cigars Home
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Davidoff VP Global Production & Factory Manager Interview
Hamlet has been with Davidoff for about 20 years. He started from scratch, and now he's the general manager. Tobacco is in his blood; his father was the president of a big tobacco company in the past. Hamlet always remembered the smell of tobacco as his father came home from work.
Later on, when Hamlet was studing at university, he worked part-time with his father. Their specialty was wrapper sorting. This was the start of Hamlet's career. He mentioned to his father that he was interested in seeing other tobacco operations, particularly those closer to cigar production. His father introducted him to Henke Kelner of Tabadom.
That was when Hamlet started working for Tabadom, and therefore Davidoff. He grew step by step from there, but a year and a half ago, the company gave him a new responsibility. It was then that he became head of Global Production, overseeing operations in the Dominican Republic and Honduras.
This includes about 2100 employees in the two countries. Roughly 1400 of these are in the Dominican Republic and the rest in Central America (Honduras). Over the course of this year, the Dominican facilities will produce 55 million handmade cigars. Around 108,000 are made per day. In Central America, 14 million Camacho cigars will be made this year.
Quality control for such high production volume requires many steps, relying on methodology, technology, and passionate people! People are the most essential part, since so much of the tobacco-growing and cigarmaking process is by hand.
Davidoff cultivates a friendly atmosphere where everyone knows everyone, which is key to keeping that passion going strong.
Therefore, Hamlet must understand how his people are feeling and what they might be going through. He also must monitor all quality controls to ensure they're met. Finally, he must be aware of anything that happens in the world that may affect the tobacco market.
Hamlet needs to be prepared to react to the market, having the inventory and knowledge to respond to changes. It's about being ready for possibilities and keeping the best solution at hand.
And changes are a constant reality in this industry due to natural temperature and humidity shifts. The climate each year determines how tobacco will grow. Therefore, a good inventory of tobacco and of cigars is an absolute must.
Hamlet lists some challenges he faces regularly:
•How to improve the synergy between the Dominican and Honduran operations
•Ways to increase quality and efficiency
•Developing new products to satisfy different markets (e.g. Yamasá)
According to Hamlet: "Everything related to tobacco is about time."
Developing a new seed takes 7-8 years; all premium processes take time.
In terms of new opportunities, China is a new and rapidly-growing market for cigars. This and other changes in demand have spurred Davidoff to explore new possibilities, such as the Discovery Pillar.
Personally, Hamlet enjoys cigars because they're great for socializing and meeting people. Also, he feels that cigars allow you to fully understand the tobacco; you can feel the passion of all those who laid hands on the tobacco.
Cigars also represent his pride in the enjoyment and happiness each smoke brings to the customer.
It's also pride in keeping everything running and fulfilling the potential set forth by Henke. He also has the responsibility to develop the next generation of the Davidoff legacy.
At the moment, Hamlet's personal favorite smoke is the Winston Churchill Late Hour alongside a single malt scotch, served neat.
REMEMBER to comment! Let us know what you thought of this interview, about our Dominican experience, and any other cigar topic you'd like us to feature on Bespoke Unit!
Yours,
The Bespoke Unit Team
CONNECT:
Web: BespokeUnit.com
Instagram: Instagram.com/BespokeUnit
Facebook: Facebook.com/BespokeUnit
Twitter: Twitter.com/BespokeUnit
Subscribe to Newsletter: BespokeUnit.com/newsletter
Davidoff VP Global Production & Factory Manager Interview: youtu.be/sv73lI9PZX8
Bespoke Unit's Paul Anthony interviews Hamlet Espinal, Davidoff VP of Global Production and Factory Manager. He talks about his personal history with tobacco, and the company's operations in the past & present.
CONTINUE WATCHING:
Take a look at the other videos of our #davidoffcigars Dominican experience!
Watch the full Davidoff documentary: youtu.be/_mGFeOwjfbs
Davidoff Discovery Pillar Overview: youtu.be/pYQ_t4B6P8k
Davidoff Yamasá Pirámides Review: youtu.be/1ItYL6QFFBc
Davidoff Churchill The Late Hour: youtu.be/q4mvuljRHgE
Davidoff Cigars Playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfsWHCy_hDdq-Cir85QVpMqilLi9mMCH8
READ ABOUT CIGARS:
Read all of our Davidoff cigar articles:
bespokeunit.com/theme/davidoff
Bespoke Unit Cigars Home
bespokeunit.com/cigars
Davidoff VP Global Production & Factory Manager Interview
Hamlet has been with Davidoff for about 20 years. He started from scratch, and now he's the general manager. Tobacco is in his blood; his father was the president of a big tobacco company in the past. Hamlet always remembered the smell of tobacco as his father came home from work.
Later on, when Hamlet was studing at university, he worked part-time with his father. Their specialty was wrapper sorting. This was the start of Hamlet's career. He mentioned to his father that he was interested in seeing other tobacco operations, particularly those closer to cigar production. His father introducted him to Henke Kelner of Tabadom.
That was when Hamlet started working for Tabadom, and therefore Davidoff. He grew step by step from there, but a year and a half ago, the company gave him a new responsibility. It was then that he became head of Global Production, overseeing operations in the Dominican Republic and Honduras.
This includes about 2100 employees in the two countries. Roughly 1400 of these are in the Dominican Republic and the rest in Central America (Honduras). Over the course of this year, the Dominican facilities will produce 55 million handmade cigars. Around 108,000 are made per day. In Central America, 14 million Camacho cigars will be made this year.
Quality control for such high production volume requires many steps, relying on methodology, technology, and passionate people! People are the most essential part, since so much of the tobacco-growing and cigarmaking process is by hand.
Davidoff cultivates a friendly atmosphere where everyone knows everyone, which is key to keeping that passion going strong.
Therefore, Hamlet must understand how his people are feeling and what they might be going through. He also must monitor all quality controls to ensure they're met. Finally, he must be aware of anything that happens in the world that may affect the tobacco market.
Hamlet needs to be prepared to react to the market, having the inventory and knowledge to respond to changes. It's about being ready for possibilities and keeping the best solution at hand.
And changes are a constant reality in this industry due to natural temperature and humidity shifts. The climate each year determines how tobacco will grow. Therefore, a good inventory of tobacco and of cigars is an absolute must.
Hamlet lists some challenges he faces regularly:
•How to improve the synergy between the Dominican and Honduran operations
•Ways to increase quality and efficiency
•Developing new products to satisfy different markets (e.g. Yamasá)
According to Hamlet: "Everything related to tobacco is about time."
Developing a new seed takes 7-8 years; all premium processes take time.
In terms of new opportunities, China is a new and rapidly-growing market for cigars. This and other changes in demand have spurred Davidoff to explore new possibilities, such as the Discovery Pillar.
Personally, Hamlet enjoys cigars because they're great for socializing and meeting people. Also, he feels that cigars allow you to fully understand the tobacco; you can feel the passion of all those who laid hands on the tobacco.
Cigars also represent his pride in the enjoyment and happiness each smoke brings to the customer.
It's also pride in keeping everything running and fulfilling the potential set forth by Henke. He also has the responsibility to develop the next generation of the Davidoff legacy.
At the moment, Hamlet's personal favorite smoke is the Winston Churchill Late Hour alongside a single malt scotch, served neat.
REMEMBER to comment! Let us know what you thought of this interview, about our Dominican experience, and any other cigar topic you'd like us to feature on Bespoke Unit!
Yours,
The Bespoke Unit Team
CONNECT:
Web: BespokeUnit.com
Instagram: Instagram.com/BespokeUnit
Facebook: Facebook.com/BespokeUnit
Twitter: Twitter.com/BespokeUnit
Subscribe to Newsletter: BespokeUnit.com/newsletter
Davidoff VP Global Production & Factory Manager Interview: youtu.be/sv73lI9PZX8
