We recently had the privilege of sitting down with Dave West from Avowed Cigars for what turned into one of our most insightful conversations about the cigar industry. What started as a casual evening in our Pennsylvania makeshift lounge evolved into a deep dive on everything from tobacco sourcing to pricing strategy, and why this relatively new brand is making serious waves despite launching less than a year ago.

If you’re not familiar with Avowed Cigars yet, you’re about to be. Trust us on this one.

The Avowed Cigars Origin Story

Dave West didn’t stumble into the cigar business by accident. His journey began back in 2007 when he first discovered the community aspect of cigars. Like many of us, it wasn’t just the tobacco that hooked him. It was the ritual of slowing down and connecting with people.

Fast forward to 2015, and Dave was deep in the cigar world through Cigar Noise, where he was reviewing cigars and building relationships across the industry. That’s where he connected with Andrew and Ammar from Small Batch Cigar, relationships that would eventually lead to the creation of Avowed Cigars.

The magic really happened when Klaas Kelner announced he was opening his own factory. For those who don’t know, the Kelner family is cigar royalty. Henke Kelner’s palate is legendary, and Klaas has grown up in this world his whole life. When Klaas approached Andrew and Ammar about partnering on a new venture, everything clicked into place.

As Dave explained it, they wanted to combine exceptional tobacco with expert hands and time as their three pillars. The Kelner connection gave them exactly that.

Why Avowed Cigars Takes an Invite-Only Approach

Here’s where Avowed does things differently. They’re invite-only, meaning you can’t just call them up and ask to carry their cigars in your shop. They currently have fewer than 30 locations across the United States, and they’re extremely intentional about every partnership they form.

Why would a new brand limit their own growth like this?

Dave West broke it down for us pretty clearly. When you age cigars as long as Avowed does (we’re talking two-plus years before release, in some cases), you need to control the process as much as possible. Getting too big too fast means losing that control and potentially compromising the experience they want customers to have.

The invite-only model also protects their retail partners. If Avowed says yes to one shop, they’re saying no to many others in that area. This prevents the spray-and-pray approach where cigars end up sitting on shelves because nobody really knows the story behind them.

Kyle from LA Aficionados Cigar Collective (LACC) reached out to Dave and said he wanted to be their first account in Louisiana. That kind of enthusiasm, combined with Kyle’s knowledge of Kelner Cigars, made it an obvious fit. Personal relationships and genuine passion for the brand matter more to Avowed than rapid expansion.

The Avowed Cigars Lineup

Let’s talk about what they’re actually making. The Vow series consists of three distinct blends: the 6.29, the 7.05, and the 11.25. Dave describes them as an appetizer, a meal, and a dessert cigar respectively.

Each Vow cigar features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and binder combination. The 6.29 is sweeter and softer with cinnamon and baking spices. The 7.05 is their boldest offering with red pepper, cereal grain, and cappuccino notes. It’s dense and chewy but still only medium strength thanks to all that age.

The newest addition, the Vow 11.25, was commissioned on November 25th of last year. It incorporates a full leaf of Brazilian Cubra tobacco, creating what Dave calls a lager experience. He describes tasting salted butter, soft pretzel, and milk chocolate throughout the smoke.

Then there’s New Dawn, their Connecticut offering. We had one during the show and it absolutely delivers. There’s a buttercream icing quality to it that’s hard to describe until you experience it yourself. The Robusto Grande is like a scalpel – precise and refined. The Toro has a bit more attitude and intensity. They’re releasing a Corona Gorda size next month that Dave says perfectly balances the creaminess of the Robusto Grande with the intensity of the Toro.

Coming in December is Hallowed Hands, their first dark Corojo and first medium to full-bodied offering. It’s been aging for over a year and represents a bridge between intense experience and subtle nuance. Dave describes it as spicy cherry cordial, and we’re already counting down the days.

The Kelner Advantage

Working with Klaas Kelner gives Avowed Cigars asymmetrical access to tobacco that most brands their size could only dream about. Most of their tobacco comes from ASP, a superb distributor that provides access to luxury leaves.

Dave told us that other brand owners regularly approach him at events and admit they wish they could get the same tobacco. The Kelner name opens doors that simply aren’t available to everyone.

But it’s not just about access. Henke Kelner’s palate is genuinely supernatural. Dave watched him smoke blind cigars and correctly identify not just the wrapper, binder, and filler, but the percentages of each filler leaf. The man is a walking encyclopedia of tobacco knowledge.

When Avowed wants to experiment with a new blend, they don’t just throw things together and hope for the best. Klaas can guide them through the process, suggesting alterations based on what they’re trying to achieve. It’s better than Google, better than AI, because he can ask the right questions to understand their vision.

Let’s Talk About Price

This is where things get real. Avowed Cigars sits in the $16-20 range for their core line. Their limited edition Awakening retailed for $30. For a brand that launched less than a year ago, those are premium price points.

Dave West was refreshingly honest about their pricing strategy. They don’t have the economy of scale that larger, vertically integrated companies enjoy. They’re not growing their own tobacco, making their own boxes, or producing 500,000 cigars at a time.

Here’s something that blew our minds: every single Avowed cigar is made by a single pair of rollers from start to finish. If they were to make 100,000 cigars, it would take an entire year with one pair of rollers. Most factories could knock that out in three to six weeks by spreading the work across multiple teams.

The Vow cigars had over two years of age on them when they launched this past summer. Hallowed Hands will have over a year of age before it’s released. That’s a massive amount of capital tied up before a single sale happens.

Their goal isn’t to be the most expensive cigar you’ve ever smoked. It’s to provide the best value they can in that $16-20 space without cutting corners. Quality costs money, and Avowed has decided they’d rather come in at a higher price point than compromise the experience.

We asked Dave if there’s a ceiling – a price point where even premium cigar smokers will push back. He thinks we’ll find that wall in the next year or two as market trends continue. But for Avowed, exploring that upper limit isn’t really in their playbook.

Building Community in the Modern Era

One thing that struck us about Dave West was his genuine passion for the entire cigar community, not just his own brand. He smokes other manufacturers’ cigars regularly and posts about them. That’s actually pretty rare among brand owners.

His reasoning makes perfect sense. If he stops loving cigars and only focuses on Avowed as a business, the game’s over. The passion dies. He wants to experience what other people are creating, see innovative packaging, and learn from the incredible craftsmanship happening across the industry.

Dave also emphasized how important social media has become for connecting cigar enthusiasts. You don’t have to meet up in person to form real relationships anymore. He and I (Walt) exchanged emails years ago through Stogie Review. Dave and Jim talked for years through Cigar Noise and they only met face-to-face this year. But it felt like reconnecting with an old friend because they’d already built that foundation digitally.

The cigar lounge experience has evolved too. Dave noticed that post-COVID, shops became much more welcoming to newcomers. More lounges are cutting and lighting cigars for customers, asking questions about preferences, and creating an inviting atmosphere rather than the old-school intimidation factor some places had.

Regional Differences in Cigar Preferences

Here’s something fascinating we discovered during our conversation. Different parts of the country have wildly different preferences when it comes to cigars. Dave shared a story about visiting Knoxville, Tennessee, and finding tables full of Tatuaje Black tins that just wouldn’t move. These were cigars that sold out instantly in other markets.

We’ve noticed the same thing with Black Label Trading Company cigars. They fly off our shelves here in Pennsylvania, but Kyle and Big Rob at LACC struggle to sell them in Louisiana. Geography plays a bigger role in cigar preferences than most people realize.

This creates opportunities for retailers who can figure out how to trade or redistribute cigars that perform well in some markets but not others. Unfortunately, the complexity of state tobacco taxes makes this challenging from a legal and logistical standpoint.

Dave’s Setup: The Ice Fishing Tent Revolution

We have to give a shout-out to Dave’s smoking setup because it’s genius. He records from an ice fishing tent in his garage with a small heater and exhaust system. The tent looked so professional on camera that we initially thought he had built out an entire studio.

The setup runs him about $350 total, keeps him perfectly comfortable even in Virginia winters, and solves the problem of smoke infiltrating the rest of his garage. Multiple members of the cigar community, including guys from various Discord groups, convinced him to try it after he spent a winter freezing in an uninsulated shed.

For those of us who smoke year-round in cold climates, this might be the answer. One of our crew (Eric the Elder) uses vinyl canvas enclosures from mosquitocurtains.com to wrap his elevated deck, and with a small patio heater, he can maintain 65-degree temperatures even when it’s 20 degrees outside.

Innovation in the cigar community doesn’t just happen with tobacco. Sometimes it’s about finding creative ways to enjoy our hobby comfortably.

What’s Next for Avowed Cigars

Dave mentioned he’ll be expanding into California within the next 90 days. Since Avowed is domiciled in California, they’re well-positioned to navigate the state’s unique tobacco laws and serve that market effectively.

The invite-only approach will continue, but they’re not planning to stay tiny forever. It’s about controlled, intentional growth that allows them to maintain quality and support their existing retail partners.

They’re also committed to their unique practice of sending samples of new blends to retail partners before any press coverage happens. They want their partners to experience and understand new releases before reading about them online. That level of respect for retailers is refreshing in an industry that often prioritizes media buzz over relationship building.

Final Thoughts

Talking with Dave West gave us a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to launch a premium cigar brand. Avowed Cigars isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. They’re laser-focused on quality, relationships, and creating cigars worthy of celebration.

The two-year aging process, the partnership with Kelner Cigars, and the invite-only distribution model all serve the same purpose: delivering an exceptional experience every single time someone lights up an Avowed cigar.

If you haven’t tried Avowed Cigars yet, we highly recommend seeking them out. If you’re not near any of their current retail partners, we suggest checking out our friends at LA Cigar Collective as I’m sure Kyle or Big Rob would be happy to ship them to you.

We’re grateful to Dave West for spending an evening with us and being so candid about the realities of building a cigar brand. His passion for the craft and respect for the community shine through in everything Avowed creates.

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Drop a comment and let us know if you’ve tried any Avowed blends or what questions you’d ask Dave West if you had the chance. And if you’re feeling especially generous, you can buy us a cigar on our Ko-Fi page to support the show.