VCF Magazine

Amazing news! Winning an award in the prestigious Cigar Trophy Awards? We’re in the running because our Perla de Calvano cigar has been nominated in the Best Medium Filler category. Of course we really want to win and you can help us. Voting will only take 5 minutes of your time.

Vote us to the top!

1. Go to www.cigartrophy.com
2. Register
3. Log in
4. Click on Best Medium Filler
5. Select Perla de Calvano

The winner of this prestigious award will be announced on 16th September, during the Cigar Trophy Award Ceremony at the end of the InterTabac fair in Dortmund. 

Let’s fly overseas. We invested in a brand new, state-of-the-art factory just next to our current one in Sri Lanka. This expansion included the construction of the biggest and most modern cold room in Sri Lanka as well as an additional production hall. By doing so we have doubled our production capacity whilst simultaneously raising the bar in terms of energy efficiency in the export zone where we are located. 

Needless to say this is drawing a lot of attention from surrounding companies and their employees. To our pleasant surprise, the newly appointed State Minister of Trade Sujeewa Senasinghe and the Chairman of the Board of Investment (Sri Lanka’s biggest trade promotion organisation) Upul Jayasuriya expressed their interest in Cortès. 

In early September we were proud to learn that our factory had been selected for their first official visit to an export zone in the country. Obviously, we were thrilled to walk them through our story, showing our complete production. They were impressed, and to top it off, we provided them with some beautiful cigars to further enjoy the experience at home. 

A great moment for everyone at Cortès and an acknowledgment for our relentless focus on quality!

Cortès houses some top-notch talent. Our tobacco specialists only select the finest leaves for the J. Cortès blue series. 

All the way from Sumatra to Bremen.

Thanks to its volcanic soil and cloudy weather, Sumatran tobacco is one of a kind. Back in the days when Indonesia was still a Dutch colony, wholesalers purchased the famous leaves in Amsterdam. 

After Indonesia’s independence, the old German town of Bremen took on the honour of selling Indonesia’s best. With more than 100 buyers, a special bidding system was set up. All the buyers attempted to buy the best tobacco, placing their bids in a closed envelope. Seeds of this tobacco have been planted in many other countries, but the exact flavour of Sumatra could never quite be obtained. 

Nowadays the bidding envelopes are history. We’re very proud that our tobacco masters Henry Masquelin and Walburg Vandenbroucke still select the finest Sumatran tobacco leaves for the J. Cortès blue series with the highest precision (and perhaps their bargaining skills too.)