Mombacho Cigars S.A/Favilli Cigars have announced it is closing its operations. The company which was launched in 2006 and operated out of Grenada, Nicaragua has said it is exiting the cigar industry. Jared Michaeli Ingrisano, the company’s former President and co-owner, is continuing in the cigar industry with his new distribution company Nica Oro.
In 2021, Mombacho Cigars underwent a major reorganization. Following the departure of President and Master Blender Claudio Sgroi, Cameron Heaps, the founder of Mombacho Cigars, returned to a more active role. Around this time industry veteran Jared Michaeli Ingrisano joined Mombacho as the Director of Sales. When 2022 came around Michaeli was promoted by Heaps to President of Mombacho, which was rebranded Favilli Cigars for the U.S. market. Much of the rebranding was the result of a long-time trademark dispute with Tropical Tobacco (Aganorsa Leaf).
Last year it was announced that Michaeli would be stepping down from his role as President of Mombacho to form a new company called Favilli Trading LLC. This would be a U.S. cigar sales, distribution, and marketing company independent of Mombacho that would handle global sales and marketing of the Favilli brand. Meanwhile, Casa Favilli, the company’s factory in Grenada, was transformed into an experiential center. Given Casa Favilli would no longer be a full-scale factory, the plan was for production to be handled at other factories.
Michaeli says the operations of Favilli Trading Company are folding into Nica Oro, the new distribution company. Nica Oro is handling operations for some of the brands of Indiana Ortez, namely Casa de Ortez and Belleau Wood. Ortez worked as Casa Favilli’s General Manager. Michael says he will also be launching his own cigar brand called MB FumA Cigars.
Today the company sent out the following letter to customers announcing it was closing operations as Mombacho and Favilli.
In 2006, when Mombacho was founded by backpackers enamored by Nicaragua’s beauty, one could not have imagined that while on the top of Volcano Mombacho with cigar in hand, an adventure of nearly two decades would turn into such a lifetime experience. You have traversed that experience with us by supporting our brands and ideas through three locations in Granada, Nicaragua, and every time you selected one of our products to spend your time with.
In 2014, when we purchased the Favilli Mansion, we firmly knew our goal was to grow and compete on the global stage as a luxury producer of fine, handcrafted cigars. The Favilli Mansion was where we could bring this vision to life and allow worldwide travelers and consumers to experience Nicaragua’s beauty by way of one of her finest treasure, the cigar. In 2021, we best understood that what you supported and what we had worked toward was overdue in terms of being presented in a way that would gain appreciation and awareness on the global stage for our production, for Granada, and for Nicaragua. We remodeled the international landmark, the Favilli Mansion, and opened to the world one of Central America’s most luxurious experiential sites which included four-floors of cocktail bars, cigars, event space, and sheer elegance in the gilded Favilli Mansion.
In this 2023, we have announced our retirement from the cigar industry and luxury hospitality space. We understand this may come as a surprise to our clientele and the cigar industry in general, but as a conglomerate of cigar and hospitality professionals, we have collectively decided to seek life’s next stage of endeavors and adventures.
We therefore send a deep and gracious thanks to all of you clientele, friends, and family who have shared this vision and time with us. We cannot say goodbye, as we may again cross paths in this small, small world, but we do bid you a farewell for this moment. Please know that a piece of our hearts are deeply rooted in what was Mombacho and Favilli and that everyone to have been involved holds tightly to the memories and experiences we all
shared on this journey.
On behalf of Granada, the entire founding team, factory employees, hospitality employees, investors, partners, and friends of Mombacho and Favilli, we extend to you a profound thanks and cherish every one of you.
Cameron Heaps
Founder of Mombacho Cigars S.A.
Jared Michaeli
Co-founder & President of Favilli
Casa Favilli, the former Mombacho Cigars factory which was converted to an experiential center has been put up for sale.
Update 11/5/23: Story updated to indicate Casa Favilli was put up for sale.
I blame Aganorsa Leaf 100% for the death of Mombacho, who made far superior cigars. Mombacho, the real Mombacho, should have taken Aganorsa Leaf to trial on the trademark claim. Aganorsa bullied Mombacho out of existence. What a shame. Shame on Aganorsa!