Nothing gets me more perked than when I hear of a long-time cigar blender taking the plunge and venturing to start a company of their own. Esteban Disla has done just that along with business partner Daniel Lance. Just this year, March to be specific, Disla and Lance officially launched their very own brand, Domain Cigars. Discovering their backstory was a real revelation as it was revealed just how deep the tobacco roots go for both men, but particularly for Esteban.
I was fortunate enough to sit with Daniel Lance several weeks ago for a virtual interview to find out more about this brand-new cigar endeavor. He was very forthcoming about his partner’s qualities, and why he felt so ready to take this plunge with Esteban as his partner.
“Well, I tell people that I am the junkie that moved to the poppy field!” jokes, Daniel. “I was very much a lover of cigars, and I found a community in Esteli, much like you have probably found in your own circles, and I eventually decided to actually move there just to learn more about the craft. Not really looking to start a company necessarily. I met Esteban at the factory where he and his brother, Raul worked and we got to know each other and each other’s values, and I eventually just casually asked him to make me a cigar. Little did I know that he was already a mile down the road in planning a company!”
Esteban has been in the world of tobacco since he was just 11 years old. His mother, Aurora, worked as a tobacco cultivator on farms in their native Dominican Republic, along with her two sons, Raul and Esteban. Esteban showed a special skill with tobacco and blending, would apprentice under Sergio Cuevas, and eventually blend and create cigars for factories such as Latin Cigars S.A., (now known as STG Estelí) and Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A., creating blends for over 30 different brands in the process. But working for other brands and factories was never the end goal for Esteban, as Daniel went on to explain, “Esteban’s forward-thinking vision was always to have 100% vertical integration. He always wanted to be in control of the process from soil to smoke”.
Daniel’s background, though not as tobacco oriented as his partner, includes tobacco retail for over 17 years. He is also a co-founder of several different companies, has served in advisory roles for others, and with infrastructure modernization for other companies. Now, working with a blender who he trusts and admires, he feels he has finally found the perfect piece that had previously been missing for a cigar company. As he put it, “After I moved to Esteli many people would ask me why I had not started a cigar company since I had helped start companies in my past already. I would just tell them that everyone who can make a delicious cigar is already taken!”
The portfolio of Domain consists now of just two blends, the Neutron, and the Negentropy. Each blend comes in 9 different vitolas, which is an ambitious design. Negentropy consists of an Ecuadorian habano wrapper, a double binder of Nicaraguan tobacco, and filler from Nicaragua’s Condega region. The Neutron is made up of Mexican San Andrés wrapper, a dual binder of Nicaraguan tobacco, and fillers from Nicaragua’s Condega and Pueblo Nuevo regions.
I was able to sample both blends, in the robusto vitola of each, with very satisfying results. Starting with Negentropy, I was met with a medium bodied smoking experience, with plenty of nutty and woody characteristics, accented with subtle cocoa, baking spices and herbal nuances. Overall, a well-balanced and satisfying smoke. The Neutron, however, truly stood out, with a heavier texture, and fuller flavor that remained complex and balanced. Perhaps bolder in spice, but with depth and clarity in the flavor palate: Dark chocolate, espresso, lightly charred oak and cedar notes, pepper spice, and a long, somewhat creamy finish. Just what I was looking for!
My conversation with Daniel was definitely one that would appeal to the cigar heads, with lots of technical and methodological topics being discussed. I came away from the interview having learned quite a few new things to say the least. With him at the helm of marketing and distribution, and Esteban in charge of cultivation, fermentation, and blending, Domain Cigars promises remarkable things for the cigar world, and I will be there for it all.