Born and raised in Rye, New York, Jeff Amendola moved to North Carolina in 2009. When he arrived in Durham. North Carolina in his search for a career, he became a Durham Police Officer. He never forgot that as a kid, he would often go shopping along Arthur Avenue in the Bronx with his parents and come across a cigar factory where he would watch the torcedors roll cigars. He was mesmerized by the sight and scent of all the tobacco and impressed by the care and detail in their work.
Jeff decided to start hosting cigar events as a side business eventually starting his own Amendola Family Cigar Brands. He reached out to the cigar makers he’d befriended on Arthur Avenue to design him a signature cigar that he could use at his pop-up cigar events.
While sitting at a live Watts & Ward event, Jeff and I discuss;
- How he got started in cigars
- Starting young in an “older” industry and creating a brand
- Thoughts around saturation in the cigar market
- How he promotes the brand (online, trade shows, events, etc)
- Favorite Amendola Cigar
- Working with different fillers and wrappers
-
U.S Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) treatment on premium cigars vs. cigarettes.
- Cigars for beginners
- Cuban Cigars and much more!
Other Resources:
- BestCigarPrices.com
- AtlanticCigar.com
- Cigars vs Cigarettes
- Psycology of Cigars(Cigars Daily video)
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