Behind The Brand: Sébastien Decoppet- Cavalier Gèneve

I was on a work trip to Dallas, Texas, in the weeks following the PCA expo in Las Vegas. As I settled into the metropolis, I decided to take up an offer from Sébastien Decoppet, owner of Cavalier Gèneve, to have a cigar with him if I was ever in the area. The incredible team at Cavalier put me in contact with Sébastien, and within a few days, I met him at the Underground Cigar Shop and Lounge on the Fort Worth side of the city. 

Sébastien greeted me in the cool, lowly lit lounge. It had a sizeable humidor, ornate leather seats, and vintage décor that created a “down-home” vibe amidst the illustrious wealth in the adjacent city. Everyone in the lounge knew Sébastien, proving his nature as an aficionado of the cigar world. 

Sébastien grew up in Geneva, Switzerland. He describes the city as slow-paced but bustling and a fantastic place to grow up, with a constant blend of cultures throughout. Although he had no familial connections to tobacco in his formative years, he jokingly credits a subconscious interest in cigars to a frequented toy store adjacent to a Davidoff store. 

When he was twenty years old, he recalls his experience visiting the Davidoff shop for the first time. “I didn’t feel that it was something I was ready for in a way. It was a barrier that had to be jumped, and I [had not] jumped it yet. I felt too young, too inappropriate, but I thought, you know, f**** it, and went in and got very well received. [It] was a great experience.” 

Sébastien does not explicitly remember the first cigar he chose but narrowed it down to the Davidoff No. 1 or No. 2. Without any previous cigar experience, he relied on the experts, not wanting to commit to something he may not enjoy. He also attributes the allure of cigars to the Old-World image they had in Europe. He mentioned that the experts at the shop treated him with respect and as if he were a regular customer. 

Traveling to a terrace in old-town Geneva, he sat down to have his cigar, and “It just clicked: I had something I thought I was interested in, and now [I was] sure about it,” he glowingly recalled. Sébastien described his newfound hobby as he began to go through the motions like everyone else. He bought a humidor and started budgeting for his new habit, coming out to roughly one cigar a day. Each night, he would smoke on his terrace with a small notebook and journal about the smoking experience. 

“I [would sit] on my terrace, and I would have music, something to write [with], sometimes something to drink and a cigar. I would just sit there and reflect on life… At that age, you don’t really know what life is or where you want to go, and I was trying to figure out what that was going to be… I was writing and writing and writing, and writing every day… It was more bullet points than [anything]. Going through thoughts, and what really motivated me.”

After reflecting each night, he found himself purchasing a multitude of books on cigars, which he notes he does not enjoy reading. However, something was different about tobacco, and his interest was piqued. He diligently read the books, taking notes and attempting to learn everything about the subject.

Mr. Decoppet noted that the social aspect of cigars is different in Europe than in the United States. He stated that many lounges are also clubs for affluent people, precluding the social element of cigar culture for a young man still trying to earn a living. Instead, he navigated through various websites, learning what shops were selling and making short trips to visit them. It was during these trips that he began expanding his palate, and from there, “I sold the car, I sold the few things I had, quit the job, and [bought] a plane ticket, take my chance and find someone that would teach me something about cigars.” 

When reading, he noted that each book said something different about the process. He recalls thinking that going to the place of origin would be the best practice to learn, as it would come directly from the manufacturer. The choice of Honduras, where Cavalier would later source their tobacco, was purely by chance. The young Decoppet curated a list of countries he wanted to visit, and Honduras sat at the bottom. He wished to visit an island in the Caribbean with beaches and “accessories” in addition to cigars. However, with hurricane season in full swing, the travel agent in Switzerland advised him to visit Honduras first and travel to the other countries later. With an available date, he took the first one-way ticket to Honduras to seek the knowledge he was after. 

“The plan was that one flight [there], no flight back, figure out how to see what I could see, and when I felt I hit a wall, or there was [nothing more to learn], or if it was a flop, I had the liberty to decide when I was going back… Honduras became my second home. Instead of [moving] from one country to another, I actually took base in Honduras and started getting flights or buses from there… Honduras became the country I was most comfortable in.” 

Decoppet’s first contact in the Honduran cigar world was Master Blender and Tobacco Businessman Adin Perez. Perez took Decoppet under his wing and showed him several factories owned by the Plasencia family. Decoppet recounts feeling overwhelmed by the master blender’s incredible hospitality, who offered him to stay with Perez’s family while he learned about the business. 

“That relationship is the essence of everything for me.” Decoppet proudly said, regaling with the memory of his first few weeks in Honduras. “The people that taught me, the people that took me in… I will never have words for the family [because] without them, we would have suffered a lot more from the business perspective.” 

“People are always thinking about great rollers, and rolling, and of course, it’s an art. But, people don’t talk about the people that put bands on cigars… who put 5,000 bands on cigars a day; I can’t do it! I have worked doing it, but I cannot do it,” he noted when beginning to learn the intricate details of the cigar industry. Mr. Perez helped him navigate each section of the factory, learning how each position functions like a well-oiled machine. From the most rudimentary level employee to high-level management, he learned the business while spending time in each position. 

“It is important to know what they do every day, and how they do it. To even begin to remotely appreciate how technical it is what they are doing… The skillset and the dedication… The legacy of that work is more [similar] to someone working in jewelry rather than a factory worker… The only way to do it is to do it yourself first [so] you can get an understanding of how it will work.” 

Similar to the world of wine, tobacco fermentation is also an artistic process. Decoppet explained the wide variances in tobacco, how it is cut and fermented, the weather, ambient humidity, and even the year it is grown affect the plant’s profile. “Every year, every batch is different and reacts differently. You have to really adapt your work; you have to be able to listen to the tobacco and see how it behaves… It is what makes tobacco so diverse.”

During his year-long tenure under Perez’s supervision, he started his days at 0630 and would end twelve hours later. As the native French speaker learned Spanish, he rotated through each section at his own pace. He took several trips to other tobacco-producing countries, but his (now) wife, Eylin’s provoking, got him to produce his first cigar. Sébastien diligently worked with Perez’s blending expertise while utilizing his newly minted knowledge in the industry to put together his first product. His first order of the first cigar was a mere 200 sticks. He recalls his “OG” start, flying back to Switzerland with his “custom” cigars.

Sébastien reflected that Switzerland was the best option for beginning a cigar business because he knew it best. He noted that he was trying to figure out how a business worked. After all, he was still young, learning his place in the world. Decoppet credits this as one of the “first” of a series of starts of the brand we now know as Cavalier Gèneve. 

After returning home, he began the first attempt to sell his product. “I realized coming back to Switzerland that I learned how to roll cigars, how to pack cigars, how to process tobacco…how the feel, the taste, the origins of how tobaccos behave, but what I really did not take into account is that I really hadn’t sold [anything] in my life. Zero. Nothing. Ever,” he laughingly explained. 

With bundles of cigars in hand, he traveled to his most frequented Swiss shops, this time selling a product instead of buying them. “Hey, you haven’t seen me for a year or so, and the reason is… I now have a cigar!… That first day was my first sale… I also got home and crashed through the night; I was drained. That level of stress and [of the] unknown, it is the roots of the business; they are what makes you grow in life… Through time, you learn that you have to pay your dues, no matter what you do…”

“…It’s funny because it’s not a fight against the market or the people in front of you, it’s a fight against yourself, that’s all it is. Because you are making ideas up in your head about how it [will] go or not go. The reality is all you have to do is get your s**** together and go knock on that door.” He recounted the hustle of selling the first product line and his desire to make his passion a full-time job.

When it came to solidifying the brand Cavalier, the artwork was provided by one of Sébastien’s first friends in Honduras, David Rojas, who had created the drawing of the horseman utilized by the brand today. Rojas and Decoppet spent significant time together during his tenure in Honduras. Rojas found his first apartment, introduced him to Eylin, and provided an additional social circle that made Sébastien feel at home in his new country. A conversation ensued about utilizing the piece for the brand. Although Sébastien attempted to pay Rojas for the work, he refused, leaving Sébastien to abandon using Cavalier as a brand or design temporarily. 

Unfortunately, Rojas was killed in a car accident after Sébastien returned to Switzerland. This immense, almost familial loss forced him to reflect on the situation, stating, “I lost him, but I wanted to take him on my journey; it just clicked.” In Cavalier’s first piece of press, Rojas was mentioned as a large part of the formation of the brand due to the artwork. After making its rounds on social media, it was clear that Rojas’ memory was alive and would continue to thrive along with the brand.

“The whole core and heart of Cavalier is from that friend. The whole reason that the name is Cavalier is his drawing. It’s the horse and the man, that’s it,” he stated. Today, as the brand has soared in popularity, Rojas’ artwork is proudly displayed in forty countries worldwide, which was a talking point during the initial branding of the cigar company. Rojas’ former apprentice currently possesses the original drawing, as his memory continues to be expanded in many ways. 

Cavalier’s other notable artwork is the famous gold diamond, an edible 24-karat gold signature on most of their cigar lines. Decoppet notes that his wife, Eylin, has been the mind behind much of the artwork, and the gold diamond was a way of distinguishing them from other notable brands with a much longer history. He notes the importance of continuing to grow as a brand and forcing himself and his team to develop new ways to keep the brand fresh while adhering to its roots. 

“The day the brand stops evolving or refining what it is, it’s dead. It’s gone… You always want to share something, express something… If the gold diamond hadn’t existed the way you see it now, we probably would not have been in a position to express ourselves differently. How do you make your space into an industry where you have long lasting families running and owning most of the names in the industry. How do you make your space in a viable way?”

As the business grew, the Cavalier brand started to explore trade shows to aid in distribution worldwide. Decoppet knew he wanted to expand internationally but had to relocate to the United States to build the brand he wanted with actual international distribution. The company’s first international distributions were in Germany and the Netherlands. Cavalier’s first foothold in the United States was several cigar retailers in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex who were researching options for US-wide distribution. Sébastien met with the would-be distributors in Paris and returned to Geneva with a contract. 

At the same time, Sébastien purchased a cigar shop in Geneva, and soon after, the distribution entity ceased, leaving the brand to “float” for two years. He soon realized the only way to start his company in the American market was to move to the US and continue Cavalier’s development independently. Sébastien recalls Eylin living in Switzerland for just over a year before they began the visa process to immigrate to the United States. 

Throughout the process, the young couple (and brand) needed to figure out where to base itself, “You don’t just go into the US and live here, and that’s it. We had to go through the whole process of creating a company and getting visas. There were two places that came up, Miami, because why not? The whole industry is down there, and it’s Miami, pretty straight forward. [Alternatively], DFW because that is where I traveled first, and I knew a few people, and I felt more confident.” 

Aside from his confidence in the area, he also credits the centrality of the location. The airport’s accessibility allowed fluid travel to Central America, around the United States, and beyond. In the five years Cavalier has been in the United States, it has been thriving. Despite a rough few months initially, Sébastien and Eylin continued to fight to build the brand, slowly expanding nationwide. Today, Cavalier owns a factory and warehouse, employing around one hundred people at any given time. 

Throughout the company’s growth, Sébastien and Eylin have prided themselves on creating a brand commonly equated to high-quality premium cigars while ensuring that the quality of life for their employees matches the quality of the cigars they produce. This could be credited to the intimate knowledge that Sébastien had developed during his initial stay in Honduras. It is evident that he understands and respects every aspect of a cigar’s production, from concept to the final product. 

Cavalier offers ten core lines, all offering different aspects of Sébastien’s expert blending. When asked about the most important line to him, he responded, “Every [line] is a reflection of a certain time for us and the company. It’s really the expression of what cigars meant for us as a company, for us as people at a specific moment in time.” 

Cavalier’s first line, the White Blend, and Sébastien’s first blend reflect his newly developed knowledge in the cigar world during his time in Honduras. The White Blend still serves as a staple in their product line. He alluded to the original Black Series cigar I was smoking during our conversation. Although it was initially designed as a US-exclusive cigar, he was forced to make a business decision and removed the product from the market. He notes that this was replaced by the new Regional Exclusive, which focused on unique artwork and additional developments in the sizing and tobacco choices.

The Inner Circle line is attributed to a series of self-reflections by Sébastien when he was questioning his decisions behind the business. The cigar is a metaphor for the brand’s evolution from its humble beginnings, struggling to make ends meet, to its widespread success today, all with an intimate circle of people who helped make it happen. Domaine Rouge is the second line within Inner Circle, a tribute to his late father. Sébastien explained that wine and cigars are what brought him closer to his father, and he aimed to create an homage to the brand with a drawing of the factory and the old-world wine label design filled with intricacies, attributing to the high quality of the cigars being produced, and the concept of terroir. 

It is evident that Sébastien has turned a passion into a career with Cavalier. Despite the brand’s global achievement, he remains incredibly humble, crediting much of his success to the people who helped him create his vision along the way. From the immaculate artwork to the memorable smoking experiences with each of their products, it is clear that the brand is here to stay as it continues to grow along with the other established giants of the cigar industry. At the beginning of July, Cavalier released the Tempura line to the public, once again proving their longstanding perfection in the industry. 

In closing, Sébastien told me, “One thing that is important to us is that we are proud to be here. We are grateful for the people who have joined us on our journey, and we are looking forward to being able to express ourselves in more exciting and different ways in the future to bring the best to the market and to you.”

Note: Some photos utilized for this article were taken at the PCA expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, in March 2024. 

Erick Huertas

Erick Huertas is originally from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and was introduced to the social aspect of cigars during his schooling in San Antonio, Texas. Around this time, he also developed a growing interest in writing and photography, using his phone camera and notepad to capture the world around him.

Erick solidified his passion for photography and adventure when he completed the Trans-American Trail in the summer of 2021 with his Land Rover Discovery 3. Since his 2021 expedition, he has been interviewed on several podcasts and has written extensively about the open road.

In 2023, Erick became involved in Grassroots motorsports by covering local Rallycross through the Northwest Rally Association, local autocross, and other events. In late 2023, he debuted as a photographer in the American Rally Association and has since covered events with Pan American Superbike and Formula E.

When not traveling, Erick can be found on Whidbey Island, Washington. You can contact Erick via email at [email protected], on Instagram at @_ebhphoto, or on his website: www.erickhuertas.smugmug.com